CdM boys' lacrosse exits playoffs at top-seeded Loyola
Perfection might not have been enough.
The visiting Sea Kings, nowhere near that standard, were overwhelmed in Tuesday evening's Division 1 encounter, unable to contend with Loyola's speed, physicality, athleticism, depth and talent in a 15-5 defeat.
Loyola (19-3), No. 1 in California and the West Region, used its dominance on the face-offs to take quick command, then answered Corona del Mar's second-quarter foray with 10 successive strikes — a run that carried into the game's final two minutes — by dominating every aspect all over the field.
It wasn't much of a shock.
'They're incredibly talented,' CdM coach G.W. Mix said. 'We knew that. There were no surprises, right? They're very deep, they're very talented, they're well-coached, and we knew that we had to play a perfect game and have some things go our way.
'Got back to 5-3 [three minutes to halftime]. Next thing you knew, it was 8-3. And that's just the way it goes.'
It was 13-3 by the time the third quarter was done, and Loyola remained in charge as Cubs coach Jimmy Borell emptied his bench — he used nearly all of 42 players — down the stretch. The Cubs often maintained continuous possession, winning 22 of the 24 face-offs that start each quarter and follow every goal, then moved the ball efficiently, setting up repeated goalmouth strikes. Their swarming defensive approach forced midfield turnovers and nearly shut off interior access in their box.
'They were very aggressive. They're big, strong defenders,' said senior attacker Owen Majit, who scored three Sea Kings goals and assisted one of two from senior midfielder Garrett Ip. 'They knew one of our weaknesses throughout the season was clearing [to start transitions], and they capitalized on that. They were shutting off the attack.
'We knew that coming into the game. I think we did a better job of handling this game than we did [last month's 16-4 defeat], but it still definitely didn't work in our favor.'
Loyola, bidding for its third successive title-game appearance and first title since 2021 as it heads Saturday to fifth-seeded Foothill (15-7), possessed a 46-16 shot advantage and received goals from 11 players, led by hat tricks from sophomore Tripp King and junior Finn Hazelton.
Corona del Mar (15-7) was down by two before generating any attack, struck in transition with Ip feeding Majit, then conceded a third right off the face-off. It was 5-1 not quite a minute into the second quarter before the Sea Kings found a rhythm.
'We were playing smart, taking care of the little things,' said Ip, an All-CIF selection last year who will play at NCAA Division III powerhouse Williams. 'Picking up ground balls, moving the ball well, shooting the ball well, holding onto the ball. That took some of the stress off of our defense.'
Ip and Majit scored goals six minutes apart — Ip's a 15-yard bullet through a crowded box, Majit's a savvy flick after Auggy Luong's backhanded attempt was knocked down — to tighten things, at least on the scoreboard, but it was all Loyola after that. The Cubs scored three in quick succession to start the 10-0 run, tallying seven times on 16 shots before CdM took another shot. They outfired the Sea Kings, 25-7, in that span before Ip and Majit tallied in the game's final two minutes.
'They're really good,' said Bowdoin-bound Majit, also an All-CIF honoree. 'They have a lot of guys who play club. They go to the next level [and play college lacrosse]. They just know how to spin the rock. [We] played hard, left it all out there. That's all that matters.'
Mix was proud of what his group accomplished.
'It was an incredible year for this group of kids at a public school to make it to the Division 1 tournament 18 years in a row, make it to the quarterfinals,' he said. 'It's amazing. It's positively amazing.
'We don't have the opportunity to get kids from everywhere. We can only get them from our little community there in Newport. It never ceases to amaze me what our kids are able to do at the highest levels of high school lacrosse in California, given that. That's what I'm most proud of. It's just the way they fight for each other and fight together and represent our community. It's fantastic.'
Huntington Beach 8, Palos Verdes 7: The Oilers advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals with Tuesday's win at home.
Huntington Beach (8-11) has earned a pair of one-goal wins to reach this stage. The Oilers will have a third consecutive home game on Friday against top-seeded El Segundo (14-6).
San Juan Hills 10, Corona del Mar 8: MK Angeloff had two goals and two assists for the host Sea Kings on Tuesday in a Division 2 quarterfinal match.
Meg Vanis added two goals for CdM (13-8), which also received a goal apiece from Helena Fratantaro and Maile Lyle. Goalkeeper Sofia Petek made nine saves.
San Juan Hills (15-6) will face St. Margaret's (14-3) in the semifinals on Friday.
Staff writer Andrew Turner contributed to this report.
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