San Marcos girls lacrosse capped off an undefeated Channel League season with a 16-4 victory over Santa Barbara High on Wednesday.
The game started a bit slow, as the first score did not come until almost five minutes into the first quarter on a goal by Mia Martinez-Tomatis of the Royals.
San Marcos found a way to pull away for a lead but the Dons wouldn’t go away easily, as the Royals held a 7-3 advantage at halftime.
“Halftime was calm but we recognized our frenetic pace and hasty passes were giving SB the ball back too many times,” San Marcos coach Paul Ramsey said. “We took care of the ball better in the second half.”
The carefulness with the ball did the trick for the Royals, who outscored the Dons 9-1 in the second half and dominated the fourth quarter 5-0.
Martinez-Tomatis led all scorers with five goals to go along with two assists. Meanwhile, Gigi Mills tallied a game-high three assists in the win.
The San Marcos midfield tandem of Josephine Grossman, Liv Plourde, Lyle Dessouky and Molly McCarter turned in strong performances as well.
The Royals (16-2, 10-0 Channel League) will learn their first-round playoff matchup on Saturday.
Dos Pueblos 13, Nordhoff 2
The Chargers celebrated Senior Night with a lopsided win over Nordhoff on Wednesday.
Dos Pueblos senior Hannah Martin had a big night with three goals and two ground balls. Fellow seniors Alice Sperling, Sophie Choi and Alyssa Valdez each scored as well.
Aside from the seniors, Eloise Shea and Chloe Gotsis found the back of the net twice while Linnea Clapinski collected one goal, one assist and three draw controls.
The Chargers end the regular season with an overall record of 7-7 and a league mark of 5-5.
Cate 12, Thacher 8
The Rams wrapped up their home regular season with a four-goal win over Thacher
The team is hitting their stride at the right time as we head into CIF playoffs next week,” Cate coach Renee Mack said. “The best offense starts with a strong defense, and today our defense was outstanding and helped us take the lead in the first quarter and never look back.”
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, but the Rams managed to build a two-goal lead at halftime and they never let go of that advantage.
Maia Holmes led Cate with four goals while Sophia Ospina was not far behind with a hat trick. Carmen Lack scored a pair and rounding out the scoring were Lucy Guilbert-Neal, Sam Jimenez and Lauren Hubbs.
In the net, Sanai Edwards anchored the defense and picked up seven saves.
“This is a team that can surprise others with their hard work and selfless play,” Mack said. “I would love to see them make a run for the division three title in the next few weeks. They deserve that chance.”
Cate (9-5) will compete in the CIF-SS Div. 3 playoffs beginning next week.
Boys Lacrosse
On the boys side, Santa Barbara High finished off the regular season with a 6-2 win over San Marcos at Peabody Stadium on Wednesday.
The Dons jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a pair of goals from both Jasper Larrson and Cayden Costner.
Larrson’s third goal of the game in the second gave Santa Barbara High a 5-0 halftime advantage.
San Marcos’ Preston Fehr got his team back in the game with two goals in the third quarter.
However, the Dons shutout the Royals in the fourth quarter and Costner put the finishing touches on the win by netting his third goal of the day.
Santa Barbara High will compete in the CIF playoffs beginning next week.