San Marcos girls lacrosse completed its three-peat of the Channel League with a 13-5 win over rival Dos Pueblos on Thursday at Warkentin Stadium.
The league champion Royals are now 14-3 overall and 7-0 in Channel League play ahead of their regular-season finale against Santa Barbara High on Tuesday.
“We haven’t focused on an outcome all season, so it was a little surreal to step into the huddle after the game and congratulate everyone on the three-peat,” San Marcos head coach Paul Ramsey said. “It was the first time I mentioned it all season long.”
“We’ve been on about our process since day one and trying for a what’s next attitude as much as we can to make that happen.”
Dos Pueblos struck first in Thursday’s gritty battle as Linnea Clapinski scored an unassisted goal just one minute into the game to take a 1-0 lead.
However, San Marcos responded by rattling off three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead into the second quarter.
The Royals never looked back from there, as a seven-goal effort that featured four goal scorers allowed them to expand the lead out to 10-3 by halftime.
The third quarter then went scoreless, and San Marcos cruised to the eight-goal win in the fourth.
The Royals’ offense racked up 25 shots, including 23 on goal with just two sailing wide of the net. Defensively, Carly Grant tallied five saves for San Marcos.
Angie Cruz had a strong night on the offensive end for the Royals, scoring a career-high three goals.
Meanwhile, Clapinski scored all five of the Chargers’ goals and Stella Lawler ended the night with nine saves.
Clapinski has now scored 97 goals this season, which is the top mark in all of the CIF-Southern Section and good for second in California, according to MaxPreps.
Thursday’s loss rounded out the regular season for Dos Pueblos, which has secured a second-place finish in the Channel League.
Cate 16, Santa Barbara High 2
The Rams rolled to a commanding win over the Dons on Senior Night on Thursday in Carpinteria
Cate struggled to find a groove offensively in the early stages and led 2-0 after the first quarter. However, the Rams exploded for 10 goals in the second quarter to pull away for good.
Maia Holmes did a little bit of everything for Cate and ended the day with three goals and one assist, while Harper Halbardier and Lauren Hubbs each tallied hat tricks as well.
The Rams’ duo Claire Bianchi and Carmen Lack each scored twice, and Chelsea Newlove anchored the Cate defense in the net.