1. Foothill. Click here to read about the Foothill boys lacrosse team.
2. Corona del Mar: The Sea Kings, who were 15-5 overall and 10-0 atop the Pacific Coast League, hope to make a run at Foothill for the county title this year. “We’re looking to replace the core of the 2011 starting defense,” said Corona del Mar Coach G.W. Mix. “Michael Ortlieb, in just his second season in the goal, is one of the top senior goalies in the U.S. If Casey Mix remains healthy and we can fill the holes at defense, we could be a top four team in OC.” Casey Mix, a junior attack man, was first team all-league, scoring 10 goals with 38 assists despite missing eight games with an injury.
Ortlieb was first team all-league. Other top players include senior midfielder Michael Keasey, who was first team all-league and second team all-county. He scored 52 goals and had 15 assists. Junior attack Jack Ortlieb, who was first team all-league and senior midfielder Connor Canale, who was second team all-league, also return. Senior attack Hunter Molnar, a second team all-league player last year, also returns.
O.C. boys lacrosse season preview
Boys lacrosse preview: Players to watch, important dates
3. St. Margaret’s: The Tartans got to the finals of the U.S. Lacrosse Division 1-South finals, losing to Foothill,15-10, to finish 14-3 overall. The Tartans, who won the Trinity League title with a 7-1 record, look strong again this year. “We want to continue to be strong on defense with an improved offense,” Coach Gerry Manning said. “We’re looking to return to the Southern Section title game.”
St. Margaret’s is led by senior Scott McGowan, a long stick midfielder, who was first team all-county last year. McGowan had five goals and 116 groundballs last year. Also back is Kent Iizuka, a senior attack. He scored 21 goals and had 18 assists and 39 groundballs last year while earning first team all-county. Other top players include senior midfielders Chris Bauer, who had 16 goals and 35 groundballs and Matt Duenes, who had 15 goals, 18 assists and 54 groundballs.
4. El Toro: The Chargers, under Coach Adam Guy, finished 16-3 overall and were 7-1 en route to the South Coast League title last year.
“We have a strong group of seniors with excellent juniors to fill in the blanks,” Guy said. “This team has been playing together for the last three to four years. The boys are focused on the task at hand and I am hoping we can stay focused and get another league title and make a deep run into the playoffs.”
Leading the way for the Chargers is senior midfielder Jake Craycraft, who was first team all-league, the leading scorer and will be a four-varsity letterman.
Senior attack Jared Ferrell, who had more than 30 points last year, returns along with senior defender Ryan Lampman, senior midfielders Mike Tomita and Mason Becker and senior defender Jordan Terrio. Senior attack Ryan Cole is also back.
5. Santa Margarita: Brad Reppert takes over for Chris Driggs as the Eagles coach and is looking forward to the challenge. “We have some great leaders on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “With a relatively young team we’re looking towards the defense to be our leaders. With some new philosophies, we will be looking to play a different brand of lacrosse than we’ve shown in years past. We’ve got a lot of young talent that will look to push the upper classmen.”
Among the top returning players is senior Ronnie Pisano, who has been the starting goalie since his freshman year. Also back are senior defenders Garrett Parsons, Conor Mullarky and Josh Kang. Senior attack men Andrew Luher and Sean Canon also return.
6. Huntington Beach: The Oilers were 15-3 overall and won the Sunset League with a 5-1 record. Coach Brian Dunn has another talented group returning.
“We’re looking to repeat as Sunset league champions and improve on last season’s playoff run,” Dunn said.
Among the top returning players are senior defenders David Abady (37 groundballs), Ryan Harchut (61 groundballs) and Dallas Heyden (51 groundballs) and junior goalie Trevor Jackson (130 saves). Junior midfielder Anders Davis, who had 31 groundballs, is also back.
Other top returning players include junior midfielder Alex Kowalski, junior defender Chris Lai, junior midfielder Grant Lowman, senior midfielder Grant Lunsk, junior midfielder David Mastro and junior attack Taylor Refice.
7. Los Alamitos: The Griffins were 10-8 overall and look for another successful season. “We return a very strong senior class and a very mature junior class,” said Coach Ben Barchey. “Our entire focus this year is valuing the concept of teamwork and working hard for each other. It should be a fun and successful year for Los Al.”
Among the top players are senior midfielder Sterling Hardy, senior attack Ozzie Hyde, junior attack Josh Jenks, junior midfielder Josh Duchon and senior defenders Max Crowley and Ryan Actkinson. Goalie Mitch Dutton, who had 185 saves last year, is also back. Junior midfielder Jace Heller also returns.
8. San Clemente: Coach Glen Miles has some talented players returning from a squad that was 6-2 in league last year. Among them are senior midfielder Aaron Self, who won 70 percent of his face-offs last year. Also back is sophomore attack Peyton Garrett, who led the Tritons in goals last year and senior attack Jay Cassity, who led the team in total points, including 29 assists. Other top players include sophomore defender Stone Sims and junior defender David Anthony.
9. JSerra: The Lions, under first year coach Kyle Harrison, would like to make a run at the Trinity League title after finishing second last year with a 4-4 record and 10-7 overall mark. More than half of the varsity team is made up of excellent freshman players, according to Harrison. The team is led by a solid group of upper classman including five all-league players from last year.
The players include junior midfielder Cole Schleppy, senior defender Troy Janikowski and sophomore attack Mitch Kingsley, who were all-first team all-league players. Kingsley is a transfer from Santa Margarita. Other top players include senior midfielder Hunter Kimpler and senior goalie Ryan Suttle, who were both second team all-league players last year. JSerra is also counting on big years from junior midfielder Loren Ortega and sophomore attack Chase Janikowski.
10. Tesoro: The Titans have a new coach as Adam Miner takes over for Brian Eisenberg, who is now coaching the El Dorado girls team. Miner has a talented group of players back from last year’s team that went 12-7 overall and finished 5-3 in league play.
The team is looking to improve upon its 2011 record and compete for championship in a highly competitive league, Milner said.
The top players include junior midfielder Jake Douglas, who was a second team all-league player last year.
Also back are senior goalie Tanner Knego, senior midfielder Adam Smith, junior midfielder Jake Douglas and junior attack Chase Warner, who were all honorable mention selections. Senior defender Joey Browne is another standout returning player.
