SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore Frannie Wells scored a total of 10 goals while Jayel Miller amassed 24 saves, including 12 against Christian Brothers, as St. Francis junior varsity finished fourth at McClatchy's CKM Opener girls' water polo tournament Saturday.
The Troubadours opened the day with a 7-3 win over their Holy Water rival Falcons, lost to McClatchy's White squad by a 12-6 final in the semifinal, then dropped a 9-4 decision against Rio Americano in the third-place game.
Wells had a hat trick in each of the three games: three against CB, four plus an assist against the Lions, then another three in the finale with the Raiders. Sophomore Sara Ellis netted the other four goals in the opener, plus she assisted Wells' third goal against CKM. Ava Jack hit a goal in each of the latter two contests, while Charlotte Krause scored on Wells' assist against the tourney host.
Miller held CB scoreless for the first nine minutes of play before Dakota Schlitz put her team on the board with 1:28 left in the second quarter. The Troubies held a 2-1 lead at the break, with Ellis scoring on a putback late in the first quarter, then drawing an exclusion and converting the power play a minute into the second. SF pulled away in the third, with Ellis scoring on two counterattacks to extend the margin to 5-2. Wells then scored twice within a span of 21 seconds to keep the Troubies in front.
Saturday morning's win serves as an impromptu preview of the much-awaited Holy Water rivalry game with CB, which takes place at Sacramento City College on October 5.
St. Francis never recovered from an early 4-0 deficit against McClatchy, finally getting on the board when Rose Haag fed Jack for a goal with 1:04 before the halftime break. Wells hit her first goal with 34 ticks left but the Troubies went into the halftime trailing, 6-2. The Lions took advantage of four transitions and a 6-on-5 opportunity in the second half to advance to the tourney title game against CKM's Red squad.
Meanwhile, the Troubies took on Rio in the third-place game, turning a 2-0 hole into a 4-2 lead before surrendering seven unanswered across the last eight minutes of the game. Jack was the first to score for SF, sending a short lob over the Raider goalie's hands, then Krause assisted Wells on a goal with 0:45 left to equalize.
Wells and Jack combined to claim a 4-2 lead within the first two minutes after the break. Wells had her first shot saved but connected on the rebound at the 3:47 mark. Then on the next SF possession, Jack drew a Rio exclusion, then sent the ball to Wells to finish the power play. Unfortunately, Rio scored five straight in the next 2:24 to reclaim a 7-4 lead, then added two more goals in the fourth to seal the win.
Miller had six saves each against CKM and Rio, including a stop against a five-meter penalty shot in the first quarter against the Raiders.
Saturday's event was the first of two single-day tournaments at McClatchy, with the CKM JV Scramble scheduled for October 14. The two St. Francis water polo teams return to action on Tuesday at Granite Bay. Varsity opens at 6 p.m. with JV following an hour later.
