Varsity 14, San Clemente 6

The Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse varsity — and their fans — got a case study in new lacrosse rules designed to limit rough play against in a 14-6 win over visiting San Clemente.

The rule:

Once a team receives its third card of the game the team will play shorthanded for the remainder of the game. They will lose an additional player each time another card is received.

The Mustangs seemed to be cruising to an easy victory after the first half, leading 6-1 on a three goals by Jessie Papageorge’s, two from Lizzie Moore and one from Taylor Nunez.

After intermission, the Tritons briefly awoke firing off four straight goals to cut the lead to 6-5. It soon looked grim for the Mustangs when they drew their third yellow card of the night. New rules called for Trabuco Hills to play short a player for the rest of the game.

The Mustangs scored two goals — Nunez, followed by Papageorge’s. Then, another yellow card. So the Mustangs were down two players with 12 minutes remaining. Result? six straight goals: three from Hannah Redwine, two from Moore and one from Papageorge’s. San Clemente finally scored with the man-advantage, two minutes before game’s end.

Notes: Alyssa Ransom had 10 saves for the Mustangs. … Papageorge’s scored five goals for the second consecutive game. … This was the first meeting between the two schools.

Record: 3-2

Next game: Sea View League opener, hosting Aliso Niguel.