CCS lacrosse championships: SI boys, SHP girls win D-I titles, Paly girls win D-II as M-A boys fall short in OT
The Bay Area‘s top high school lacrosse teams showcased their mettle on Saturday at the Central Coast Section championships.
Three of four section championships were won by teams in the Bay Area News Group's coverage area, headlined by both Division I championships featuring two local teams.
In the boys Division I title game played at Carlmont High in Belmont, top seed St. Ignatius knocked off No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep 10-5, ending a sterling season with a record of 14-5.
SI scored the first four goals, but SHP roared back with five consecutive scores to take the lead. The game was knotted at 5 in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats took over.
"Really proud of the senior leadership," SI coach Chris Packard told the Bay Area News Group. "We were cruising early and then, in what felt like an instant, SHP couldn’t miss and scored four goals in a row to take the lead. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter battle, and our seniors kept swinging and stayed positive with the rest of the team. And after we got the train back on the tracks, we couldn’t be stopped."
Michigan-bound senior captain Max Ripple led SI with three goals, Hawkes Packard and Hunter Cristo each scored two and Tanner Olrich, Tanner Folk and Kody Haan each had one. Cristo and Haan added assists.
Holy Cross-bound goaltender Bryson Lewis made 10 saves on 15 shots and "was the star," Packard said.
SI has been one of the best teams in California all season long – the Wildcats rank No. 4 in the state, according to MaxPreps, and No. 20 in the nation. Now, they have definitively stamped themselves as the section's best team with a decisive championship win.
The Cats outscored their opponents 54-11 during their three-game run to the CCS title.
SHP finishes the season 13-9.
"They slowly pulled away in the fourth and then we desperately tried to get the ball back, which led to a few goals at the very end," SHP coach Chris Rotelli told the Bay Area News Group.
Girls D-I: Sacred Heart 10, St. Ignatius 7
The script was flipped in the girls D-I title game, also held at Carlmont, as No. 1 SHP knocked off No. 2 SI 10-7.
SHP's championship victory completed a perfect 20-0 season. The Gators are the top team in California and sixth in the nation according to MaxPreps.
Kat Dykes led SHP with four goals, Maggie Goldstein scored three and Noa Katz, Molly Pepper and Lily Selcher each had one.
SI finished 16-6.
Girls D-II: Palo Alto 10, Stevenson 9
In Division II, the top-seeded Palo Alto girls knocked off second-seeded Stevenson 10-9 in a thriller held at Menlo-Atherton High.
Senior captain Natalie Dymmel led the Vikings (17-3) with four goals. Zoe Quintana and Nova Westin each scored two, while Meera Singh and Zara Mathoda each netted one.
Fellow senior captain Roni Horvitz had five saves, and Hanna Karsner led Paly with six draw controls.
"From defense to attack, every player showed up today with purpose," Paly coach Kaitlin Chiu said. "Our defense, goalkeeper included, was the backbone of this victory, playing with remarkable cohesion, communication, and spatial intelligence. This was a total team performance, and it showed."
Stevenson finished 15-5.
Boys D-II: Stevenson 8, Menlo-Atherton 7
The top-seeded Stevenson boys fared better in their Division II title game, beating No. 2 seed and host Menlo-Atherton 8-7 in overtime.
Quin Russell, Fin Mink and Topher Moan each scored a pair of goals for Stevenson (9-9). Mink scored the game-winning goal with 3:16 remaining in overtime off an assist from Derek Diniz, who had a goal and a pair of helpers.
Aden Ornelas posted five saves in goal.
For M-A (9-5), Zachary Sokol led the way with four goals. Will Torre, Carey Wolf and Ben Skirboll scored one apiece.
Caden Kadivar had nine saves in net.
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