Boys’ Lacrosse: CdM continues to roll

CORONA DEL MAR — Monte Vista High came all the way from Danville to play Corona del Mar in boys’ lacrosse on Tuesday. The San Francisco Bay Area school’s spring break is this week, a perfect time for two of the state’s top teams to meet.

The Mustangs’ trip to Orange County unraveled early, as the Sea Kings won, 13-5.

Before the start of the second period, one of Monte Vista’s players was caught playing with an illegal stick. The coach, Michael Lambrecht, didn’t believe it. He asked the referee to show him why he called a three-minute, non-releasable penalty on his player.

The ref told Lambrecht he didn’t have to, yet he grabbed the stick and demonstrated why near the scorer’s table. He put a ball inside the pocket and turned it upside down. The ball never rolled out, as the ball is supposed to easily, and the ref walked back onto the field after proving his point.

“That’s a tennis ball!” protested Lambrecht, who raised his voice again when the second period began.

The clock never started and Lambrecht wasn’t too happy. He barked at who was responsible. He fumed even more after what happened with his player out.

The Sea Kings scored three straight goals while they were on the extra-man advantage in the second period. They went on to blow the game open.

Through seven games, CdM, ranked No. 7 in the state by laxpower.com, is still perfect.

The Sea Kings stayed that way after dominating the final three periods. They outscored No. 8 Danville, 11-2, during the stretch.

Everything seemed to go right for CdM after the opening period, not so much for Monte Vista (7-2). Lambrecht’s team lost its lead, and he lost his cool whenever there were clock issues. There were a handful, and the last one, coming late, cleared the scoreboard.

Someone tripped over a chord and unplugged the scoreboard. After someone plugged the chord back in near CdM’s sideline, Lambrecht yelled, “Zeroes on the clock? The game must be done.”

He was right. The game was already over by then.

His Mustangs failed to keep up with CdM, which got four goals and two assists from Todd Kitzens and three goals apiece from Jack Ortlieb and Casey Mix.

“We’re looking pretty good,” said Kitzens, who recorded three of his goals in the first half, helping CdM take a 7-3 lead at the break.

“We just got to come out ready to play every game. We’re not really worried about the opponents. We’re just focusing on ourselves.”

That type of attitude has made CdM unbeatable. The Sea Kings have won 31 straight dating back to last season.

While CdM is averaging almost 13 goals per game this season, the defense has been just as impressive. The defense is allowing 4.4 goals per game, thanks to goalie Hoyt Crance and his twin brother, Hugh.

“He’s just been fantastic all year, making big saves when we need him,” CdM Coach G.W. Mix said of Hoyt, who finished with 12 saves. “Just when somebody thinks they got [a goal] right on the doorstep, and maybe they’re going to start a little run [for their team], he takes it away from them. He stops that momentum pretty quickly.”

After giving up three goals in the first period, Hoyt, a sophomore, shut Monte Vista out for the next 21 minutes.

When the game ended, Hoyt and his teammates had pizza for dinner. They shared it with Monte Vista, which plays another Orange County team ranked in the state, No. 11 Foothill, on Thursday.

The Sea Kings won’t be doing the same thing with their next opponent after Friday’s game. They play at rival Newport Harbor in the Battle of the Bay at 7 p.m.

Hugh said: “We’re not going to, like, do anything special for them.”

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @DCPenaloza