Varsity 16, El Toro 5

The mood was relaxed as the Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity and El Toro’s Chargers warmed up for their early season contest. With the sun reflecting off the visitor’s stands in El Toro’s shiny new stadium, the visitors looked focused in hopes of getting off to a fast start Thursday night.

And, true to form, Trabuco Hills jumped out to a 5-0 lead just eight minutes into the contest. Jenelle Phillips’ quick moves and stick skills were on display, netting four of the first five goals through sheer effort. Juliet Mooney scored the other early goal off a feed from Kendall Derbyshire.

After a timeout to regroup, El Toro got serious … and more physical. They weren’t going to go down without a fight. Their defense tightened and bodies started bumping as play got a little “chippy” midway through the first half. After drawing a yellow card for slashing, El Toro broke through at the 13-minute mark, winning a scramble in front of the net following a save by Erin Beall.

At that point, the Mustang defense responded, shutting down El Toro for the rest of the half. Beall made four saves (seven for the game) and all 11 field players applied end-to-end pressure. The effort resulted in seven first-half takeaways (12 for the game), led by Madi DuMond (5), Becca Haggard (3), Kody Shelton and Shannon Smith, and four more first half goals as Haggard, Ashley Murillo and Derbyshire added to the scoring blitz.

The physical play continued in the second half, with both teams turning up the heat on offense and defense. Trabuco Hills launched 15 shots at the beleaguered El Toro goalie, netting seven more second half goals off the sticks of Derbyshire, Marina Sandoval (2), Mooney, Murillo (2), and another tally from Jenelle Phillips.

To their credit, El Toro kept fighting, scoring four second half goals, but Trabuco Hills’ crisp play – with just one turnover in the half – ultimately prevailed by a 16-5 score!

Record: 2-0
Next: Host Newport Harbor, Tuesday