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A pair of one-goal losses last week to two of the top-ranked teams in the county showed that the San Clemente boys lacrosse team can compete with the upper-echelon programs in Orange County.

This week, the No. 5 Tritons turned their focus toward a longtime league nemesis: No. 7 Tesoro, which has been a thorn in the Tritons’ side the past two seasons.

Tesoro jumped to a three-goal lead after a quarter, but San Clemente proved that things have changed by rallying for an 8-7 victory in a South Coast League game at Tesoro on Tuesday.

“It’s obviously our matchup for the league (title),” Tritons coach Mike Hutnick said of the match. “It was not a pretty game by us, by any means, but at least we pulled out the win.”

Tesoro (6-4, 2-1) came out strong in the first quarter and led, 5-2, thanks to two goals from Brandon Mayo.

The Tritons (6-2, 2-0) seized control by scoring three consecutive goals to open both the second and third quarters.

Austin Streeter led the deciding run for San Clemente in the third. Streeter’s third goal of the game with 4:51 left in the third gave the Tritons their first lead. Austin Lickley scored scored 41 seconds later to extend San Clemente’s lead.

“We moved the ball better,” Streeter said. “Everyone just started moving and playing together more … we really came together.”

Tesoro’s last-ditch effort to tie the game fell by the wayside when Matt Costanzo’s shot failed to produce a goal with 4.7 seconds left.

In girls lacrosse:

In the Sunset League:

No. 5 Foothill 18, Yorba Linda 5: Ashlynn Braithwaite scored four goals and Cassidy Knapp recorded nine saves for the Knights.

In the Trinity League:

No. 6 Mater Dei 11, Santa Margarita 4: The Monarchs broke a 3-3 halftime tie with eight second-half goals. Breanna Barriga and Kenley Harrington combined to make eight saves.