LOOMIS, Calif. – Senior Zia Smith netted seven goals while junior Keira Miles added another six in her hometown, but St. Francis could not sustain its hot start, ultimately falling by a 21-15 final to Del Oro in the varsity nightcap of a Sierra Foohill League girls' lacrosse doubleheader at Fletcher-Christiansen Field at Golden Eagle Stadium Thursday night.
The Troubadours (9-4, 9-4) and Golden Eagles (11-3, 9-3) entered the week ranked No. 4 and No. 2 in the Sac-Joaquin Section, respectively, according to MaxPreps.
Seniors Karly Okamoto and Olivia Hamm each scored a goal to account for the remaining offense. Okamoto, who netted the game's first tally in the fourth minute, also had two assists. Hamm led SF with three assists and seven draw controls. In fact, that latter category largely dictated the flow of the game, with both teams converting the DC to goals at a high percentage. Smith and Miles each controlled four, but Del Oro led that category by a 25-15 margin.
Miles and Smith each converted eight-meter opportunties midway through the first quarter to craft a 3-0 lead before DO sophomore Heidi Hernnberger could follow suit with 3:04 left. St. Francis outshot its hosts by an 8-4 margin in that opening frame, with sophomore Claire Gabri coming up with two saves in the process.
Miles won the first draw of the second frame, then turned that into another successful trip to the arc for a 4-1 Troubie lead. However, the Golden Eagles responded with a 6-0 run for the next nine minutes of play. Freshman Mackenzie Woodworth converted assists from Riley Weber and Anastasiia Bruska within the span of 26 seconds, as DO used its considerable size advantage to control the draw.
Smith ended the Troubies' scoreless stretch by turning a Hamm pass into a scoreboard tally, but Golden Eagle Grace Sjolie scored twice in a 3-0 finish to the half. Del Oro led by a 10-5 margin at the break, and never allowed St. Francis to approach by closer than three goals.
Sjolie matched Miles with a double hat trick, with Riley Weber (4), Sydney Weber (3) and Hernnberger (3) performing hat tricks. Meanwhile, Smith poured in five goals after the break with Miles supplying another four in that span.
Miles' six goals lifted her season total to 49, putting her just one away from posting the ninth 50-plus season in school history. Brynley Hodge achieved the feat twice, with Jane Tattersall (2023), Zahra Smith (2022), Katie Ku (2008), Hayley Kusserow (2014), Emma Nyland (2008) and Sarah Westover (2017) reaching that plateau once aech.
Thursday's contest also marked the eighth recorded instance of St. Francis and an opponent playing to 30 or more combined goals, with the last being an 18-17 against Davis on March 15, 2023. The highest-scoring SF game in the MaxPreps era (2008-present) was a 22-20 victory over Palo Alto on March 14, 2015. The top three Troubie scorers in that contest went on to play collegiate ball in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation: Kusserow (Saint Mary's), Westover (USC) and Ryleigh Bone (Fresno State).
The varsity shootout followed St. Francis junior varsity's 12-3 loss to the Golden Eagles. Sophomore Lucia Shepard scored the lone Troubie goal in the first half, then added a second from the eight-meter arc in the third quarter. Delaney McGahan redirected a pass from Taylor Crotsley for the third SF score at the 4:40 mark in the third.
The SF jayvees stared down a 10-1 halftime deficit by playing DO to an even 2-2 second half. Besides the scoring contribution, McGahan matched Natalia Zitelli with three ground balls and tallied her team's only draw control. Freshman goalkeeper Angela Miles followed her monster performance at Davis from Monday night with 13 saves on Thursday.
St. Francis hosts the regular season finale on Tuesday against Davis. Game times are the SFL-standard 5:30 p.m. for JV and 7:15 p.m. for varsity. The evening also features the annual Booster-Q, with free hot dogs and hamburgers available to all spectators, a special Sacramento Lacrosse 12U/10U exhibition at halftime, and a Senior Night ceremony to honor 2025 graduates Hamm, Okamoto, Smith, Sofia Rabinovitz, Chloe Tanner and Cami Zucker between games. All six seniors also served as team captains for Thursday's game at DO.
