San Marcos girls lacrosse fell in the CIF D1/D2 Division title game to Woodbridge High, 12-10, in the Gold Coast Invitational on Saturday at Warkentin Stadium.
The invitational featured 24 teams from all over the CIF Southern Section competing in three separate divisions at Dos Pueblos, San Marcos and Santa Barbara High.
The Royals began the day with a 15-6 win over Glendale in the semifinals. In that victory, San Marcos set the tone early and built an 8-3 halftime lead before outscoring Glendale 5-0 in the third to pull away.
Briar Sorenson made her debut at goalie, tallying five saves. Meanwhile, freshman Victoria Aldana lit up the scoreboard for six goals and three assists.
In the championship matchup, the Royals jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter. However, Woodbridge, who beat West Ranch in the semifinals, responded with a 5-1 run in the second to go up 6-5.
Woodbridge continued to roll in the second half, scoring five more goals in the third while holding San Marcos to just one.
The Royals didn’t go away quietly, pouring in four goals and holding Woodbridge scoreless in the fourth. However, the comeback effort fell just short in the 12-10 loss.
“Woodbridge cranked it up in both the second and third quarters and used a bunch of possessions from draw controls and we were on defense a lot against a good team,” San Marcos head coach Paul Ramsey said.
“We ran out of time, and they were relieved the clock ran out.”
Aldana’s big weekend continued in the loss with a team-high five goals, including three in the fourth quarter.
San Marcos made the jump up to the D1/D2 Division after competing in D3 last season.