Dos Pueblos is back to defend its title in the L.A. Lacrosse Foundation Division 2 Tournament.
The second-seeded Chargers earned a shot at a repeat by beating Valencia 10-6 in a semifinal playoff game on Tuesday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
DP (16-2) will play Channel League rival Cate for the title on Friday at a local site to be determined. The Chargers beat the Rams twice during the regular season.
Cate knocked off top-seeded Peninsula, 15-13, in the other semifinal game.
Senior Brooke Essig and sophomore Sydney Steele each scored three goals for DP, Olivia Geyling put in two goals and Gia Halleck and Marina Suh added one apiece.
The Chargers also won over 50% of the draws and held the majority of possession.
“We have that overall drive of wanting to be as good as last year,” said Essig of the team’s push to reach the finals again. “We drive each other to be the best that we can.”
The Chargers trailed 3-2 early before scoring two straight goals to take the lead for good.
“Despite trailing in the first 10 minutes, we kept focused and fixed what was necessary to pull ahead and stay ahead,” said assistant coach Jess Delgadillo.
The Vikings pulled to within 8-6, but DP kept its composure and tallied two more goals to put the game away.
Head coach Sam Limkeman praised the defensive efforts of Kenzie Hemman, Geyling and Leilani Bucifal.
“The girls pulled off a great second half, and while it was a tight match, we definitely proved to be the better team,” said head coach Sam Limkeman. “Once again I saw our girls function as a whole unit, not individual athletes. We were tight on defense and we were fast-moving on attack, scoring primarily off of trick shots.
“The girls can’t wait to go to the championship game this Friday for the second year in a row.”
