Edison girls’ lacrosse edged by Yorba Linda on late goal
The Edison High girls’ lacrosse team is trying to make the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs in just its second year as a program.
The Chargers came into the week ranked No. 16 in the latest Orange County power rankings by MaxLaxOC.com, followed by Yorba Linda at No. 17. The teams played Thursday at Edison in a nonleague match.
The top 16 teams at the end of the season make the playoffs. And while Edison missed a chance Thursday to solidify its postseason hopes after suffering a 7-6 loss, Chargers coach Rob Hendrix couldn’t stop smiling after the match.
“Good reffing, fun, no one played cheap,” Hendrix said. “It was a great game … They never quit. I’m really proud of them.”
Edison (12-5) never led but tied the score five different times. The Chargers couldn’t do it one last time after Yorba Linda (9-5) scored the game-winner. Emily Remer found the back of the net on a free-position goal with 1:58 remaining in the match.
Yorba Linda’s Cierra Taylor won the ensuing draw, and the Mustangs had a chance to run the clock out. But after a player stepped out of bounds on the left sideline with 45 seconds left, Edison got another shot at tying it up. Hendrix called timeout.
Edison sophomore Blakely Malpass earned a free-position chance with 25 seconds left. She shot low, but Yorba Linda goalkeeper Sammy Baloch stuffed the shot.
“Crazy, right?” Hendrix said. “We told our girls in the timeout, ‘Hey, this is why we play, right?’ They were so excited. We said, ‘Run to goal and try to get put on the line.’ We did it, and [Baloch] came up huge, man. That was a great stop by that goalie. That goalie won that game. She was awesome.”
Senior midfielder Annie Cavener and sophomore midfielder Ali Bryant have been leaders for Edison all season. Each scored two goals on Thursday night. Senior Lauryn Atencio and freshman Gwen Ontiveros each added a goal, and senior goalkeeper Keena Colamonico made six saves.
Cavener said she also had fun in the match, which stayed within one goal after Yorba Linda opened up an early 2-0 advantage.
“They were very, very nice, and I think that’s what made the game so much fun,” Cavener said. “It was super-intense, but I don’t mind. It made it more fun that it was intense, not super-relaxed.”
Bryant led Edison with seven draw controls and also had two ground balls, which tied her for the team lead with Ontiveros.
Kaitlyn Gerrish had a game-high three goals for Yorba Linda, which led 5-4 at halftime. The pace slowed considerably in the second half.
The Chargers tied the score at 5-5 when Bryant scored on the second of Savannah Bayan’s two assists with 18:30 remaining. Yorba Linda went ahead again on Gerrish’s third goal, but Cavener tied the score again on a free-position goal with 12:43 remaining.
There would be just one more goal, and it was the game winner that belonged to Remer.
Edison finished fourth in the competitive Sunset League this season and had a tight 8-6 loss against champion Newport Harbor, as well as a 10-9 overtime loss against second-place Los Alamitos.
The Chargers conclude their regular season with their senior night on April 23 at home against Segerstrom.
“I’m hoping we make playoffs, but if we don’t, we made a great jump having this only be our second year as a program,” Cavener said. “To even be a contender for playoffs this season is insane. I think we’re doing really amazing as a program overall.”
Twitter: @mjszabo
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