SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior Giuliana Del Guerra put the finishing touch on a pass from fellow 12th-grader Estella Bacsafra in the 39th minute for the lone goal in St. Francis' 1-0 victory over River City in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls' soccer first-round playoff at Cristo Rey's Adamson Family Sports Complex Tuesday afternoon.
The Troubadours, seeded fourth in the SJS bracket, improves to 14-5-4 for the year. The 13th-seeded Raiders finish their season at 11-7-2.
Bacsafra, who formed the St. Francis backline along with seniors Maggie Koerwitz and Sarah Bashore, gained possession in the midfield, then lofted a ball to the feet of Del Guerra just outside of the goal box. In turn, Del Guerra slipped between RC defenders Rylee Carter and Joshlynn Drake, then knocked in the pass left-footed into the net with about 70 seconds remaining on the first-half clock.
The goal represented Del Guerra's second shot on frame, as Raider goalkeeper Serenity Younce came up with a spectacular save against the Troubie striker in the 25th. In fact, St. Francis had a couple of near misses early in the first: Sofia Rabinovitz' header of a Jada Dwyre throw-in caromed off the crossbar in the seventh minute. In the 29th, Holland Sperber drew a foul along the right side well beyond the box, but Younce managed to deflect a Miley Blough kick over the top for the third of her six first-half saves.
A set piece also gave River City its best chance to score, when Kaylen Crim drew a foul just above the 18 in the 21st. Senior defender Logan Bays sent her shot beyond the outstretched hands of SF keeper Mia Rabinovitz, but the ball caught enough of the cage to bounce outward, then Jocelyn Jimenez' follow-up shot sailed high of its target.
St. Francis outshot its guest by a 15-1 margin in the second half but did not add to its lead. Meanwhile, Crim enjoyed several chances to threaten the Troubie cage, but a Koerwitz tackle in the 53rd prevented one such opportunity, while a sliding Mia Rabinovitz save halted a shot on goal in the 56th.
Meanwhile, Younce piled up four more saves in the second half, including one on a Marissa Ow header in the 71st. Blough charged in for the potential putback, but Younce corralled the loose ball in time. RC's Reese Castro also posted a key block against Blough in the 75th to keep her team within the one-goal deficit.
The Troubie defense held the Raiders to just six total shots, with Mia Rabinovitz earning saves on the Crim attempt in the second half plus Madilyn Ornelas' strike in the sixth.
UPDATE: St. Francis will host No. 12 Pleasant Grove on Thursday at CRHSS... The Eagles upset the Blue Devils in the opposite first-round game to the Troubies-Raiders contest... Game time will be 3 p.m., tickets are available exclusively through GoFan.
