SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Yasmin Azar scored a goal off a throw-in in the 13th minute while senior Angelina Delaini posted two of her five total saves in the final three minutes of action, helping top-seeded St. Francis cling to a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Vacaville in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls' soccer semifinal at Cristo Rey High Friday night.

The Troubadours improve to 19-4-3 and earn their second straight berth in the section title game. The Bulldogs, who went undefeated in the Monticello Empire League, drop to 21-3-2 for the year.

Azar's goal came off just the third St. Francis shot of the contest. Senior Giada Pagano's throw-in found its way to Azar just beyond the penalty box. The Coastal Carolina commit then fired a low tracer that eluded VHS goalkeeper Addison Edmonds for the contest's only score.

To her credit, Edmonds had prevented a goal just one minute earlier: SF defender Sarah Bashore sent a well-placed ball up to Sofia Rabinovitz, but the senior All-MEL honorable mention keeper swooped in to intercept the pass before the Troubie striker could find a shot. Edmonds continued to post five saves across the next 40 minutes into the second half before her Bulldog teammates wrestled control of the game.

The Troubies had a near miss in the 50th, when Delaini got just enough of a Samantha MacNiven shot to salvage a corner kick; and in the 55th, when Bashore came up with a big defensive stop on a Bulldog counterattack. With St. Francis still retreating after a corner kick of its own, Vacaville had a breakaway along the left side of the field toward the Troubie goal. Bashore stepped in to clear the ball from senior forward Sinead Purcell.

That play began a long race to the finish line for St. Francis, which was outshot by a 5-1 margin during the final 25 minutes while also earning two yellow cards. Delaini charged from the goal box for a takeway in the 75th minute, then halted shots by Mia Griego and Sophia Franzoni in the 77th to prevent an equalizer. The Troubies fought to maintain possession for the final three minutes plus two minutes of extra time in preserving the victory.

The SJS Division II girls' championship takes place at noon at Cosumnes River College, with St. Francis taking on the winner of the Rocklin-Granite Bay matchup in the opposite semifinal. This is effectively the Troubies' fourth trip to the title game in the past five tourneys. They won the championship in 2020 while placing second in the section in both 2019 and 2023. There were no SJS playoffs in 2021 or 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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