San Marcos girls lacrosse pulled away in the first half and cruised to an 18-4 win over rival Dos Pueblos on Thursday at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
Liv Plourde, a senior for the Royals, made program history in the victory by breaking the career goal record. She netted four goals and five assists to bring the new program mark to 107 goals.
The previous record was set just last year by Mia Martinez-Tomatis, and it was broken by Plourde in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game.
“Now every goal Liv scores is a school record total,” San Marcos head coach Paul Ramsey said. “What’s really nice for us is the way she shared the ball the whole game, even though she was closing in on the record.
“It would still be the record if she had just gone to goal for herself every time in the first quarter, but in my opinion, this was an even better way to do it, being selfless on offense and involving teammates and then getting the record anyway.”
After building a 5-1 lead in the opening quarter, the Royals really pulled away in the second by outscoring the Chargers 7-2 to take a commanding 12-3 advantage into halftime.
While the San Marcos offense added on six goals in the second half, the defensive unit held Dos Pueblos to just one to run away with the 19-4 victory.
“San Marcos is a very strong team with amazing team speed,” Dos Pueblos head coach Dan Feldhaus said. “Their fast break and passes to open players off of the defensive slide was very effective tonight.”
Reagan Arnold’s two goals led the way for the Chargers, while Linnea Clapinski and Carly Ridenour scored one goal apiece. Defensively, Stella Lawler ended the day with 12 saves.
“DP played hard and never gave up,” Feldhaus said. “I am proud of my players. Stella Lawler played her heart out tonight.
“We got unlucky in some of our offensive possessions, but still did a lot of things right.”
Carly Grant had a strong night in the cage for the Royals, collecting seven saves while allowing just four goals.
“Amazing goalie play today and I have to commend Dos Pueblos goalie Stella Lawler,” Ramsey said. “She is one tough athlete.”
San Marcos (16-2, 9-0 Channel League) will take on Santa Barbara High at Peabody Stadium on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Chargers (8-9, 5-4 CL) will be on the road against Nordhoff on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Cate 17, Santa Barbara High 9
The Rams captured a rivalry victory of their own over the Dons in Carpinteria on Thursday.
Cate jumped out to a strong lead and never looked back, leading 6-3 after the first quarter and consistently growing its lead throughout the game.
“The focus of our play today was to control the midfield by connecting passes, possessing the ball and then finishing by purposely placing our shots on net,” Cate head coach Renee Mack said.
“Once again, I could not be more proud of the selfless teamwork and incredible efforts from each player. Overall, we are improving daily and having great fun. We are beginning to see what this team can accomplish.”
The Rams turned in a strong all-around performance, forcing nine midfield turnovers and scoring on 17 of their 22 shots on goal.
Sophia Ospina led the strong offensive attack with six goals and three assists. Meanwhile, the trio of Lucy Guilbert-Neil, Sam Jimenez and Maia Holmes all recorded a hat trick.
Harper Halbardier scored twice and tallied two assists as well. In the cage, Chelsea Newlove collected four saves.
The Rams (6-4) will host Thacher for Senior Night on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.