Varsity 8, Redondo Union 4 (LA/OC)

Trabuco Hills Girls Varsity Lacrosse played their final game of Saturday’s LA/OC Shootout against the Redondo Union Sea Hawks.

The Sea Hawks came out fast and took advantage of a flat Mustang squad scoring early to go up 1-0. The Mustangs slowly began to work into a rhythm passing their way up the field. Madison Dumond fired across goal pass to Kendall Derbyshire, who rifled a shot past the Sea Hawk goalie. The Sea Hawks attacked the Mustang defense scoring again to take the lead. Strong defensive performances from Hannah Moller, Shelby Siano and Becca Haggard brought the ball back to Madision Dumond. Dumond worked the ball to an opportunistic Melanie Leong who scored to tie the game at 2-2. Still struggling to find their place the Mustangs left the half down 3-2.

The Mustangs came back to life in the second half and suddenly found their spark. They scored back-to-back goals to take the lead for the first time, only to see it quickly tied by the Sea Hawks. Kendall Derbyshire led the Mustangs back into the lead, but the Sea Hawks quickly threatened again. Jackie Huse challenged a Sea Hawk attacker and came through with a takeaway. She sprinted upfield feeding the ball to Melanie Leong who passed the ball in stride to Taylor Fox. Fox scored on a corner shot to put the Mustangs up 6-4. Cyrena Malkowski shined in goal with 3 free position saves to bolster the swarming Mustang defense.

The Mustang’s finished off the Sea Hawks with a Madison Dumond goal, winning 8-4. They played nearly a flawless second half scoring 6 goals to the Sea Hawks 1.

Goal scorers of the game were: Kendall Derbyshire (3), Melanie Leong (2), Taylor Fox (1), Jenelle Phillips (1) and Madison Dumond (1).

The Mustangs finished the LA/OC Shootout with a 2-1 record. They are starting to separate themselves from opponents by an aggressive defense that is capitalizing by winning the game in the middle of the field. Throughout the tournament they led each game in ground balls and takeaways.

Next up for the 6-1 Varsity is the Mustangs’ South Coast League opener, hosting San Clemente Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Note that Orange County girls lacrosse kept its title as champion of the LA/OC Shootout at Laguna Hills on Saturday. The 4th annual lacrosse tournament features Orange County teams facing off against out-of-county squads in a battle for regional supremacy. This year, Orange County teams won 11 times vs. opponents from Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Teams representing LA won nine times vs. their Shootout foes.

Shootout results:

OC winners …

• Trabuco Hills beat Redondo, 8-4, and Mira Costa, 13-1.
• Host Laguna Hills beat Mira Costa, 11-10, and Glendale, 16-6.
• San Clemente beat Downey, 13-6, and Peninsula, 16-4.
• El Dorado beat Peninsula, 10-8.
• El Toro beat Thacher, 19-10.
• Sage Hill beat La Canada, 14-2.
• San Juan Hills beat La Canada, 13-11.
• St. Margaret’s beat Thacher, 16-9.

LA winners …

• Downey beat Sage Hill, 9-7, and San Juan Hills, 7-4.
• Glendale beat Dana Hills, 6-4, and El Dorado, 9-6.
• Oak Park beat El Toro, 18-3, and Mission Viejo, 19-10.
• Temecula Valley beat Mission Viejo, 15-12, and St Margaret’s, 9-5.
• Redondo beat Dana Hills, 10-7.

“Wild card” …

•  St. John’s (Texas) beat Redondo, 16-0, and Trabuco Hills, 15-3.