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Glendale girls’ lacrosse sees DII championship bid fall short

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WESTLAKE VILLAGE — Since its inception six years ago, Glendale High girls’ lacrosse Coach Joe Campbell had aspirations that the Nitros could advance to a title match.

For the first time Wednesday night, Glendale was presented with that opportunity. Glendale played a rigorous schedule, providing valuable preparation in reaching a milestone.

Unfortunately for fourth-seeded Glendale, its bid to win a crown fell short after it suffered an 8-5 defeat against third-seeded Westlake in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section L.A. Division II championship match on the road.

“It’s tough to lose, but we have a ton to be proud of,” said Campbell, whose team defeated Chadwick and top-seeded Valencia Valencia to reach the championship match. “We played a very hard schedule and this was our 16th game on the road this season.

“We overcame some injuries to key players and we are a very young team. All we could do was keep battling all the way through and I thought we did that. So, we have something to build on looking ahead.”

Glendale (5-13) saw Westlake (9-11) jump out to a quick 3-0 lead early in the first half before pulling to within 3-2.

“We fell behind early and then it’s hard to have to keep trying to catch up,” said Campbell, whose team finished third in the Pacific League and missed out on the Division I playoffs. “I think we were a little tight or nervous and that showed with being a young team.”

The Warriors made it 3-0 on a goal by Jordan Kuchta with 14:32 remaining in the first half. Maura Fernandez and Rachel Fong of Glendale scored less than five minutes apart to bring the Nitros to within 3-2. Cayley Corridori scored two straight goals for Westlake, with her second one making it 5-2 with 24 seconds left in the half.

Glendale could get no closer than three goals in the second half. Erika Lopez notched two second-half goals. Her final goal trimmed the deficit to 8-5 with 6:01 left.

“These were two evenly matches teams who played difficult schedules just to get here,” Westlake Coach Kennon Broadhurst said. “Joe has done a tremendous job with his program. When I saw the playoff brackets, I immediately thought about Glendale and how it would be a tough team to match up against. That’s what happened. They know how to challenge you and I liked the way our team responded.”

Fong, a freshman midfielder, said the Nitros gained some valuable experience.

“Being out here with my teammates was awesome,” Fong said. “Even though we didn’t win, it was exhilarating. We have a lot of players coming back and we all have more experience. So, we’ll give it another shot next year.”

Glendale senior goalkeeper Jenina Villabrozo finished with eight saves. Westlake goalkeeper Ayana Baker collected six saves.

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