Varsity 14, Tesoro 6

With OC/US Lacrosse playoffs looming on the horizon, Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity took the field looking to solidify their seeding position on Tuesday as they hosted Tesoro High School.

The last time the 2 teams met on the Titans home field, Trabuco Hills was able to come away with a 15-10 victory, although Tesoro rallied at the end and closed with momentum. It would be the task of the Mustang defense to ensure that there was not any of that momentum left over in the last South Coast League contest of the season.

The Mustangs got off to a quick start with a goal by Jenelle Phillips just 47 seconds into the game. Tesoro tried to respond off of the next draw, but a great play by Kody Shelton deflected a pass over to Becca Haggard, who carried across midfield before delivering the pass to Kendall Derbyshire, who then found Phillips coming down the middle of the slot to push the lead to 2-0. A turnover in front of the Titan net gave the Mustangs the ball again, leading to Phillips’ 3rd straight tally.

A scrum after the ensuing draw ended up with the ball resting securely in Kaylyn Voytilla’s stick. She was able to get out of danger and send it over to Phillips, who then found Derbyshire breaking free and the lead was 4-0. The next draw saw Haggard come away with the loose ball. As the Titan midfielders converged, she passed over to Derbyshire, who carried around the entire Tesoro zone and circled back in front of the net for the Mustangs’ 5th consecutive goal.

After a time-out, Haggard again won the loose ball, but neither team was able to do much with their next possessions. Tesoro finally gained control again and spent a long time in the Trabuco Hills zone without much activity before finally breaking the shut-out with a move from the side of the net. The Mustangs responded almost immediately, with Derbyshire taking snagging the ball off of the draw and then finding Marina Sandoval perfectly in stride as she broke into the slot area; switching hands, Sandoval completely fooled the Titan keeper and scored easily. Shannon Smith, who won 10 of 12 draws in the 1st half, directed another ball away from Titan midfielders and into the stick of Phillips, who completed the sequence with an easy, almost uncontested goal. When they did gain possession, Tesoro chose to slow things down as they set up their offense, but strong defense by Shelton, Hannah Moller, Madison DuMond, and Alyssa Ortega severely limited any quality scoring chances. Regaining the ball themselves, Trabuco Hills pushed back down the field and were eventually awarded a free position, which Sam Ransom turned into a pass off to the side for another Phillips marker.

Off of the following draw, Derbyshire grabbed the ball out of mid-air while in full stride and beat the entire Titan defense down the field and whipped a shot past the beleaguered Tesoro goalie. A late goal from a traffic jam in front of the Mustang crease allowed Tesoro to feel a little better about themselves, but the clack ran out on the half with Trabuco Hills holding a commanding 9-2 lead.

The opening draw of the 2nd half again went to the Mustangs. After working it around the zone and patiently looking for the right opportunity, Derbyshire located Sandoval in an opening in the crease and slipped a perfect pass to her to re-open the scoring. 2 unanswered goals by Tesoro resulted from an inability to recover loose balls by multiple Mustang players, but then an extended possession after the next draw allowed Trabuco Hills to set up and run some set plays, culminating in another Phillips goal. Coach Leong then inserted Shelton into the center circle to try to slow down the little bit of flow that was returning to the Tesoro side of the field. A win over to Haggard sent the Mustangs on the attack, but a save by the Titan net minder thwarted their efforts. On the other end, a pass across to an open attacker gave Tesoro their 3rd goal of the half. Another scramble after the draw saw the Titans emerge with the ball; as they crashed the Trabuco Hills net, a crowd converged and formed a defensive wall, temporarily turning the attacker back but allowing her to regroup and somehow slip the ball past Mustang keeper Erin Beall.

After Shelton and Haggard regained control of the center circle, the ball found itself in Phillips’ possession again. With 4 defenders swarming all around her and effectively screening their own keeper, Phillips was able to jump and shoot over the top of all of them and potted her 6th goal of the game. After Smith stepped back into center and earned another draw win, the ball traveled back and forth for both squads before the seas seemed to part and Phillips had an unimpeded path to her 7th and final goal. With time starting to work against them, the Titans increased the intensity and physicality of their efforts, but fouls continued to give possession to the Mustangs. After coming up with another loose ball, Haggard was able to spot Smith cutting down the slot and hit her with a perfect feed for a goal that erased any thoughts of a Tesoro comeback.

Throughout the game, Beall was solid in net. Although the defense protected her well, Beall stepped up when needed, highlighted by a late effort by a Titan attacker who slipped behind the defense and was wide open for a 1-on-1 opportunity, but Beall was up for the challenge and denied her best effort. With the Mustangs winning 77% or the draws and limiting turnovers to just 8 for the game, it was a formula for success that propelled Trabuco Hills to a convincing 14-6 victory.

Record: 10-7; 5-3 South Coast

Next: Senior Night, Thursday vs. San Juan Hills