SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis varsity claimed a decisive 13-2 victory in the opener while junior varsity held on to an 8-7 win in the nightcap, as the Troubadours swept Christian Brothers in the annual Holy Water rivalry water polo game, held at Sacramento City College's Hoos Pool Tuesday night.
The Troubies snap a four-game losing streak to improve to 3-5 overall. Meanwhile, JV picks up its second win over the Falcons this season, following a 7-6 sudden victory at the Granite Bay Jamboree tournament just 10 days earlier. The younger Troubies improve to 6-5 for the year.
Junior Havana Sperber scored three goals in the first quarter and one in the second to lead the SFHS jayvees offensively. Addison Hutchcraft and Mary Margaret Ferrara also netted two goals each. The contest was tied five times, including as late as 6-6 in the final minute before halftime. The Troubies defended against a 6-on-5 chance to remain knotted up into the break, then enjoyed goals from Ferrara and Hutchcraft at the 3:57 and 1:50 marks in the third quarter, respectively.
The St. Francis varsity locked down the goal for three full quarters to take a 10-0 lead in the first 21 minutes of play. Goalie Sophia Santsche-Chavez tallied six saves in her work protecting the Troubie net, while seniors Ava Stimson and Gauri Mathrakott posted goals totals of six and four, respectively. Mathrakott also led SF with six steals and six assists.
Lydia Vlahos, LK Holliday and Piper Brostrom rounded out the Troubie scoring with a goal each, with Brostrom providing another four steals to ignite the counterattack.
The SFHS varsity takes on Woodcreek, Lodi, Del Campo and El Camino at the fifth-annual Grizzly Classic this weekend. Oddly, all four games are held at American River College, the Troubadours' practice venue. The first game begins at 2:45 p.m. on Friday.
