Greenhall lifts CdM to finals

IRVINE — Jordan Greenhall sat out Corona del Mar High’s first two rounds of the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs with sore ribs.

He could rest with the Sea Kings winning by an average of nine goals per game without him.

Nothing was going to prevent Greenhall from missing a third straight round. The top-seeded Sea Kings needed him in the semifinals against No. 4 Santa Margarita at Irvine High on Saturday.

This was the round CdM has seen its season end in the past two years. So what did Greenhall do? He came up big early and late. The senior scored the first goal 77 seconds into the game, and with 1:58 left to play, he assisted on the game’s final goal.

The first goal set the tone and the last one clinched CdM’s 8-6 win and its first trip to the South Division finale in three years.

Afterward, Greenhall, his rib area wrapped up with ice bags, said there was no way he would miss the next game. Greenhall and CdM (19-1) face No. 3 St. Margaret’s (12-7) for the Orange County title at Trabuco Hills High on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Tartans advanced with an 11-8 win against No. 2 Foothill. St. Margaret’s is the same program that eliminated CdM in the semifinals last year.

“I’m just happy to be in the championship game,” said Greenhall, who finished with two goals, one assist and two ground balls. “Our team has worked so hard this season after losing a bunch of seniors last year, and coming back this year, knowing no one like had any faith in our team coming into the year. The captains on our team just said, ‘This is our year. We have enough good players. As long as we work hard, we’ll be OK.’ That’s what happened. Our team just worked hard. As soon as we lost last year in the semifinals against St. Margaret’s, we came back right away. We started playing in the summer, just to get to right now and to the championship game.”

The South Division championship is a CdM-St. Margaret’s affair for the second time since 2013. In the previous meeting, the Tartans beat the Sea Kings, denying them a second straight OC crown.

The two programs have met once this year, CdM edged the Tartans, 8-7, at home on March 29. The rematch is on a neutral field, and playing on turf is something CdM hasn’t been accustomed to with having played the first and second rounds on its sandy and dirt field.

Greenhall’s ribs kept him out of those two contests, even though he said he could’ve played in CdM’s 14-7 win in the quarterfinals against No. 8 Tesoro on Thursday. With a much tougher opponent in the semifinals, Greenhall made his playoff debut at the right time.

To beat Santa Margarita (15-6), you have to slow down Quentin Buchman, a sophomore committed to Bryant University. The Sea Kings accomplished more than that. They prevented Buchman from scoring a goal.

When CdM goalie Nick Guizan (six saves) couldn’t stop Buchman, the post did. Buchman hit the post four times.

“He’s certainly one of the best in the county and we knew that coming in,” CdM Coach G.W. Mix said of Buchman. “We put a couple of different guys on him to make it hard for him.”

While Buchman failed to find the back of the net for the first time in a game this year, CdM’s Stephen Von Der Ahe produced four goals. Half of his goals came in the second quarter, helping the Sea Kings to go into halftime with a 5-4 lead.

After Santa Margarita evened things up at 5-5 at the 7:44 mark on Shane Cobb’s first of two goals, the Sea Kings answered with two goals. Will Favreau, who finished with two goals, and Von Der Ahe beat goalie Mike Gately, putting CdM ahead, 7-5.

Cobb managed to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 6:57 to go in the game. The rest of the way, CdM played keep away, until a referee called Santa Margarita’s Matt Ury for a one-minute slash penalty with 2:25 left.

Twenty-seven seconds later, the Sea Kings took advantage of the man-up opportunity. They ran a play that Greenhall and Von Der Ahe executed.

“It was a play that we normally run versus a zone defense,” Greenhall said. “I was behind the net. I got the ball, and I saw [Von Der Ahe] on the crease. I went around lefty with the ball around the crease, and … as soon as he cut, I just threw it over the net, right to him. It was a great play by him. It was a hard catch. He got it across his face, turned, shot it and scored. That was pretty much the game sealer.”

Mix called Greenhall a competitor and tough kid for coming back. Greenhall said he injured his ribs in CdM’s regular-season finale against Carlsbad La Costa Canyon.

“He’s one of our best players and one of our leaders,” Mix said, “and [he] showed [it] today.”