SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Kate Killer, junior Jaycee DeFazio and sophomores Audrey Shackelford and Yasmin Azar each scored goals as St. Francis secured a 4-1 win over Monterey Trail in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls' soccer championship tournament at Cristo Rey High Friday night.
The third-seeded Troubadours improve to 15-4-3 for the year. The Mustangs wrap their season at 16-7-3.
Killer put her team on the board just 12 minutes into the contest, blasting a high ball from 30 yards over the head of MT goalkeeper Avah Casarez but under the crossbar for the score. DeFazio doubled the lead to 2-0, fielding a cross from defender Kenna DeLemos then glancing a shot off of Casarez' hands into the right side of the net.
Although high-scoring forward Tiana Johnson sent numerous shots toward the SF cage, it was sophomore Litzy Aguilar who scored Monterey Trail's lone goal. In the 51st, MT drew a yellow card and Aguilar fired in the ensuing free kick from nearly 40 yards out along the right edge.
Azar contributed on both goals in the final 10 minutes to seal the game: she played a perfect cross to Shackelford in front of the Mustang cage in the 71st, then scored on a rebound of an Ella Crisologo shot off the crossbar. Azar headed the ball into the net on the fly before the MTHS defense could recover.
Friday's game marked Killer's first game back in almost a full month. The future UC Santa Barbara Gaucho last played agianst Franklin on January 13.
The Troubadours, in search of their 15th all-time section title and their second straight, will face 11th-seeded Lincoln on Wednesday, also at Cristo Rey. The Trojans (16-7) upset No. 6 Enochs in a shootout Friday night.
All four of the draw's top seeds advanced to the quarterfinal round. Besides St. Francis' win, top-seeded Oak Ridge shut out Stagg, 9-0; No. 2 McClatchy blanked Edison, 6-0, and No. 4 Folsom claimed a 3-1 victory from Franklin.
