LAGUNA HILLS – The county semifinals have been a hump the Foothill boys lacrosse team couldn’t get over recently.
The Knights had been county champions five consecutive years before bowing out in the semifinals the past two seasons.
Top-seeded Foothill rid itself of all semifinal frustrations on Saturday with a 13-8 victory over San Clemente in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division semifinals at Laguna Hills High.
“It’s our goal every year to get to the championship game,” Knights coach Jon Fox said. “It just feels like the hard work you put in is paying off, just for all the kids you have coming through, for all the seniors especially.”
Foothill (19-1) will meet No. 3 JSerra in the final, thanks in part to four goals from both Nick Matzek and Nate Marano.
It was quite a different affair from the first meeting between these two teams, which ended in a 17-16 Knights victory.
Foothill displayed a more sound defense and was able to limit the Tritons’ opportunities, which led to a 7-2 halftime lead.
Austin Babb’s strength on faceoffs allowed the Knights to control possession.
Austin Streeter had three goals for San Clemente (16-5), while Peyton Garrett scored two.
In the other semifinal:
No. 3 JSerra 9, No. 2 Corona del Mar 8: If Foothill’s major nemesis lately had been the semifinals, the Lions’ came in the form of the Sea Kings.
Corona del Mar quieted JSerra’s typically high-potent offense in wins in the semifinals last season and regular season this year.
It came down to the final seconds, but the Lions finally got past CdM.
“It felt like it was a little monkey on your back,” JSerra assistant coach Andrew Casimir said. “Those guys got the best of us the past (few) times out. So it was great to get a rematch of last year’s semifinals and get a win.”
The Lions (17-4) built a 9-6 lead with 2:26 remaining when Mitch Kingsley scored his fifth goal of the game.
Corona del Mar (15-2) scored two goals right away and had possession with 35 seconds left.
JSerra’s defense led by goalkeeper Jake Henigman, who had a great performance in net, turned away the Sea Kings.
The county final will be a rematch of a regular-season game from April, when Foothill beat JSerra, 13-12.
Contact the writer: amorales@ocregister.com