SAN CLEMENTE – San Clemente is headed to the semifinals of the U.S. Lacrosse Division 1 South boys playoffs for the first time after knocking off No. 5 seed Corona del Mar, 11-8, on Thursday night at San Clemente.
The No. 4 seeded Tritons (13-4) will take on top-seeded and defending champion Foothill on Saturday at 2 p.m. at San Clemente High.
No. 3 seed El Toro meets No. 2 seed St. Margaret’s in the other semifinal at 4:30 p.m.
“I’m very happy for the guys, I think we’ve worked really hard all year and it was all about taking another step,” San Clemente coach Glen Miles said. “Last year, we lost this game to Foothill, so to get to the semifinals, they should be very proud.”
The Tritons were able to overcome a 5-4 halftime deficit, taking control in the third quarter to outscore Corona del Mar, 4-1. Peyton Garrett scored two of the goals and added a third goal in the fourth quarter for San Clemente.
“We just tried to help them relax, I think they were a little tight in the first half,” Miles said.
Garrett’s goal with 5:54 left in the third quarter tied the match, 6-6. San Clemente then scored two goals following a high stick penalty which gave the Tritons a man advantage for two minutes.
San Clemente took advantage as Bennett Jonas and Robbie Burns scored to give the Tritons an 8-6 lead.
Corona del Mar (14-6) cut the lead to 10-8 with 2:44 left but Max Sotosky scored his second goal with nine seconds left to help San Clemente clinch the victory.
“They made more plays than we did,” Corona del Mar coach G.W. Mix said. “We made some silly mistakes and some costly penalties and they were able to convert.
“They’re well coached and they fight hard. We made mistakes at inopportune times and they took advantage of it and we didn’t make the best of the opportunities we had.”
Michael Keasey led Corona del Mar with three goals. Donald Dalton added two goals for the Sea Kings, who were trying to reach the county championship title game for the third year in a row. CdM lost to Foothill the past two years.
“I don’t think anybody expected us to be here,” Mix said. “The preseason polls didn’t have us four or five, that’s for sure.
“Our kids fought hard. We replaced eight starters and found a way to wind up 14-6. They did a terrific job and we’ve overcome a lot of adversity.”
