SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Yasmin Azar scored a hat trick with fellow senior Mia Barsotti assisting on two of the three goals as top-seeded St. Francis dispatched eighth-seeded Casa Grande, 4-0, in the first round of the NorCal Region Division II girls' soccer championship tournament at ARC Soccer Stadium Tuesday night.

The Troubadours improve to 21-4-3 for the season, and advance to the tournament semifinal round. The Gauchos finish their season at 18-3-1.

Azar scored her first goal in the final minute of the first half, sending back a goal kick that glanced off the fingers of a leaping CGHS goalkeeper Abby Harvey. Barsotti then set up Azar for goals in the 52nd and 57th minutes, the first of which came at the end of a long run. She weaved past three defenders, then delivered an entry pass up to Azar in the middle of the box.

Sophomore Miley Blough added a fourth goal in the 68th, converting a cross from Tacori Abril along the right flank.

In the meantime, senior Angelina Delaini posted five saves for her second consecutive postseason shutout. However, the defensive plays of the game arguably belonged to Estella Bacsafra, who ran down Gaucho sophomore Bailey Guerrero to prevent a shot in the 44th, then came up with a similar stop to protect an empty net in the 58th. Guerrero, who had two other shots saved by Delaini, led Casa Grande with 18 goals for the year.

Azar's goals marked her 18th, 19th and 20th on the year, while Barsotti's dimes raised her total to a team-leading 11. Blough's goal was her fourth in 2023-24, and finished Abril's first assist of the season.

St. Francis will now host No. 5 seed Homestead, which beat No. 4 Chico by a similar 4-0 final. The game is tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday at ARC, but could move up in the afternoon to minimize the impact of the expected weather on that night.

The Troubadours seek their second NorCal title in history. They won the championship in their first tourney appearance back in 2019.