CdM boys’ lacrosse team reaches semis
As if the conditions on Corona del Mar High’s lacrosse field weren’t bad enough to hold a game, the Sea Kings played without their scoreboard on Thursday.
Most players and coaches complain about the field, which features more dirt and sand than grass. What wasn’t as visible to them was the score and time.
The scoreboard malfunctioned prior to the start of the CdM boys’ game against Tesoro in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs. The number “8” flashed on the scoreboard where it informed fans of the quarter.
The Sea Kings turned the scoreboard off. Showing the score, the time or the quarter didn’t matter because the result has been the same whenever CdM and Tesoro have played this year. The Sea Kings dominated the Titans for a second time.
The Sea Kings defeated Tesoro, 14-7, to advance to the semifinals for the fifth straight time. Their next game won’t be at home, rather at a neutral site with a turf field.
Top-seeded CdM (18-1) is happy about the opportunity to compete on a nicer field when it faces No. 4 Santa Margarita (15-5) at Irvine High on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. The Eagles beat No. 5 Temecula Great Oak, 17-6, in the quarterfinals.
“I think they like playing here, you know, as crazy as that sounds,” CdM Coach G.W. Mix said with a smile. “But certainly to have a clean, flat surface to play on is going to help us with the ground balls [and] it’s going to help us with the faceoffs, so we’re looking forward to it.”
The Sea Kings survived the field, most importantly the hundreds of bees that attacked one side of it right before halftime.
The bees wound up giving CdM its biggest scare, not the No. 8 Titans (11-6).
Players quickly dropped down to the field with 7.3 seconds left in the first half while the bees hovered above them.
“I didn’t know what to do,” said CdM’s Jason Simaan, who was on the field ready to defend on the man-down situation when the bees stormed the field. “I heard G.W. yell to the refs, saying, ‘Bees!’ I dropped down and I looked at the crowd, and the crowd was like running. It was pretty fun.”
Fans returned and players rose to their feet as soon as the bees flew away. Play resumed with Tesoro on the man-up advantage. Nothing came of it, and CdM went into the break with a 7-3 lead.
Kyle Young recorded two second-quarter goals for CdM. Sachin Gokhale, Eric Fries, Will Favreau, Stephen Von Der Ahe and Simaan found the back of the net once in the first half.
The Sea Kings continued to pour it on in the second half. Gokhale, Simaan, Fries, Favreau and Von Der Ahe each scored a goal in the third quarter.
The first dozen goals by CdM were unassisted, a first by the program. The hosts displayed a balanced attack through three quarters, as six players produced two goals apiece.
The stretch of unassisted goals ended for CdM early in the fourth quarter. Thirty-four seconds into the fourth, Gokhale assisted on Ryan Meckler’s goal.
Nineteen seconds later, Young found Matthew Saucedo, who scored a goal to put the Sea Kings up, 14-4. Tesoro had trailed by the same score before at CdM, on April 12, when the Titans lost, 17-6. The setback was Tesoro’s worst of the year.
Simaan, a faceoff specialist bound for Brown, made a huge difference last month and on Thursday in preventing Tesoro from getting going offensively. The senior won 13 of 16 faceoffs, to go along with scoring a season-high two goals.
The second meeting wasn’t as lopsided, thanks to CdM resting key players like Jordan Greenhall, whom Mix said didn’t play because of soreness. Mix said he was glad to give players a break before the Sea Kings try to advance past the semifinals for the first time in three years, but he wasn’t excited about the matchup with the Titans because CdM had played them already.
The Titans weren’t exactly thrilled about playing on CdM’s beat-up field again. When Tesoro Coach Brian Dunn was asked if the CdM field was in better condition the second time around, he said no while looking down at the sandy field.
“We should’ve brought flip-flops,” joked Dunn, who is familiar with CdM.
Dunn played lacrosse at CdM before graduating in 2004. During his time with the Sea Kings, he said they played off campus.
“We actually played at Eastbluff Elementary down the street,” Dunn said. “I think that might have been a little bit better location [for us to play CdM on Thursday]. The grass is definitely greener over there.”
