SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior Tacori Abril and senior Micaela Romo each scored twice to lead St. Francis to a 4-0 win over Elk Grove in the varsity opener of a Delta League girls' soccer doubleheader at Cristo Rey High Thursday evening. The varsity victory was then followed by an 8-0 shutout by the Troubadours' Junior Varsity Gold in the nightcap.
St. Francis, ranked No. 8 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches, remains undefeated at 9-0-2. The JV Gold improves to 10-1, with both teams going to 4-0 in league play. Thursday's action also marked the first home game since December 14 for each Troubie squad.
Abril completed her brace before the halftime break, helping SF craft a 3-0 lead. She hit the opener on a pass deflection from Mia Barsotti in the 10th minute, then scored her second goal on a putback of a Jianna Reyes attempt in the 34th. The Thundering Herd keeper halted Reyes' shot, but her save caromed to the top of the box to Abril.
Romo scored her goals in each period. She doubled the Troubies' lead in the 28th, collecting a pass from Elise Thomas, then driving up the right side of the field. Romo then netted her second in unusual fashion: as an Elk Grove defender attempted to pass the ball to her keeper, the Saint Mary's College commit sprinted in, intercepted the pass, then had a point-blank attempt on the Herd net.
Abril's goals mark her first since she scored in three consecutive games during the Rocklin-Whitney tournament in early December. Romo raised her season total to seven, just one behind Caitlin Hafenstein for the team lead.
In the JV nightcap, Sofia Rabinovitz, Miley Blough and Angelina Chavez each scored twice in the 8-0 win, with Blough adding three assists for five total points. The Troubies stormed to a 5-0 lead in just the first 18 minutes of play before easing up on the offensive throttle for the remainder of the game. Rabinovitz scored hers back-to-back in the 16th and 18th, both from feeds from Blough. Blough netted her first goal after a corner kick. She sent the ball into the mixer, then got it back along the right side on a kickout from Jada Dwyre. Despite the tough angle, Blough found the back of the net.
Blough then completed her brace with one of the only Troubie shots in the second half. The team opted to attempt shots only on set pieces after the break, and Blough had just such an opportunity in the 54th. She played a free kick from some 40 yards over the top but under the crossbar. Blough and Rabinovitz share the JV Gold goals lead with 12 apiece, while Blough's three assists now puts her in a tie with Chavez with seven.
For her part, Chavez had both of her goals in the first half, including one from more than 25 yards out in the 26th. Giuliana Del Guerra and Madeline Squaglia accounted for the two remaining goals, also part of the 7-0 lead in the first half.
Both teams return to action on Monday against Cosumnes Oaks in a home meeting originally scheduled for January 4. This kicks off a busy week: a road tripleheader with JV Red at Davis on Wednesday followed by a visit from Pleasant Grove on Friday.
