Skip to content
  • JSerra's Brenden Lynch, left, tries to get past St. Margaret's...

    JSerra's Brenden Lynch, left, tries to get past St. Margaret's Fernando Delgado during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

  • St. Margaret's Hunter Edington attempts to run around JSerra's Jackson...

    St. Margaret's Hunter Edington attempts to run around JSerra's Jackson Russell during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

  • JSerra's Jake Schleppy, left, tries to move into scoring position...

    JSerra's Jake Schleppy, left, tries to move into scoring position while being closely watched by St. Margaret's Michael McGraw during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

  • St. Margaret's Ryan Harnisch hits JSerra's Jake Schleppy during a...

    St. Margaret's Ryan Harnisch hits JSerra's Jake Schleppy during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

  • JSerra's Jake Schleppy shoots past St. Margaret's Zachary Shor during...

    JSerra's Jake Schleppy shoots past St. Margaret's Zachary Shor during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

  • JSerra's Brenden Lynch attempts to knock the ball away from...

    JSerra's Brenden Lynch attempts to knock the ball away from St. Margaret's Hunter Edington during a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoff game Thursday at JSerra.

of

Expand
Author

Some say in order to be the champion, you have to beat the champion.

JSerra’s boys lacrosse team moved one step forward in its quest for a county title when it held off defending county and section champion St. Margaret’s for a 7-6 victory in a U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division quarterfinal game at JSerra on Thursday night.

Mitch Kingsley broke a 6-6 tie when he scored with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions were able to keep the Tartans at bay for the final two-plus minutes to seal the win.

“Mitch is the leader of this team,” JSerra coach Kyle Harrison said. “We went with him a lot today. We had a lot of initiating from him, and he’s a guy that we’ve given freedom to make his own decision with the ball … and he made a good play.”

Kingsley finished with two goals and three assists. The winning goal was the only score the Lions recorded in the second half.

JSerra (16-4) got out to a 6-3 lead with 3:17 left in the second, but St. Margaret’s (9-8) displayed the resolve of a champion and stormed back.

Hunter Edington scored three consecutive goals, two coming to start the third, to tie the score, 6-6, with 10:40 remaining in the quarter.

The third-seeded Lions move on to the semifinals, where they will face No. 2 Corona del Mar. The teams will meet Saturday at Laguna Hills High.

In other boys lacrosse playoff games:

No. 1 Foothill 18, No. 8 Great Oak 11: The Knights (18-1) will face San Clemente (16-4) in the semifinals after Nate Marano scored eight goals in their quarterfinal victory.

No. 2 Corona del Mar 10, No. 10 Tesoro 6: Ben Palitz recorded three goals and three assists for the Sea Kings (15-1).

In the girls lacrosse playoffs:

No. 6 Corona del Mar 12, No. 3 Foothill 11: Kendall Mulvaney scored the winning goal with seven seconds remaining to push the Sea Kings (16-4) into the semifinals. They will face Los Alamitos (12-6), which defeated Aliso Niguel, 15-3.

No. 4 Beckman 13, No. 5 Mater Dei 11: Five goals from Savannah Krause powered the Patriots (14-2) into the semifinals. Beckman will face top-seeded Capistrano Valley (17-0).

Contact the writer: amorales@ocregister.com