EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — Ava Stimson scored three goals while Baya McIntosh added two more, but ninth-seeded St. Francis saw its 6-5 lead slip away in the fourth quarter, falling to eighth-seeded Oak Ridge in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section girls water polo tournament Tuesday.

 

The Troubadours fell into an early 2-0 hole before Stimson put them on the board in the final minute of the first quarter. Stimson assisted LK Holliday on the equalizer at 6:43 in the second, then junior Gauri Mathrakkott assisted McIntosh and Stimson on back-to-back scores to put SFHS up by a 4-2 lead.

 

Oak Ridge stormed back to a 4-4 tie at halftime, including a full-course heave by Katherine Hampton at the buzzer. Then Trojan senior Natalie Mancinelli hit one of her game-high five goals to open the third, restoring the ORHS lead at 5-4.

 

Holliday assisted McIntosh for a goal at 4:15 in the third to tie the contest, Rachel Madden posted a field block to quell a Trojan power play on the other end, then Stimson completed her hat trick on a rebound and tap-in after Mathrakott's first shot barred out. This put St. Francis up by a 6-5 lead with 3:15 remaining.

 

However, Oak Ridge went on to score four unanswered in the finale, including Mancinelli's fifth goal on a counterattack with three minutes left. The Trojans also posted three field blocks on a single Troubie possession down the stretch to keep their three-goal lead intact.

 

The Troubadours close out their 2021 season with a 6-18 overall record.