Announcement
PREP BOYS LACROSSE: Round 1 goes to LCC in rivalry with Torrey Pines
LA COSTA -- Like a pair of seasoned prize fighters battling for a belt, the boys lacrosse teams from La Costa Canyon and Torrey Pines high schools know they’re likely to go three rounds and that their title tilt will end on a knockout punch.
So while Round 1 went to the Mavericks, who secured a 9-7 Avocado League victory over their chief rival Friday night, the totals on the judges’ scorecards will matter little if the CIF San Diego Section’s two heavyweights meet again in the postseason. Both teams took it as an opportunity to learn a little about the other and ultimately prepare for their seemingly inevitable meeting in mid-May.
“It’s a great rivalry,” said LCC coach Jesse Foss, whose team had appeared in eight consecutive Division I section finals until losing to eventual champion Torrey Pines in the semifinals last year. "I think our kids were a little hurt by last year, and that gave us a little incentive coming into this game.
“It’s always hard to beat a team three times, and to beat a team like that three times is even tougher. I think our record was a little deceiving -- we’ve had some close games, whereas (Torrey Pines) has been beating teams by 10 or 12 goals -- so we feel like we stepped up and showed what we can do in this game.”
La Costa Canyon (10-0) outplayed Torrey Pines (9-1) for much of the game beating the Falcons to ground balls, controlling possession, and setting itself up for better shots.
The Mavericks, in fact, never trailed. They held a 3-1 lead after the first quarter thanks to goals by Jared Mafucci, Zane O’Brien and Dillon Flood, and led 5-3 at halftime.
Early third-quarter goals by Ben Keen and Nick Vreeburg pushed LCC’s lead to four goals, but Torrey Pines kept the hosts from running away with the game when Sean Doyle scored on a leaping shot just outside the crease at the 3-minute, 30-second mark, and Andrew Perkins connected on a deep shot from in front of the goal two minutes later.
Things got interesting in the final frame. LCC started to pull away with a John Hester goal at the five-minute mark, but Torrey Pines answered with two scores within 52 seconds -- first by Doyle and then on a 15-yard strike from Perkins -- that made it a one-goal game.
LCC took the ball out from behind Torrey Pines’ goal with 1:30 remaining and the Falcons electing to pull goalie Bryce Cady. The Mavericks effectively killed the clock until Aaron Loy ventured to the right rear side of the goal and found sophomore attack Cameron Ziegler open in front of the net. He delivered a perfect pass, which Ziegler caught and fired into an open net, giving LCC the cushion it needed.
“It’s a big win for us, and is probably going to give us home-field advantage and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs,” Ziegler said. "It gives us bragging rights now -- it’s kind of what we needed to jump-start our season.
“I’ve got to give it to Aaron. He worked really hard on that and drew three (defenders), and I was just open on the crease. It could have been anyone -- it just happened to be me.”
Torrey Pines coach Jono Zissi gave his team a short and stern postgame speech. He wasn’t pleased with the Falcons’ execution.
“I think they outplayed us, top to bottom,” he said. “We’ve been playing really well most of the season, but we certainly laid an egg tonight. They played well, and we didn’t show up. It’s disappointing.”
