Foothill, Los Alamitos to play for O.C. girls lacrosse title
Foothill, Los Alamitos to play for O.C. girls lacrosse title
The top-seeded Griffins face the No. 3 Knights on Tuesday night at Irvine High.
No. 1 seed Los Alamitos will try to win its first county title when it faces No. 3 Foothill in the U.S. Lacrosse-Southern Section Orange County Girls Lacrosse Championship on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Irvine High.
Los Alamitos (17-0) reached the county final by defeating El Toro, 12-9, on Saturday at St. Margaret’s.
Foothill moved on when No. 2 seed Beckman was forced to forfeit its semifinal match with the Knights because it had reached the 20-game maximum allowed by CIF. (Every tournament, regardless of the number of games actually played, counts as two games toward the limit.)
“It is very unfortunate that a program would need to withdraw because what one would consider a technicality,” Foothill coach Brian Cross said. “The players should not be punished for an unintended administrative error.”
Beckman’s girls lacrosse program and possibly other sports teams at the school would have been subject to sanctions from the CIF if it continued to participate in the tournament, according to Thom Simmons, director of communications for the CIF.
“We were just trying to do the right thing,” said Dan Perry, chairman of the postseason tournament, of the decision to ask Beckman to withdraw.
While followers of the Beckman program have expressed their displeasure at the ruling, Perry said there were no formal protests filed by the school.
Los Alamitos, which has lost the last two years in the county finals, will be trying to reach the Southern California finals, to be held Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.
The Griffins faced Foothil (18-6-1) during the regular season and won, 15-10, in a nonleague match on March 4.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to play them again,” Los Alamitos coach Meredith Adamicki-Meyran said. “We met them earlier in the season and we know it’s going to be a close game. We’ve got to prepare and get ready and just give it everything we’ve got.”
Foothill (11-3 in regular season, 18-6-1 including tournaments) is led by midfielder Jacqueline Paquette and attack player Natalie Cross. Both players have 76 points this year.
“Los Al is a well coached team,” Cross said. “Defense is the key component in this game. We will have to match their speed.”
Tickets are $5. Students 13-and-under will be admitted free of charge.
Corona del Mar and Foothill will meet Tuesday in the county boys title game at 8 p.m.
Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com
