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Relentless was the only word to describe the San Juan Hills girls lacrosse team on Monday night, May 8.
After visiting Crescenta Valley went up 3-0 in the early minutes of the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals, the host Stallions did not turn and run. San Juan Hills clawed its way back to a one-goal deficit on seven different occasions on Monday, but the No. 4 seed Falcons did just enough to stave off the comeback.
Crescenta Valley led by three goals four separate times as the Falcons held off San Juan Hills’ charges, 15-14, in the third round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs at San Juan Hills High School.
“They’ve been doing it all year like that,” San Juan Hills coach Michael Welter said of his team’s fight. “The eight seniors, I don’t want to say carried the team, but there’s a few of them that put the team on their back. They didn’t quit. Everything they had, they gave. Just a little short tonight.”
The Stallions finished with a 13-5 overall record, including a first-round win over Peninsula, 14-7, and a second-round win at Village Christian, 10-8. San Juan Hills finished second in the South Coast League this season dominating the bottom three of the league by a combine 114-40 score, but falling twice to San Clemente by a combined 44-17 score.
San Juan Hills won two playoff games for the first time in program history advancing to its first CIF-SS quarterfinal.
“We had a bunch of sophomores on this team that were playing key roles or reserve roles,” Welter said about the future growth of the program. “I hope, or I trust, that the seniors have left a bit of a legacy for the underclassmen to carry on. Natalie Chapman, she’s going to be a rockstar next year, and those sophomores will step up as juniors.”
On Monday, Senior Ellie Ho led the Stallions in points with five goals and an assist. Junior Natalie Chapman, San Juan Hills’ leading goal-scorer this season, tied Ho with five goals and controlled eight of 16 draws. Senior Alyssa Bailey, who led the Stallions in points and assists this season, nabbed four assists with a goal. Bailey, Chapman and sophomore Sydney Beatty all led with three ground balls.
Senior Rachel Warner scored a goal with two assists, and sophomore Caitlyn Enright also tallied a goal with two assists. Senior Presley Villalba added a goal and an assist, and sophomore Sydney Beatty notched an assist. Junior goalie Hayden Beck made four saves.
Crescenta Valley scored three goals in the opening three minutes of the game, as the Falcons cycled low and behind the net for open opportunities in front. However, the Stallions scored three of the next four goals with strikes from Chapman, Enright and Ho to cut the lead back to one goal twice.
Crescenta Valley then scored another three straight goals for a four-goal advantage, its largest of the evening. San Juan Hills fought back down the stretch to trail by two at halftime, 10-8.
Even more than the first half, the second half was all about ball control, as Crescenta Valley tried to work the clock with long possessions. Those long possession were also spurred on by the San Juan Hills defense, as the Stallions became more aware of locking down the Falcons’ inside options.
“Our defense played a lot better in the second half,” Welter said. “We usually play a zone, and I think early on, they realized the zone wasn’t going to work, so they quickly shifted. It speaks to their lacrosse IQ. They switched to a man (defense), and second half, they played great.”
San Juan Hills would cut the Crescenta Valley lead back to one goal four times in the second half, but each time, the Falcons had an answer, whether it was another goal or simply controlling the ball to keep it out of the quick-moving Stallions’ hands.
Ho’s fifth goal cut the lead to one with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but Crescenta Valley ground out the final minutes to hold on to the quarterfinal victory.
