NEWPORT BEACH – Fresh faces and new names can be found in abundance on the Corona del Mar boys lacrosse team this season.
Gone are the likes of Casey Mix and Jack Ortlieb, and in are players such as Noah Howe and Jordan Greenhall.
Howe and Greenhall, along with Nino Chavez, sparked the Sea Kings’ 16-3 nonleague victory against Fort Collins Unified of Colorado on Wednesday at Corona del Mar.
Corona del Mar, which reached the Southern Division title game last season, improved to 3-0 this season despite having only three seniors on its roster.
“It’s nice, kids are playing hard, they’re playing well,” Sea Kings coach G.W. Mix said. “We knew we’d be OK, because we have our whole defensive group back, and that certainly enables us to develop at a more reasonable pace at the offensive end.”
Against the Vipers, it didn’t take Corona del Mar too long to manufacture offense. Chavez opened the scoring with a goal with 10:43 left in the first. That was the first of six Sea Kings goals in the period.
Corona del Mar led, 6-0, after one, and, 9-1, at halftime.
After the break Greenhall ran point on offense and dished out four assists to extend the lead.
“I played (well), but it has to go all to my teammates,” Greenhall said. “They all play well, my attack is really good. Nino Chavez, Noah Howe are awesome.”
Greenhall, a sophomore, is new to the Sea Kings program. He moved to the area from Seattle during the summer.
He finished with two goals and four assists. Howe recorded four goals and three assists, while Chavez posted four goals and two assists.
The Corona del Mar defense was stingy as usual. Hoyt Crance saved six shots in net, and his brother, Hugh, created a ton of problems for the Fort Collins Unified offense.
The Sea Kings will face a stiff test against San Clemente at 7 p.m. on Friday at Vista Hermosa Sports Park.
