CdM boys’ lacrosse doubles up San Clemente in final regular-season tuneup

For the first time since the very beginning of the season, Corona del Mar High boys’ lacrosse coach G.W. Mix said the Sea Kings were at full health for Saturday’s nonleague game against San Clemente.

“We’ve been playing without one, two, three, four starters all year,” Mix said. “Today, for the first time since really the first game of the season, we had all of them. That was something unique for us, for sure.”

The last game of the regular season is a good time to have all of your pieces back. The Sea Kings came into the matchup with the Tritons ranked No. 6 in an Orange County coaches’ poll, with San Clemente at No. 7, yet pulled away for a convincing win with the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs looming.

Sophomores Chandler Fincher and Aidan Kelly each scored three goals as Corona del Mar beat San Clemente 16-8 at Vista Hermosa Sports Park. CdM found out Saturday night that it earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and will play host to No. 12 Corona Santiago in the first round on Tuesday.

Mix said the Sea Kings (9-9) played well in all facets against the Tritons (9-10). Senior captains Eric Fries and Landon Whitney are two players who have returned to action recently for CdM. Whitney, along with senior Jack Fairon, junior Tate Jackson and junior goalkeeper Kyle Cord (five saves), were leaders for a defense that held San Clemente to four even-strength goals deep into the fourth quarter. Cord also led the winners with three ground balls.

“Everything is clicking right now,” said Whitney, adding that he missed about two weeks with a bone contusion in his wrist, then the flu. “We’re just playing more as a unit. I feel like we used to kind of rely on one guy, look to the guy to the left and the right of us and hope they make a play. But I think now, we’re just all clicking as a unit. It’s kind of how it’s always been in the past four years that I’ve been here. We turn it up at the right time.”

Seniors Devon Linkon, Bobby Purcifull and Matthew Keasey, along with sophomore Simon Hall, each scored twice for CdM. Purcifull’s second goal early in the fourth quarter had the players on the CdM bench fired up, as he spun before firing a cross-cage shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Liam Nelson and Trevor Sutton scored three goals each for San Clemente. The Tritons were tied 2-2 after the first quarter, but CdM rode a strong second quarter to a 7-3 halftime advantage.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo