Oak Park 12, Varsity 5

In the second game of the OC/LA Shootout Saturday at Laguna Hills High School, Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity ran up against another challenging opponent in the guise of the Oak Park Eagles from Ventura County.

Trabuco Hills got off to a solid start. After a couple of times up and down the field, the Mustangs were awarded possession after a missed shot and Sam Ransom was able to bring the ball back to the front of the crease and beat the Eagles goalie from point-blank range. After another trip up and back, Kendall Derbyshire threaded a brilliant pass between 3 defenders to Juliet Mooney, who was all alone in front of the net and pushed the lead to 2-0. Unfortunately, this was as large as the Mustang lead would get.

On the next possession, the 3rd draw Oak Park won in a row, they moved quickly into Mustang territory and, with a burst of speed, split defenders for their 1st score. Another draw controlled by the Eagles saw yet another rush on the Trabuco Hills defense and the score was tied. Three more quick goals, each of which followed Mustang turnovers or loose balls, made the score 5-2 in favor of the confident Eagle squad.

Tempering the onslaught, the Mustangs finally maintained possession long enough for Becca Haggard to loop a perfect pass to Mooney, again camped on the Oak Park keepers doorstep, who notched the easy goal. Not much else was coming easy, however, as the Eagles utilized double- and triple-teams through the midfield to continually frustrate the Mustangs. Following another Trabuco Hills turnover, the Eagles set up wide around the Mustang goal, patiently moving the ball to net a goal before the half came to a close. Trabuco trailed, 6-3, at the break.

When the 2nd half opened, there was, again, a lot of back-and-forth, with both teams having possessions thwarted by turnovers and solid goalie play. After a long sequence, Oak Park finally broke through and soon the lead was 9-3.  Ashley Murillo got the Mustang faithful cheering with a nice run down the right side as she battled for slot position and ultimately scored.

By this time, Oak Park was content to slow things down and wait on the almost 12 minutes left on the clock to dwindle down. After a long stall and with Mustang defenders in pursuit, they managed to get another ball behind beleaguered keeper Ashley Bell, who did a great job keeping the scores as close as they were.

The last of the Mustang highlights came when Jenelle Phillips created her own opportunity off of an individual effort for the 5th and final Trabuco Hills goal. Unfortunately, the Mustangs could never fully adjust as the clock ran out in a 12-5 Oak Park victory.

Record: 3-3

Next: Tuesday, at Woodbridge