Carlsbad 16, Varsity 11

As the Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity began to arrive for the annual LA/OC Shootout early Saturday morning, the sun was already beating down on Laguna Hills’ new turf fields. Though spring is not officially here, it already felt like August in the desert.

Up first on the day was a match against a confident Carlsbad squad, who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on the strength of an aggressive passing attack. But the Mustangs responded when Taylor Fox threaded a pass to Ashley Murillo cutting in front of the goal for a score. After two more Carlsbad goals, Trabuco Hills built momentum with a series of goals to close the gap. After a nice save by Ashley Bell, Shannon Smith scooped up the ball and fed a long pass to Jenelle Phillips, who maneuvered through several defenders for a score. The two connected again seconds later when Audie Shutler emerged from a scramble following the ensuing draw and fed Smith to start the play.

Carlsbad opened the second-half scoring, but the Mustang Varsity looked to match their rivals from the South shot for shot as Marina Sandoval cut in front of her defender and whipped a shot passed the goalie’s ear off a feed from Phillips. Unfortunately, the going got tough after that as second-half fouls began to pile up. The Mustangs were whistled 16 times in the half, versus only 7 for Carlsbad. The defense worked hard, forcing 11 second-half turnovers and scooping up 6 ground balls, but it wasn’t enough as Carlsbad outlasted Trabuco Hills 16-11.

Record: 3-2
Next: 2nd LA/OC Shootout match vs. Oak Park