Varsity 18, San Clemente 8

The first 10 minutes of the Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity’s Sea View League game at San Clemente Tuesday was hardly an indicator of things to come. Choppy play and an uneven flow resulted in the teams trading goals, with Jenelle Phillips and Madison DuMond each scoring for the Mustangs. With the score tied at 2, Trabuco Hills started to find their rhythm.

Becca Haggard received a beautiful break-out pass from DuMond and beat the Triton goal keeper. That was followed by a goal from right in front of the crease by Megan McIntyre. Off of the following draw, Niki Neely was cross-checked to the ground, sustaining a minor injury to her knee, but play continued and San Clemente was able to close the gap to 1 in an outnumbered attack. However, Hope Dodd took the ball off of the next draw and beat all of the Triton defenders down the field to stretch the advantage back to 2. Soon after, Hannah Redwine was able to work her way free in front of the Triton net to make it 6-3. San Clemente then struck late in the half to make it 6-4 at the break.

As the 2nd half opened, the game all of a sudden looked effortless by the Mustangs.

Phillips netted her 2nd goal off of the opening draw, the Haggard scored her 2nd off of a spectacular pass over the top from Melanie Leong. It was then Leong’s turn to be the goal scorer when Jackie Huse spotted her from behind the net, and Trabuco Hills had a 9-4 lead with less than one minute expired in the half. The momentum continued with goals by Huse and Phillips (her 3rd), then Leong was able to score from her knees after DuMond delivered a pass through traffic. Haggard found McIntyre in front of the net and the Mustangs had scored 7 unanswered goals to open the 2nd half of play. The defense by Trabuco Hills was patient and efficient, with no one really standing out in this effort but excelling in true team fashion. DuMond seemed to get to just about every ground ball, and Huse was active throughout the midfield.

As the Tritons tried to battle back, the Mustangs became content to simply trade goals, McIntyre tallying her 3rd and Becca Ransom, with a rare offensive opportunity, took full advantage and buried a shot behind the San Clemente keeper. Dodd and Huse would each score again, and a nice pass from Alex Miller to Taylor Fox would round out the scoring as the Mustangs cruised to a much-needed 18-8 victory. A great start — the biggest offensive explosion of the season — to the final week of the regular season; with US Lacrosse Orange County playoff seedings being announced on Saturday, each game is important for the Mustangs to ensure their place in the mix.

Record: 10-4-2, 5-2 South Coast

Next game: Host Tesoro Thursday.