The Register’s All-County girls lacrosse first team.
ALL-COUNTY FIRST TEAM
Player of the year: Julia Taylor, Foothill
In her fourth year on the varsity level, Taylor proved to be just what the Knights needed on the field. … She led the Knights with 89 goals, including 11 in an 18-11 victory over Oak Park in May. … Taylor was selected Most Outstanding Player of the O.C. title game. … Taylor will be attending the University of Oregon in fall, where she will continue her lacrosse career. … Taylor capped the season with two goals and two assists in Foothill’s 11-10 victory over Redondo Union in the Southern Section title game.
Coach of the year: Kaylee Navarrete, Foothill
Navarrete led the Knights to their first county title since 2007. … Navarrete was a freshman on Foothill’s last team that won the O.C title in 2007. … She scored 31 goals with 32 assists in 2010, leading the Knights to the county title game. … This is her third year as varsity coach. …She started coaching frosh/soph and junior varsity teams, before replacing Brian Cross as varsity coach.
Jenny Buckland
Woodbridge, Sr., Defense
Buckland earned second team All-county honors last season for the Warriors. This season she scored 40 goals, 63 points and finished second on the Warriors with 65 ground balls. She scored a game-high five goals on two occasions this season.
Claire Duchene
Beckman, Sr., Goalie
Duchene is back for her second consecutive first team appearance. She recorded 186 saves this season for the Patriots and allowed 7.1 goals a game leading the Patriots to the county title game.
Lauren Gonzales
Mater Dei, Soph, Attack
Gonzales was a key component to the Monarchs’ success this season as they advanced to the county semifinals. The sophomore scored 63 goals, including a season-high of six on four different occasions.
Grace Houser
Mater Dei, Soph, Midfield
Houser makes her second consecutive first team all-county appearance. She led the Monarchs with 70 goals and 41 ground balls, helping the Monarchs to the semifinals of the county playoffs.
Meridian Lee
Foothill, Jr., Midfield
Lee was a versatile performer for the Knights this season from the opening day until the title game. Lee scored 46 goals. She also won 174 draws for the Knights. In the O.C. title game she was 17 of 19 on draws. She also scored the eventual winning goal in overtime in the county title game victory.
Dominique Loney
Los Alamitos, Sr., Defense
Los Alamitos had to replace a key core of graduating seniors, but Loney proved to be a stabilizing force for the Griffins, helping them advance to the county semifinals. Loney earned first-team all-county honors last season.
Shea O’Donnell
Beckman, Sr., Midfield
O’Donnell was an all-around force for the Patriots. She led the team with 89 goals and 94 ground balls. O’Donnell, who earned first-team honors last season, also had 18 assists helping the Patriots advance to the county title game.
Jenelle Phillips
Trabuco Hills, Sr., Attack
The Mustangs qualified for the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season and Phillips, again, had a large role in getting there. The senior led the Mustangs with 86 goals and led the team to the quarterfinals of the county playoffs.
Brie Ratkevich
Foothill, Soph., Defense
The sophomore had a solid offensive showing scoring 24 goals. She also played a large role on defense, with 44 ground balls.
Mia Roth
Laguna Hills, Fr., Midfield
Roth, who played soccer for the Hawks and earned second team All-CIF honors, scored 80 goals this season, helping the Hawks to the Sea View League title. She scored a season-high 15 goals in a game this season and she finished with 31 ground balls.
Karina Yamasaki
Woodbridge, Sr., Attack
It was going to take a special season for Yamasaki to pass her goal total from last season. However, that’s exactly what she did, scoring 112 goals for the Warriors. She also had 93 ground balls and she won 227 draws. Yamasaki earned second team honors last season.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
