LOOMIS, Calif. – Junior goalkeeper Sophia Santsche-Chavez logged 16 saves but St. Francis shot just 2-for-19 offensively in falling, 7-2, to Del Oro in the varsity half of a girls' prep water polo game at Del Oro Tuesday. The Troubadours also dropped their junior varsity matchup in a 9-5 setback to the Golden Eagles in the opener.
SF varsity slips to 9-6 for the year, while the jayvees move to 5-12 overall.
Junior center-defender Abigail Benavidez netted goals in the first and third quarters for the only Troubie scoring, but Santsche-Chavez continued to make her case as one of the top goalies in the Sac-Joaquin Section with 16 stops. Tuesday's game represents her 12th game with double-digit saves, and her fifth with 15 or more. Santsche-Chavez now has 193 saves against 97 goals for the year for a .665 average.
The game also pushed Santsche-Chavez over the triple-century barrier for a career: 314 saves with 222 goals allowed in two seasons. No official record book exists for St. Francis, as stats only date back a decade on MaxPreps. However, the most in that span for a season is 193, first set by Claire McManus in 2019; while the only other Troubie to crack 300 in a career during this era is current assistant coach Kate Watley, who blocked 308 shots in her career from 2016 to 2018.
In the JV opener, Frannie Wells scored three goals and Sara Ellis added two, with that sophomore duo accounting for 10 of their team's 13 total shots. Freshman netminder Jayel Miller posted 11 saves against the nine goals.
After 32 combined games on the road in 2023, the St. Francis varsity and JV finally compete in a home game this Thursday when they host McClatchy for a doubleheader at Jesuit High. Game times are 7 p.m for varsity followed by JV at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through Jesuit's GoFan, as the two games follow a Marauder doubleheader with Rocklin: https://gofan.co/event/1043769?schoolId=CA8032.
