Boys lacrosse: Terra Linda denied in program's first section final

Bennet Baird's second goal of the game pulled the Terra Linda High boys lacrosse team within two goals of Miramonte on Thursday as the Trojans made their first appearance in program history in the North Coast Section Division II championship game.

The Matadors reeled off the next four goals – two of either side of halftime – to seize control of the game en route to a 13-4 victory at TL, denying the Trojans a chance to win their first section title.

"I thought they executed better than we did," TL coach Kevin Gray said. "They won the groundball battle. We didn't play our best game but it wasn't for lack of effort. Sometimes you don't have your best game. I take nothing away from them but I would have liked to have given them a better game."

Top-seeded TL (13-10) topped No. 3 Miramonte (13-8) by a score of 10-9 during the regular season but this time the Matadors jumped out to a 3-0 lead and – aside from that moment in the second quarter – never looked back.

Baird's second goal of the game cut the score to 4-2 with 5:48 remaining before the half. The score remained that way for more than three-and-a-half minutes until Miramonte's EJ Ho and Derek Youn scored within 40 seconds of each other to push the lead to 6-2.

TL nearly scored just before the half but Miramonte goalie Bowie Hillstrom made a save on a shot by TL's Kaden Martin which then ricocheted off the cross bar with about 20 seconds to play in the half.

Youn added another goal 90 seconds into the third quarter then David Roman made it 8-2 about a minute later and TL never really threatened again after that.

Miramonte's Tre Murphy scored a game-high five goals and Youn added four. Ho scored twice.

"They're fine players," Gray said. "I did think our defenseman (Cameron Gregoire) did a good job on (Youn) but he was getting his goals on extra-man offense and that's a part of the game."

Hillstrom made 10 saves for Miramonte, including several in the first period as Miramonte opened up their early three-goal cushion.

"We knew coming in," Gray said. "We played them before and we watched their semifinal game against University and he is an outstanding goalie. He was a difference maker."

Sean Takeuchi-Ross and Martin scored second-half goals for TL. Martin scooped up five loose balls and added an assist. Nolan Reilly had two assists for TL.

The Trojans have made it to the D-II playoffs each of the past four seasons, advancing one stage further each time. TL lost to No. 2 Acalanes 17-2 in the first round in 2023 then fell 17-3 against top seed and eventual champion Justin-Siena in 2024.

The Trojans battled 2025 champion University in the semifinals that year, falling 8-7, then lost in Thursday's final which crowned Miramonte as the champions.

"I'm really proud of these guys because we graduated seven or eight starters last year," Gray said. "We had a heck of a season. The destination didn't end up where we wanted it to be but it was a hell of a journey all year. We played hard. We played well. We played unselfishly. These guys are a joy to be around as lacrosse players and people."

Gregoire, Takeuchi-Ross, and Martin were among the Trojans' standout performers this season. Gray referred to Gregoire and Martin as the quarterbacks of TL's defense and offense, respectively.

"We asked (Gregoire) to move from midfield to defense this year because not only did we graduate all of our defensemen but the ones coming back, they weren't vocal and he was our quarterback," Gray said. "We would put him on the other team's best player and against Justin-Siena – they had a really good player – and he shut their best players down on a regular basis."

Takeuchi-Ross was the team's faceoff specialist and Martin was the team's top offensive playmaker as a midfielder.

"I'll give credit to (Miramonte's) faceoff guy because Sean has been dominating," Gray said. "It was pretty even but against the best teams in the MCAL, Sean's faceoff percentage was outstanding."

Gray also highlighted the contributions of some of his other key players this season.

"We had a supporting cast of two sophomores in Nolan Reilly and Dawson Freisen," Gray said. "We had two other senior captains – Bennet Baird and Tucker Kurth – those guys were the key to our season."

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 5:25 AM.