ROSEVILLE, Calif. – St. Francis surrendered three straight goals early in the fourth quarter against Bella Vista, ultimately falling by a 7-5 final, in the Girls' NorCal Invite water polo tournament, hosted at Roseville Aquatic Center and Woodcreek High School Friday and Saturday.
The Troubadours went 0-4 for the tournament, falling to Los Gatos in Friday's opener, then to Lodi (4-3) and Oak Ridge (11-4) before dropping the placing game to the Broncos.
The setbacks against Oak Ridge and Bella Vista represent rematches from previous St. Francis wins. The Troubies defeated the Trojans during their September 6 opener, then took down the Broncos by 14 goals two days prior to the Woodcreek tournament.
Senior Gauri Mathrakott netted 10 of the 15 SF goals for the weekend. She had two against Los Gatos and one versus Lodi in Friday's nightcap. In Saturday's afternoon matchup with ORHS, Mathrakott hit three unanswered to get the Troubies on the board in the second quarter, then she hit two goals in each half in the finale with BV.
Goalkeeper Sophia Santsche-Chavez totaled 26 saves for the weekend, including eight stops and three steals against Bella Vista. Mathrakott scored on a rebound of a Piper Brostrom bar-out shot with 1:44 left in the first to crack the seal on the Bronco cage, then she converted an assist from Miranda Ferguson to complete a counterattack in the final seconds of that frame.
Bronco senior Esther Sullivan scored twice from set in the second quarter to put her team back on top, including one on a back-handed sweep shot with 2:14 on the halftime clock. BV's Payton Vasallo and SF's Abigail Benavidez each scored in the third quarter to keep the margin at a single goal, but the Broncos opened the fourth with three straight scores. Senior Bridgett Mutschler went back-to-back on the first two possessions, then Sullivan find some space beyond the right hand of Santsche-Chavez to extend the lead to 7-4.
Mathrakott ended the Bella Vista outburst with a back-handed goal of her own with 3:42 remaining. Setting in place of absent teammate Ava Stimson, Mathrakott collected a pass from L.K. Holliday, then fired a sweep shot into the left side of the cage. She hit her fourth goal under the two minute mark on a third-chance opportunity, bringing the score to its final 7-5 state.
Junior Havana Sperber, on loan from the SF junior varsity team, had the fourth goal on a putback midway through the third quarter of Saturday's opener against Oak Ridge. Lydia Vlahos scored one goal each against the Troubies' Friday opponents, while Benavidez hit a goal in the second quarter against LGHS.
The St. Francis varsity and junior varsity teams reunite for the annual Holy Water rivalry game with Christian Brothers. This year's edition takes place at Sacramento City College's Hoos Pool on Tuesday. Game times are 6 p.m. for varsity, 7 for JV.
