ELK GROVE, Calif. – Junior Caitlin Hafenstein scored a brace while senior Micaela Romo posted three total points in a 6-0 varsity win in the opener, then Giuliana Del Guerra notched a pair of goals in the 8-0 junior varsity nightcap, as St. Francis dominated Sheldon in a road Delta League girls' soccer matchup at Sheldon-Pleasant Grove Stadium Friday.
Adding the Troubadours' JV Red squad's 4-0 win at Rocklin, the three levels of St. Francis soccer swept their respective opponents by a combined score of 18-0 for the day.
St. Francis varsity, ranked eighth nationally by the United Soccer Coaches, improves to 8-0-2 for the year. Each Troubadour JV team extends its respective unbeaten streak to six games, with Gold moving to 9-1 and Red at 6-2-2.
In the varsity opener, Hafenstein scored both of her goals on second-chance opportunities. The first came moments after the opening kickoff, when Mia Barsotti's first shot was halted by the Husky goalkeeper. Hafenstein pounced on the loose ball in the box and sent it in for the score. Some 17 minutes later, she scored again in similar fashion, this time in the wake of a saved attempt from Jaycee DeFazio.
Barsotti managed a goal of her own in the 25th minute to extend the Troubie lead to 3-0, then Maggie Koerwitz made it 4-0 on her header from a Romo corner kick in the 29th. Romo followed with her own goal, thanks to a through ball from Yasmin Azar in the 34th.
St. Francis held a 5-0 lead at halftime, having outshot its host by an 18-1 margin to that point. The Troubies resolved to only shoot in the second half on set pieces. Such an opportunity came forth in the 49th minute. Romo handled the corner-kick duties, sending a high ball into the box. Tacori Abril had the first attempt to head the ball in, but elevated perhaps a split-second late. Instead, Romo's serve found DeFazio, positioned behind Abril. The Cal Poly-bound senior tapped in the shot for the game's sixth goal.
The Troubies only allowed four shots from Sheldon, two in each half and both stopped by goalkeepers Ava Hawkinson and Isabella De La Cruz.
JV Gold spun the soccer equivalent of a perfect game, not allowing a single Sheldon shot throughout the match. The Troubies outshot its host by a 31-0 margin in the first half, but oddly did not break the seal on the cage until their 17th attempt. Camdyn Zucker played up a ball up to Madeline Squaglia, who broke up the scoreless game in the 16th.
This began an outburst of five more goals during the next 15 minutes of action: Zucker in the 20th, Giuliana Del Guerra in the 26th, Angelina Chavez in the 28th, Del Guerra again in the 30th, then Miley Blough in the 31st. St. Francis called off all shots save for one exception: goalkeeper Angelina Delaini, who entered the game in a field kit after Blough's score. Delaini netted her first goal on an assist from Sarah Bashore in the final seconds before halftime, bumping the SF lead to 7-0.
Junior Maggie Buffleben, who assumed goalkeeper duties in the first half, then got to don a field jersey in the second while Delaini took on minding the net. Buffleben attempted four shots but did not score. Save for a Jada Dwyre drive in the 58th minute, St. Francis mostly opted to limit its shots to headers.
Zucker and Chavez each finished with two assists, while Bashore, Carly Hall and Sofia Rabinovitz had one apiece.
Meanwhile, JV Red headed to Rocklin for a game during the varsity tilt in Elk Grove. Similar to their older sisters, the Troubies built a dominant halftime lead, then called off the dogs in the second half. Gianna Aragon broke open the scoring on a free kick in the eighth minute, and Katherine Gorman netted her first SF goal in the 26th off a deflected corner kick. Sara Ellis assisted Holland Sperber (27') and Aubrey Lesnau (39') as part of that four-goal outburst.
St. Francis varsity and JV Gold will host Elk Grove on Thursday (rescheduled from its original January 13 date), while JV Red returns to action at West Park on Tuesday.
