Corona del Mar’s girls lacrosse team wasn’t expected to be in the finals of the U.S. Lacrosse Division 1 South playoffs.
But the seventh-seeded Sea Kings, under Coach Aly Vislocky, had quite a run, getting to the county title game for the first time before losing to Los Alamitos, 12-6.
Vislocky, the Register’s coach of the year for 2012, played a big part in getting CdM to the finals in her fourth year as the head coach.
“My team was the most athletic team I’ve ever coached,” Vislocky said. “I said to my assistant, ‘if we don’t go far this year, it’s my coaching error,’ because I have such a canvas to work from that the potential was there to go really far.
“That kind of put pressure on me early on because with what we had to work with, I knew we could get far.”
2012 All-County boys lacrosse team
CdM’s Keasey is boys lacrosse player of the year
CdM’s Mix is boys lacrosse coach of the year
2012 All-County girls lacrosse team
Santa Margarita’s Anderson is girls lacrosse player of the year
Corona del Mar began its playoff run with a dramatic 19-18 victory over Capistrano Valley. Then the Sea Kings knocked off No. 2-seed Foothill in the second round and defeated PCL rival Beckman in the semifinals.
In the South final, the Sea Kings (16-4 overall) put up a battle before falling to Los Alamitos, the eventual Southern Section champion.
Vislocky, originally from Oregon, played lacrosse in high school. She has been coaching for about 10 years.
“I ran lacrosse camps in Oregon for about seven of the years then started bringing the camps down here,” she said.
Many of the Corona del Mar girls players attended her camps before going to high school.
She was able to complete the cycle with many of the girls she has coached for all four years.
“The connection to this group of girls is something I will always remember, my group that I coached all the way through high school,” she said.
Vislocky said she’s fortunate to be with a group of players who enjoy playing year-round.
“We do a lot in the summer, and they like it. I’m lucky in that I have a good group of girls who enjoy playing all year long,” she said.
“My main thing is trying to provide them an opportunity to play lacrosse,” Vislocky added. “My goal, especially in the summer, is to provide opportunities for them.”
