Girls’ Lacrosse: CdM edged in OT

CORONA DEL MAR — The Corona del Mar High girls’ lacrosse program will miss the class of 2013.

Coach Aly Vislocky has been coaching the senior class for more than six years now. She has seen the players put in the work.

But that work ended suddenly Tuesday afternoon at CdM. The Sea Kings’ season did the same, as they fell to Trabuco Hills in overtime, 15-14, in a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division first-round playoff match.

No. 8-seeded CdM (13-8) lost a late lead in regulation against No. 9 Trabuco Hills (12-5-2). Vislocky said the program lost more than that after the final whistle blew.

“[The senior class] didn’t get ‘senioritis,’” Vislocky said. “They’re the best leaders ever. It’s disappointing that the season ends for them, but in terms of the example, the intensity they’ve left [going] forward? Oh my gosh, we can only build on it. Five years ago, when I started coaching here, we didn’t have that necessarily. Each year we’ve had to grow and grow, and this senior class is like the example of all those years combined.

“Their whole closing speech was, ‘We’re leaving this to you guys now, and run with this passion because you’re going to be good.’ Now we just need to teach them lacrosse, the young girls, because the example is there.”

Trabuco Hills plays at top-seeded defending champion Los Alamitos in a quarterfinal match Thursday. The Mustangs earned it at CdM, rallying from a 7-4 halftime deficit. Trabuco Hills scored the first four goals of the second half to surge to an 8-7 lead.

The Sea Kings, who made a surprise run to the South Division title match last year, took back the lead. They had a 12-10 advantage after junior Sabrina Smith scored with 2:54 left in regulation. But Trabuco Hills would not fold.

The visitors got a goal from senior Hope Dodd with 1:21 left. Then, after senior Hannah Redwine earned a draw control, Dodd scored again with 52 seconds left.

CdM junior Kacie Kline, who scored six goals to tie Dodd for match-high honors, said the Mustangs’ rally was disappointing.

“I think that they’re really good, but I think that we’re a better team, all in all,” Kline said. “We just broke down a little bit. It was kind of like, ‘Oh my God, this could be our last game.’ Everyone was so stressed out, and it was dropped balls and bad passes, such small things that made the biggest difference. The refs were very nit-picky too, and I don’t think we’re used to that type of reffing, either.

“We’re definitely more athletic, we’re faster. That’s the most frustrating part for me. I really felt like it should have been 20-4, not even close to an overtime [game]. That’s the biggest bummer, I think.”

Trabuco took its first lead with 36 seconds left in regulation on a goal from Redwine. But after Kline controlled the draw, CdM freshman Payton Carter scored with 23 seconds to go, tying the score at 13-13 and forcing overtime.

CdM retook the lead in the first three-minute overtime period on a goal by Smith. But Dodd scored her sixth goal just 30 seconds later.

Trabuco’s Jackie Huse scored the eventual game-winner with 2:26 left in the second overtime. Moments later, a CdM defender was issued a yellow card, and the Sea Kings were a player down the rest of the game. Trabuco Hills was able to run the clock out as the final seconds ticked away.

Vislocky disagreed with the yellow card call at the end, but said her team also did not show composure.

“When they score four goals, that’s when we get a little frantic,” Vislocky said. “We don’t have our calm composure. Even some of our leaders on the team start fouling a little bit more when that’s the case, because they get anxious and they want to make a difference. Some refs let you play with a little bit of contact ... and these guys didn’t. When we get frantic, we get physical, and we got called on a lot of stuff.”

Trabuco Hills Coach Scott Leong credited his team’s improved decision making in the second half. He said it’s the first time his team has won in the playoffs since 2009.

Smith and Carter each scored three goals for CdM, and senior Molly Rovzar scored twice. Kline had a team-high five groundballs, and Smith and seniors Paige Miller and Meredith Davin had four draw controls. Goalie April Tran made six saves.

Vislocky said the program has a bright future, with plenty of talented players returning. But the senior class, led by captains Rovzar, Davin and Kylie Mulvaney, will be missed.

“We kind of freak out when they start to come back,” Kline said. “We kind of break down a little bit, and I think that’s something that we’re definitely going to need to work on next year. But we played our hearts out all the way until the last second. You could see how much our seniors cared about this. It’s just kind of sad.”