Varsity 18, Mission Viejo 4

Trabuco Hills Girls Lacrosse Varsity cruised to an 18-4 win in a tune up for the regular season Saturday against Mission Viejo. After a slow start, the Mustangs used a strong ball control attack to subdue their devilish rivals.

Trabuco Hills held the ball for over three minutes to open the game, launching 5 shots on goal. But the Mission Viejo netminder was sharp early; she made three saves and two other shots whistled by the goal. The Diablos then opened the scoring, scooping up a loose ball and taking a 1-0 lead on a quick counter-attack. After that, it was all Mustangs.

Hennessey Evans got the ball rolling for the Varsity about 5 minutes into the match, scoring after a great individual effort to beat the defense. She then added two more in quick order. Juliet Mooney got on the board next with a spinning move in front of the goal to make it 4-1 midway through the first half. Lauren Reniker, Avery Friesen, and Kristen Rosenberg also scored early, giving the Mustangs a 10-1 halftime lead.

The Varsity squad scored two quick goals to open the second half — including one by Ieneke Jimenez — before our defense was put to the test. They responded. Anticipating a Diablos pass, Talia Shutler slid in front of her mark, scooped up the loose ball, sprinted up field before passing to Mooney who connected with Evans for the goal. The defense was solid throughout, anchored by Ashley Bell who recorded eight saves on the day.

Hennessey Evans led all scorers with 10 goals and Juliet Mooney added four in the 18-4 win.

Next up: Trabuco Hills travels to Foothill Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to open the regular season. Foothill eliminated the Mustangs in the quarterfinals of last year’s U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section playoffs, before losing to Mater Dei in the finals.