RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – Senior Jane Tattersall scored five goals with four assists for nine total points, sophomore Keira Miles added another four goals, and senior Brynley Hodge helped St. Francis dominate the draw with nine controls in a 16-3 win over Vista Del Lago in the varsity nightcap of a Delta League girls' lacrosse doubleheader at Mather Sports Complex Wednesday night.
The Troubadours finish their regular season with a 9-3 record and, perhaps more importantly, wrap the Delta League slate with a 5-1 mark. With Vista and Davis already having two losses on each of their league records, Wednesday's victory clinched the program's sixth all-time league title and the first since 2022. St. Francis previously won championships in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, when the program played in the Sacramento Valley Lacrosse Conference, plus a share of the 2022 Delta League crown.
Furthermore, the team honored five graduates-to-be in a ceremony prior to the game: Hodge, Tattersall, Elizabeth Barger, Brianna McGahan and May Conlin.
Junior attacker Karly Okamoto chipped in two goals and a game-high five assists, including all three of her team's 3-0 start. Hodge provided two goals and two assists in addition to her work around the center circle. Barger, Sara Ellis and Zia Smith also scored one goal apiece. Hodge, McGahan and junior Cami Zucker each finished with two caused turnovers.
Okamoto fed Barger on the game's first goal just 57 seconds in, then set up Hodge for back-to-back in the fourth and fifth minutes, respectively. The SF lead swelled to 6-1 by the end of the first quarter, with Miles scoring twice and assisting Tattersall. Junior Olivia Hamm contributed to that outburst when she stole a Vista clear attempt in the eighth minute.
A Zucker steal led directly to a long Okamoto drive with 9:49 left in the second, helped by an Eagle yellow card about 75 seconds prior. Tattersall scored twice down the stretch to extend the lead to 9-1 at the halftime break. The Winthrop commit then assisted Miles in the 27th minute, converted an eight-meter chance in the 29th, and finished an Okamoto feed with just 12 seconds left in the frame for her fifth goal.
The Troubadours emphasized ball control throughout the second half, with Vista only managing three shots in the half. Hodge assisted Ellis less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Tattersall set up Smith for another at 7:28, then Okamoto drew a shooting space foul with three minutes left.
The margin of victory stands in contrast to the 10-9 thriller in Folsom less than two weeks earlier, with the Troubies' play on the draw largely keeping possession from the Eagles. Besides Hodge's nine, Smith won three more DCs, with Barger and Miles coming up with one more each for 14 total.
The varsity win followed the season finale for St. Francis junior varsity, which lost to the Eagles by a 16-4 final. Sophomore Nevaeh Gavino scored all four Troubie goals while also leading the way with five ground balls. Gavino finished the season with a team-leading 13 goals.
St. Francis now heads into the inaugural Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, ranking third in the area by MaxPreps behind only Oak Ridge and Granite Bay. Teams in the Sacramento area previously competed as part of the North Coast Section, but a sufficient number of schools now sponsor the sport to warrant a championship in the SJS. Eight teams – three from the Delta League, three from the Sierra Foothill League and two from the Foothill Valley League – will fill out the eight-team tourney. Games are on April 30 and May 2, with the section championship held on Saturday, May 4 at Christian Brothers.
