DAVIS, Calif. – St. Francis junior defender Giada Pagano centered a pass to senior forward Micaela Romo in the 69th minute to salvage a 1-1 tie against Davis to kick off a Delta League girls' soccer tripleheader on Halden Field at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium Wednesday night.
Both the Troubadours and Blue Devils remain undefeated on the season: St. Francis moves to 10-0-3 while Davis is now 7-0-1, with matching 5-0-1 records in league play.
Impressively, Romo's goal is the first surrendered by Davis in 11 months, with the last coming in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoff loss to Oak Ridge on February 16 last season. Sophomore Audrey Aguirre scored in the 10th minute to put the Blue Devils on the board in a dominating first half. Davis had several chances early on, with SF senior Brooke Castro blocking a Kailani Compton putback in the fifth and goalkeeper Ava Hawkinson coming up with consecutive saves. The Troubies did not manage a shot for the first 39 minutes of play, when Madeline Welch had a long serve blocked well beyond the penalty box.
In the second half, St. Francis had the tailwind from the south in its favor, and controlled possession in the attacking third of the field throughout. Romo uncorked shots in the 42nd and 48th, but one missed high and left while the other was stopped by Davis freshman keeper Aubrey McLin. In the 65th, Mia Barsotti found Caitlin Hafenstein on a cross, but Hafenstein's shot also sailed over the crossbar. A minute later, Troubie sophomore Maggie Koerwitz was fouled hard about 45 yards out in the center of the field. Pagano took the free kick, but McLin was again there for the save.
Finally in the 66th, St. Francis equalized. Pagano worked the ball down the right sideline, then centered it perfectly to Romo in a crowd of three Blue Devils. The Saint Mary's College commit got her right foot squarely on the ball, and sent it in for her team-leading 10th goal of the year.
SF continued to enjoy opportunities down the stretch, with another Barsotti entry nearly finding Romo for a second score in the 71st. However, McLin corralled the pass before Romo could reach it. Junior Yasmin Azar, just 48 hours removed from her hat trick against Cosumnes Oaks, also had two shots on frame that McLin halted. Meanwhile on the defensive end, goalkeeper Isabella De La Cruz came up with a big save against a DSHS set piece. Charlotte Lee-Smith handled the free kick, and sent her serve to Aguirre, who fired at the opposite corner. But De La Cruz leapt for the stop to protect the tie.
Wednesday's matchup marked the fourth time in the last 10 meetings that the Troubies and Blue Devils have played to a draw. The two programs have 22 combined Sac-Joaquin Section titles: 14 for St. Francis and eight for Davis.
In contrast to the varsity thriller, St. Francis' two junior varsity squads each won more decisively. The older JV Gold outshot its hosts by a 30-0 margin in a 4-0 win, the team's sixth straight shutout. Then JV Red posted a 4-1 win over the Davis frosh in the nightcap.
JV Gold sophomore Sofia Rabinovitz recorded her sixth brace of the season, and her second straight. She converted an assist from Giuliana Del Guerra in the 24th minute for the game's first goal, then sent in a putback on after Camdyn Zucker's long shot was saved. Sarah Bashore and Del Guerra also scored goals: Bashore on a corner kick in the 31st to double the Troubies' lead to 2-0, and Del Guerra on another second-chance goal in the 75th.
In the JV Red game, Holland Sperber completed a hat trick, Natalie Lesnau posted two assists and Sara Ellis netted a long goal in the final minute of the first half for the four Troubie goals. Neither team managed a shot for the first 10 minutes until Sperber fired a shot through the hands of the Davis keeper. Sperber struck again in the 34th on a stolen throw-in, then Ellis turned and fired from 30 yards out seconds before the halftime whistle to give SF a 3-0 halftime edge.
While the varsity game seemed to be impacted the northerly breeze in the opener, the JV Red/frosh contest experienced stronger gusts and rainfall that largely worked in Davis' favor in the second half. Mia Nelson fired multiple shots after the break, but the headwind neutralized each attempt. Instead, it was a through ball to Sperber that put up the lone Troubie goal in the second half.
Wednesday's action also featured a rare tripleheader for St. Francis soccer, as Davis is the only other Delta League school with a frosh team – an oddity, given that DSHS is the only league school without ninth graders.
The Troubies' varsity and JV Gold teams return to action at home on Friday against Pleasant Grove. JV Red originally had a game at McClatchy that afternoon, but the contest was canceled. Instead, JV Red will next play at home against West Park on Tuesday.
