SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The No. 2 seeded St. Francis water polo team posted a 13-6 win over No. 7 Oak Ridge on Thursday to advance to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals on Nov. 12.
"We really came together in the second half as a team," said junior Libby Slater. "We rallied together and we feel really great advancing to the semifinals."
Slater led the team with four goals, while senior Kendall Houck had three goals and five assists. Senior Caroline Wilkins added three goals and junior Zoe Sloat had two scores in the winning effort.
Oak Ridge scored the first goal of the game and the teams were tied at 1 after the first period. The Trojans again look a 2-1 lead before the Troubadours got settled on offense. Houck scored back-to-back goals to take t the lead back and Wilkins added a goal off an assist from Houck for a 4-2 lead.
SF took a 4-3 lead into halftime and was able to break out with four goals in the third and five in the fourth to break open the game.
"We were able to shut them down for a while and the defense leads to offense," said Slater.
The Trojans cut the lead to 5-4 in the third before SF out-scored them 8-2 over the rest of the contest.
"Our team is ready to go for it and play for a spot in the finals," said Houck.
Top seed Davis was an 18-4 winner over Lodi and will play Woodcreek in the first semifinal on Tuesday. St. Francis will play Granite Bay at 3:15 p.m. at Johansen HS.
Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Quarterfinal Results
No. 1 Davis 18, Lodi 4
No. 2 St. Francis 13, Oak Ridge 6
No. 3 Granite Bay 7, No. 6 Turlock 0
No. 4 Woodcreek 3, Lincoln-S 1
Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Semifinal Schedule
No. 1 Davis vs. No. 4 Woodcreek, 2:00 p.m.
No. 2 St. Francis vs. No. 3 Granite Bay, 3:15 p.m.
