Foothill, CdM to meet in O.C. boys lacrosse final

SAN CLEMENTE - Behind the strong play of sophomore Cooper Pickell, the second-seeded Foothill boys lacrosse team is returning to familiar territory.

Pickell scored four times as the two-time defending section champion Knights defeated third-seeded Los Alamitos, 14-12, in the semifinals of the US Lacrosse Southern Section Orange County Playoffs on Saturday evening at San Clemente High.

"We knew we had to come out strong and win the ground balls," Knights coach Jon Fox said. "We wanted them bad after losing to them earlier in the year and we kept the pressure on."

The Knights (17-5) took control of the match in the first period, as four players scored goals to stake Foothill to a 4-1 lead. The teams each scored seven goals over the next two periods, as Foothill took an 11-8 advantage into the final period.

After Knights senior Mitchell Cooper scored to give Foothill a 14-9 lead, Griffin senior Mike Marchand scored twice in a 39-second span to cap a three-goal run, narrowing the deficit to two. Marchand and senior CJ Gable led Los Alamitos (17-2) with four goals apiece.

No. 1 Corona del Mar 16, No. 5 Santa Margarita 7: Noah Molnar scored four goals and goalie Andrew Noto stopped 19 shots, as the top-seeded Sea Kings rallied from a first-period deficit to knock off the fifth-seeded Eagles in the other semifinal.

Corona del Mar (19-1) will face Foothill for the title Tuesday night at Irvine High at 8 p.m.

"They had us back on our heels and we had to dig deep," Sea Kings coach Mark Todd said. "Foothill is a great team with a winning tradition and I'm excited about the opportunity to play them."

Behind two first-period goals from Jack Cranston, the Eagles (15-6) took a 4-2 advantage.

But the Sea Kings took control of the contest in the second, scoring seven goals in a span of 7:40 to take a 9-5 lead into the intermission.

The Sea Kings added to their advantage in the third period, scoring four times to stretch the lead to 13-6.

Cranston led Santa Margarita's attack with five goals.

Contact the writer: jeichelberger@ocregister.com