CARMICHAEL, Calif. – Senior center Ava Stimson scored six first-half goals while fellow senior Gauri Mathrakott amassed totals of five goals, five assists and six steals to lead fifth-seeded St. Francis to a 21-4 win over No. 12 seed Atwater in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls' water polo playoff first-round contest at Jesuit High Tuesday.
The Troubadours improve to 11-10 for the year, and advance to Thursday's quarterfinal game at El Capitan.
A total of nine St. Francis players scored goals, while sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Santsche-Chavez tallied five steals and seven saves in defense of the cage. Abigail Benavidez added a hat trick in the game, Miranda Ferguson chipped in another two scores, while Piper Brostrom, LK Holliday, Lydia Vlahos, Reese Hughes and Maren Foster each netted one.
The Troubadours scored six unanswered goals in the first quarter, and extended their lead to 8-0 in the opening minute of the second frame on Ashlyn Brock assists to Ferguson and Mathrakott. Ruby Bristow finally put the Falcons on the board with her goal at the 6:04 mark, only to have Stimson hit her fifth goal on the next SF trip down.
Stimson completed her double hat trick less than a minute later. Her first shot barred out, but she snared the loose ball and hit the putback to put the Troubies up by 10 at 11-1. St. Francis held a 14-2 lead at halftime, but largely shut down the offense save for Benavidez' turn at set. She fired seven shots, with Atwater goalie Sophia Lomeli stopping four. Benavidez completed her hat on a 6-on-5 chance at the three-minute mark. She drew the exclusion, then converted a Brostrom assist seconds later.
Benavidez had three assists of her won, with Brock providing four. Holliday led all Troubie field players with four steals.
El Capitan tied Buhach Colony for the best record (11-1) in the Central California Conference, only to nip the Thunder by a 9-8 final in its first-round contest. Game time in Merced is 5:30 p.m. Thursday's playoff will be the first meeting between the Troubies and Gauchos in the MaxPreps era.
