La Costa Canyon Mavericks

BY ERIC SHANNON, SPECIAL TO THE U-T
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2011 AT 10:54 P.M.

CARLSBAD — Avenging two regular-season losses was nice enough.

Ending four years of frustration with its rival was that much sweeter for Torrey Pines High.

The Falcons defeated host La Costa Canyon for the first time since 2007 on Wednesday night, winning 11-5 in the San Diego Section Division I boys lacrosse semifinals.

As the final whistle sounded, all the players on Torrey Pines (17-5) rushed the field as equipment flew in the air.

“This is just the greatest feeling beating our rivals, there’s no feeling to describe this,” said senior John Wilson, whose team will play Poway for the title Saturday. “It felt like we won the championship game.”

The contest played out much differently than the two meetings in the regular season, when the Mavericks (18-4) managed to control things after halftime. They defeated the Falcons 10-6 on April 1 and 11-5 less than two weeks ago.

“They came out twice and beat us pretty bad this year,” Torrey Pines coach Jon Zissi said. “The earlier games it was close for three quarters, but we didn’t play a complete game. Tonight, we played a solid game for four quarters.”

The Falcons responded to an early goal by the Mavericks by scoring six straight during an 11-minute stretch in the first and second quarters and led 6-2 at halftime.

Using a patient approach to each possession, Torrey Pines continued to control the pace and carried a 9-3 advantage into the fourth quarter.

“We were fired up,” said Zissi, whose team outshot La Costa Canyon 29-23, including 26-15 through three quarters. “Our motto all week was ‘Practice Thursday,’ which meant we had to win tonight, obviously.”

A year ago, La Costa Canyon defeated Torrey Pines 12-6 in the section championship game. That was the fourth occasion the schools played each other for the title and gave the Mavericks their fourth championship in six years.

“This is redemption,” said Wilson, who had a goal and two assists.