Posted: Apr 10, 2024
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – Junior Olivia Hamm posted career highs of three goals and three assists while senior Jane Tattersall also chipped in a hat trick, leading St. Francis to a 12-8 win over Davis in Delta League varsity girls' lacrosse action at Mather Sports Complex Wednesday night.
The victory marks the first Troubadour action in almost three full weeks, improving their overall record to 6-2 and their league record to 1-0. Furthermore, it represents just the second SF win over the Blue Devils in the head-to-head series in more than a decade, and the program's largest margin of victory over Davis since a 15-10 victory back on March 21, 2013.
Hamm, who had just two previous goals to her credit on the varsity squad, put her team on the board less than two minutes into the contest, converted an assist from Karly Okamoto in the final seconds of the second quarter, then completed her hat trick on a pass from Brianna McGahan with 28 ticks remaining in the third. She also assisted Brynley Hodge, Keira Miles and Zia Smith in the second, third and fourth frames, respectively.
Hamm nearly scored a fourth goal soon after her assist to Hodge in the 20th minute, but the shot missed high, glancing off the crossbar. She more than made up for that miss – her only of the game – by rebounding a missed shot for one of her three ground balls in the game. Hamm's pickup led to a sweet Okamoto crease roll with 1:30 left before the halftime break.
Tattersall piled up all of three of her goals within a span of eight minutes in the first half, with the third coming under relatively frightening circumstances. While driving through the fan, Davis' Katie McMullen attempted to check the stick of the Winthrop commit. Instead, Tattersall ended up getting clotheslined by her friend's left wrist, falling hard to the turf. McMullen earned a yellow card for a dangerous play, and Tattersall went to the hashmark for an eight-meter attempt. The Troubie senior converted the shot, giving her team a 5-4 lead with 5:02 left in the half.
St. Francis, which had fallen to a 3-1 hole in the first eight minutes, never trailed after Tattersall's successful free position. Hamm's goal to end the second gave the Troubies an 8-5 lead at the break. Sophomore Keira Miles scored twice in the third to help extend that margin, first converting the Hamm pass in the 25th minute, then playing through a slow whistle for another score with 3:27 left.
Meanwhile, the Troubadour defense contained the Blue Devil offense down the stretch. Elizabeth Barger had one of her team-leading four ground balls to set up the McGahan-Hamm connection in the third. May Conlin and Sara Ellis sealed off potential drives while notching caused turnovers on their stat lines. Freshman Jayel Miller came up with nine total saves, including back-to-back against McMullen and Olivia Ayson early in the second quarter.
Hamm's career night did come with some precedent: she scored 38 goals in just eight JV games as a freshman. Perhaps coincidentally, her highest single-game total as a jayvee was eight goals – against Davis on March 30, 2022.
The varsity win followed a 9-3 loss for St. Francis' jayvees. Freshman Lizzie David scored twice while sophomore Nevaeh Gavino accounted for the third goal in the setback.
St. Francis lacrosse last competed on March 20 in the road doubleheader at Rio Americano. The varsity Troubies previously had a game scheduled on April 5 during the school's spring break, but that game was canceled. Wednesday's contest also marked the team's return to Mather Sports Complex. Normally the program's home facility, Mather had not been available for previous games, necessitating the move of the March 9 "home" game to Bella Vista.
The victory marks the first Troubadour action in almost three full weeks, improving their overall record to 6-2 and their league record to 1-0. Furthermore, it represents just the second SF win over the Blue Devils in the head-to-head series in more than a decade, and the program's largest margin of victory over Davis since a 15-10 victory back on March 21, 2013.
Hamm, who had just two previous goals to her credit on the varsity squad, put her team on the board less than two minutes into the contest, converted an assist from Karly Okamoto in the final seconds of the second quarter, then completed her hat trick on a pass from Brianna McGahan with 28 ticks remaining in the third. She also assisted Brynley Hodge, Keira Miles and Zia Smith in the second, third and fourth frames, respectively.
Hamm nearly scored a fourth goal soon after her assist to Hodge in the 20th minute, but the shot missed high, glancing off the crossbar. She more than made up for that miss – her only of the game – by rebounding a missed shot for one of her three ground balls in the game. Hamm's pickup led to a sweet Okamoto crease roll with 1:30 left before the halftime break.
Tattersall piled up all of three of her goals within a span of eight minutes in the first half, with the third coming under relatively frightening circumstances. While driving through the fan, Davis' Katie McMullen attempted to check the stick of the Winthrop commit. Instead, Tattersall ended up getting clotheslined by her friend's left wrist, falling hard to the turf. McMullen earned a yellow card for a dangerous play, and Tattersall went to the hashmark for an eight-meter attempt. The Troubie senior converted the shot, giving her team a 5-4 lead with 5:02 left in the half.
St. Francis, which had fallen to a 3-1 hole in the first eight minutes, never trailed after Tattersall's successful free position. Hamm's goal to end the second gave the Troubies an 8-5 lead at the break. Sophomore Keira Miles scored twice in the third to help extend that margin, first converting the Hamm pass in the 25th minute, then playing through a slow whistle for another score with 3:27 left.
Meanwhile, the Troubadour defense contained the Blue Devil offense down the stretch. Elizabeth Barger had one of her team-leading four ground balls to set up the McGahan-Hamm connection in the third. May Conlin and Sara Ellis sealed off potential drives while notching caused turnovers on their stat lines. Freshman Jayel Miller came up with nine total saves, including back-to-back against McMullen and Olivia Ayson early in the second quarter.
Hamm's career night did come with some precedent: she scored 38 goals in just eight JV games as a freshman. Perhaps coincidentally, her highest single-game total as a jayvee was eight goals – against Davis on March 30, 2022.
The varsity win followed a 9-3 loss for St. Francis' jayvees. Freshman Lizzie David scored twice while sophomore Nevaeh Gavino accounted for the third goal in the setback.
St. Francis lacrosse last competed on March 20 in the road doubleheader at Rio Americano. The varsity Troubies previously had a game scheduled on April 5 during the school's spring break, but that game was canceled. Wednesday's contest also marked the team's return to Mather Sports Complex. Normally the program's home facility, Mather had not been available for previous games, necessitating the move of the March 9 "home" game to Bella Vista.
Both Troubie squads return to action at Vista Del Lago, an associate member of the Delta League for girls' lacrosse, on Friday night at 5:30 and 7 p.m.
