DAVIS, Calif. – Senior midfielder Keira Miles scored four goals, while Jade Abalateo and Gillian Hamm contributed a goal and assist each, helping St. Francis hold up a 4-0 start in a 7-3 win over Davis in the varsity nightcap of a Sierra Foothill League girls' lacrosse doubleheader at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium Thursday night.

The Troubadours improve to 10-5 for the year, and more crucially, break the third-place tie in the league standings with a 9-5 SFL mark. The Blue Devils even their overall record to 8-8, slipping to fourth in the league race at 8-6. The win should also keep St. Francis at No. 4 in MaxPreps' Sac-Joaquin Section power rankings, ahead of No. 5 Granite Bay and No. 6 Davis.

Miles scored two goals in the first quarter, then two more in the third. Her drive with 3:36 left in the third frame completed her 13th hat trick of the year. Miles then tacked on an eight-meter conversion to extend the SF lead to 4-0 at the 2:03 mark.

Davis spoiled the shutout bid when Faith Heringer intercepted a pass and went straight to the SF cage just a minute into the fourth. Blue Devil senior Izzy Churchward scored a goal and assisted another down the stretch to bring her team to deficits of 4-2 and 5-3, but the Troubies maintained their lead with answers to each. Skye Smith completed a "fake and make" eight-meter chance at 2:42 to lift SF to a 5-2 lead. Finally, Hamm netted a bar-in goal at 0:36 then assisted Abalateo for another with 12 ticks remaining. Additionally, Natalia Zitelli and Lucia Shepard posted key ground ball pickups late in the fourth, allowing St. Francis to manage the clock but also keeping the ball out of Davis' attacking third.

Freshman goalkeeper Britten Sires totaled four saves, including three after the halftime break. Miles won three of St. Francis' five draw controls, also contributing to the Troubies' ability to control possession despite the Davis comeback.

The varsity win followed an 11-0 loss for St. Francis' junior varsity, playing in its final contest of the year. Sophomore Maura McManus led the Troubies with three of her team's eight shots, while also leading the way with six ground balls and two caused turnovers.

The St. Francis jayvees finish their season at 4-10, all in league play.

Meanwhile, the Troubie varsity will continue play with the CIF-SJS playoffs running on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will take place at the higher seed, while Saturday's championship will contest at Woodcreek High.

The top three SFL teams (Del Oro, Oak Ridge, St. Francis) earn automatic berths, as do the top two Capital Valley League finishers (Bella Vista, Vista Del Lago). The next three teams as ranked on MaxPreps – Granite Bay, Davis and Folsom, entering Thursday – will earn at-large spots to fill out the eight-team bracket.

Completed brackets will be available at the section website (https://www.cifsjs.org/girls-lacrosse-d1-bracket).