Lacrosse Season Preview: La Cañada eyes growth amidst big changes in program
A lot has changed for the La Cañada High girls’ lacrosse team since last season.
After graduating a handful of seniors, the Spartans will have plenty of new athletes, but still contain talent and experience to challenge teams.
On the boys’ side, St. Francis also has a new coach in place this season.
A couple of new developments have been put in place for the 2020 campaign.
The CIF Southern Section announced last spring the inaugural CIF Southern Section Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse Championships will take place in May. Although lacrosse has been a part of the CIF Southern Section for many years, the reason for the creation of division championships is attributed to the fact that at least 20% of the section’s member schools field teams.
There will be three divisions for girls and three for boys.
The CIF announced that beginning with the 2021 season, playoff groupings will be developed using a 2020 on-field data points system to determine that season’s playoff divisions and all playoff divisions in subsequent years.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
LA CANADA
The most noticeable change with the Spartans is with the head-coaching position. Mark Jewell has taken over the reigns after Emily Mukai departed for Westridge after a two-year stint.
“When you go from having nine seniors to having three, there’s definitely a culture change,” Jewell said. “With the seniors I have, they are integral, along with a couple of the other underclassmen, to changing the culture of the future of the program. I have a couple of youngsters who are fantastic as well.”
Jewell, who helped start the lacrosse program at St. Francis and served as an assistant coach for five years, takes over a team that finished 5-9 and 1-3 in the Pacific League in 2019.
The Spartans’ three seniors do have experience and are well-versed in dictating the midfield and sparking the offense.
Returning is first-team all-league honoree Jessica Jewell, two-way standout and league honorable-mention Erin Buchanan and defensive-minded Emma Rodriguez.
The Spartans will also have three key players who can provide hybrid roles in the lineup.
“One of the things I teach is ‘one position, all position,’ offensively,” Mark Jewell said. “Typically, my midfielders and attackers play both. They will play midfield and play attack and part of the strategy is to be able to teach them the nuances of both ends of that spectrum, making it difficult for teams to match-up against us because of it.”
La Cañada junior Josette Segismundo will provide offense, while junior Skyla Park and sophomore Natalie Crowell can provide additional depth as attacking midfielders.
“Those six are the culture changers for the program,” Mark Jewell said. “They are our overall best players and will have a significant impact on what we’re doing this year.”
The Spartans can rotate between a pair of goalkeepers in sophomore Cecilia Del Rivo and freshman Allie Gilmore.
Mark Jewell believes area powerhouses Crescenta Valley and Glendale, along with newcomer Village Christian, will be tough competitors in the Pacific League. Glendale, the reigning league champion, reached the CIF Los Angeles Lacrosse Foundation Division I semifinal last season.
ST. FRANCIS
St. Francis has begun a new era in program history after bringing in Don Bowers to be its new coach. Bowers takes over for Jared Little.
There figures to be plenty of talent in the mix for St. Francis, which went 8-9, 2-4 in the Mission League for fourth place last season. St. Francis fell, 13-4, to host Oaks Christian in the first round of the Los Angeles Lacrosse Foundation Division I playoffs.
The Golden Knights, who will be in Division I, will again be in the competative Mission League with Loyola, Harvard-Westlake, Crespi, Chaminade and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
“The league will be strong once again and we know that going in,” said Bowers, who coached the past four seasons at Calabasas. “We have an opportunity to move up and I’m very optimistic because we have a lot of leaders and depth.
“The players have been around each other the last couple of years. We’ll have eight seniors and nine juniors leading the way.”
St. Francis will be paced by senior goalkeeper David Baker, senior defender Miles Jackson, junior attacker Michael Lund and sophomore defender Myles Shannon.