Beckman forced to forfeit lacrosse semifinal

Beckman's girls lacrosse team has been forced to forfeit its semifinal match with Foothill and withdraw from the U.S. Lacrosse-Southern Section Orange County playoffs because it reached the maximum games allowed by CIF, officials said Friday.

As a result, No. 3 seeded Foothill, which was scheduled to face No. 2 Beckman on Saturday at 1 p.m., will receive a bye and advance into the county finals on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Irvine Stadium.

Foothill will meet the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between Los Alamitos and El Toro.

“The coaches and players are devastated,” Beckman coach Stacy Mathis said. “We would have loved to have been there.”

Beckman, which was ranked No. 2 in the county for most of the season, has reached the 20-game limit allowed by CIF for lacrosse, according to Athletic Director Lance Neal.

Neal said the 20-game limit was discussed at a coaches meeting before the season. However, Mathis, who also coaches soccer, was unable to attend, Neal said.

“Ultimately, it’s my responsibility. We made a mistake,” Neal said.

The lacrosse tournament is sanctioned by CIF but run by U.S. Lacrosse, according to director Dan Perry.

Perry said CIF officials advise teams to schedule 18 regular-season games to allow them to stay within the 20-game limit should they advance to the playoffs. The postseason tournament counts as two games, regardless of how many games a team plays in the tournament, he said.

Neal and Principal Adele Heuer decided it was best for the team to withdraw from the tournament.

“We thought it would jeopardize our status with CIF in lacrosse and other sports,” Neal said.

Beckman defeated St. Margaret’s, 24-12, in its first tournament match on Thursday to improve its record to 17-3.

The scheduled semifinal matchup with Foothill looked to be tightly contested. Foothill defeated Beckman, 10-7, on March 7 and Beckman topped Foothill, 13-3, on March 20.

Neal and Heuer told the Beckman girls about the decision Friday.

“It was heatbreaking,” Neal said. “It was really tough to tell them. There were six seniors who really deserved to go on.”

The boys semifinals will be held on Saturday at San Clemente High. Foothill, the two-time defending champion, faces No. 3 Los Alamitos at 4:30 p.m.

Top-seeded Corona del Mar meets No. 5 Santa Margarita at 6:45 p.m.

The county finals are Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Irvine Stadium.

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com