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Lacrosse Notebook: Foothill's Boys Are the Team to Beat Again in Orange County

Top-ranked Knights, playing a freelance schedule this season, are seeking their fifth consecutive county and Southern California Division 1 titles.

Nothing like four of the top 10 teams in boys lacrosse playing within 24 hours of one another to kick off a new weekly column by yours truly that will feature the best in amateur boys and girls lacrosse across Patch's Orange County.

Mighty Foothill of Tustin mobilized in San Juan Capistrano Wednesday night to face St. Margaret’s, a private school that’s one-quarter its size but with a No. 5 ranking, determined to overpower the undermanned Tartans. Boys lacrosse has become so competitive at Foothill that the school fields three boys teams comprising 90 players, with 33 on the varsity. The Knights are seeking both their fifth consecutive Orange County and U.S. Lacrosse Division I Southern California championships.

The black-clad, machine-like Knights led throughout the game but were tested by the Tartans, who rallied from being down, 9-3, to trail by only two, 12-10, with 5:38 left before eventually falling, 13-11.

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Interestingly, Foothill won’t play a league game this year but will instead play a freelance schedule. During league realignements last summer, the school was moved to the Century League from the Sea View League, where it had won four consecutive boys lacrosse titles. The Century does not sponsor lacrosse, so members El Dorado and Esperanza are in the same boat. Games like the one Wednesday against St. Margaret’s will be important if the Knights hope to continue their reign over Orange County lacrosse.

“Until someone knocks us off,we are the best team,” Knights coach Jon Fox said. “We are the defending champs.”

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On Thursday, Los Alamitos arrived at Tesoro. It would have been No. 4 vs. No. 8 if the preseason rankings had held up, but with the Griffins losing their first three games and the Titans splitting half of their four, it was No. 10 vs. No. 9. But both teams played as if a championship was at stake before Tesoro held on through a scoreless fourth quarter to win, 6-4.

After the game the Los Al players were visibly upset, some throwing their equipment and kicking their helmets in frustration. Coach Ben Barchey, who was still seeking his first victory as the Griffins' coach after replacing Kevin Meyran, was disconsolate and would only say that the offense had great shots but hasn’t “put it together” yet.

Something tells me it won’t be long before that happens. Once an offensive leader emerges (four different players scored Wednesday), the Griffins will be returning to the top half of the top 10.

Quick Hit

So what’s it really like inside that 6 by 6 cage, also known as the goal?

“At first it was a little scary but you just adjust,” said Tesoro goalkeeper Tanner Knego, who had a half-dozen saves but none more important than the two he stoned in the final two minutes against Los Alamitos.

What made Tanner want to face a sidearm crank shot that potentially can send a bullet 100 mph with only an oversized net and some well-placed padding?

“I started at goal my freshman year and instantly liked it,” the junior said. “I guess it’s a little crazy. I haven’t been hurt yet, but I do have a lot of welts.”

LaX Bash

Eight of the top 15 girls lacrosse teams in California, based on the STX-WSL rankings for the Western U.S., along with their JV teams, will be meeting on the same stage for the first time today in the inaugural SoCal Invitational Girls High School Lacrosse Tournament at two schools in Irvine. The tournament is sponsored by the San Diego and Orange County chapters of U.S. Lacrosse, along with tournament host Beckman High.

The lineup will feature top-ranked Monte Vista from Danville, the three-time defending CIF North Coast champion and winner of 33 straight before losing its season opener Thursday, and No. 3  Los Alamitos, the two-time defending Division 1 Southern California champions ranked No. 1 in Orange County. Other schools include No. 7 Coronado, No. 10 Beckman, No. 11 Foothill, No. 12 La Costa, No. 15 El Toro and Corona del Mar.

The varsity games will be played at Beckman High, 3588 Bryan Ave., and the JV games will be played at Hicks Canyon Elementary School, 3817 Viewpark. The first games start at 8:30 a.m. with Los Alamitos facing Corona del Mar on Field A for both varsity and JV. The championship games are slated for 4:45 p.m.

Poll-nopoly

Teams leaped over, under and around ne another so dramatically between the time of the preseason poll to the first in-season poll that you would have thought it was a Monopoly game.

But it reality most preseason polls are guesses based on the results from last season and how many varsity players are returning. There is so much more, from coaching and experience, to depth and understanding, to probably the most important element — team chemistry — that it isn’t until play begins that we really know what we’re getting.

The polls are conducted by head coaches from Orange Country CIF Lacrosse teams and are released each Monday during the season by the Orange County Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse.

In the boy’s poll only two teams stayed where they were from the previous week — No. 1 Foothill and No. 5 St. Margaret’s — which faced off Wednesday. The biggest gainers were El Toro, which went to No. 2 from No. 7, and Huntington Beach, which vaulted to No. 6 after not being ranked in the top 10. The biggest drops came from Los Alamitos, to No. 10 from No. 4, and Corona del Mar, to No. 7 from No. 3.

In the girls division there were fewer moves this week, but that could change after the SoCal Invitational. Los Alamitos, Foothill and Beckman remained Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Santa Margarita moved from No. 4 to No. 5, while Corona del Mar is No. 6, El Toro is No. 7, Tesoro is No. 8 and JSerra and El Dorado are Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.

Milestone

Congratulations to Gerry Manning and the St. Margaret’s boys team for becoming the county's second lacrosse team (after Foothill's) to reach 100 victories following a 9-6 win over Tesoro last week. Manning, the Tartans' only coach since the program began in 2000, is in his 11th year and has compileda  100-45 record, according to team officials. The Tartans have won four consecutive Trinity League titles since the sport was sanctioned by CIF in 2007.

Asked if he was ready to coach until his 200th victory, Manning, who humbly shuns the spotlight, winced at the thought. “That’s a lot of wins,” he said. “I didn’t even know they kept track of those things until they told me after the game.”

W.riter’s W.eekly W.ebsite

To get everyone thinking and talking lacrosse, this week’s featured website is Laxicon, the "Official E-Lacrosse Dictionary." The website also bill itself as the purveyor of “the words, terms and nomenclature of the greatest game of earth,” so who am I to argue?

Do you know what’s a FOGO? I learned it means “Face-Off, Get Off” and is used to describe a player who is only on the field during a face-off, which also is known as the “draw.”

How about a scoop? It’s the top part of the lacrosse head used to “scoop” up the ball.

Or one of my favorite new phrases: Fool’s Goal? Also called a “Mommy Goal,” it’s a shot that hits the back of the net and all the mothers in the crowd go crazy thinking the ball went into the cage.

Man, I am going to love lacrosse games.

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Mike Casey's "Lacrosse Notebook" will appear weekly on all Patch Orange County sites.

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