The Dos Pueblos boys faced the end of their most successful season in program history, falling 17-8 to top-seeded Santa Monica in the CIF-SS D3 quarterfinals Tuesday.
Santa Monica came out on fire, taking a 6-0 first quarter lead with tenacious play on ground balls, excellent ball movement and outside shooting.
Despite DP goalie Salem Bawaneh standing tall with 17 saves, the Vikings kept coming. The Chargers’ offense was effective when they had the ball, with four goals from Dan Finneran, two by Orion Prewarski, and one each from Gus Miller and Jack Finneran.
But getting enough possessions to hang with the Vikings proved difficult. Dos Pueblos face-off specialist Cal Denier had a strong game, going 13 for 20, but effective wing play from Santa Monica prevented the Chargers from having the face-off edge they normally have.
“It’s always tough to lose in the playoffs, but I’m proud of the way our guys showed up,” Lucas Martinez. “Santa Monica is an excellent, well-coached team and they had our number today. When we went down early, our guys could have rolled over, but they fought back, making it a game down the stretch.”
Dos Pueblos finishes with a 12-4 overall record, and finished second in the Channel League at 6-2. Santa Monica goes on at 15-6, and a perfect 6-0 in the Ocean League.
“I’m especially proud of our seniors, who have completely changed the culture of DP lacrosse,” Martinez said. “For a group of guys who had to bear the brunt of the COVID years, they showed incredible resiliency and leadership to bring us from a 1-11 season two years ago to the Quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section this year.
“I’m so glad to have coached such a fine group of young men, and I want to say thank you to all of them: Goalie Salem Bawaneh, Midfielder Cairo Rios, and defensemen Dash Roshell, Brody Fredrickson, Aiden Schumacher, and RJ Garcia.”