Seven Metro Conference teams received entry into this week’s San Diego Section lacrosse playoffs — four in the girls field and three in the boys field.
In a show of force for area girls squads, two teams advanced to the semifinal round — Eastlake in the Division I bracket and Hilltop in the Division II bracket.
The girls playoffs faced off last Saturday with sixth-seeded Hilltop defeating 11th-seeded Mission Bay by a score of 8-7 and 11th-seeded Otay Ranch dropping a 1-0 matchup at sixth-seeded Rancho Bernardo.
Mesa League champion Eastlake received the No. 4 seed in the Division I field and a bye to Monday’s quarterfinals while South Bay League champion Olympian received the No. 4 seed in the Division II field and a bye to Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
Eastlake defeated fifth-seeded Bishop’s, 15-11, behind five goals each from Katie Carroll and Cori Montero, two goals each from Kam Lujan and Kika Funk, four assists and one goal from Janelle Fortuno, and 15 goalkeeper saves from Glo Hinojosa — and a loud and proud cheering section.
The Division I playoff win was the first in school history, head coach Robert Blas noted.
“Having the Titan fans support us meant a lot to the players and coaches,” he said.
The Titans, who finished 10-0 in league play, improved to 17-1 on the season. Their path to the division championship game, however, was blocked by top-seeded Del Norte (11-7), which defeated the Mesa League champions, 18-6, in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Eastlake ended its otherwise history-making season 17-2.
Del Norte wil play either sixth-seeded Rancho Bernardo or 10th-seeded Canyon Crest Academy in Saturday’s Division I title game at 2:30 p.m. at San Dieguito Academy.
Olympian, meanwhile, saw its season end following a 15-3 loss to 12th-seeded El Camino. The Wildcats, who previously upset fifth-seeded Ramona, 10-8, in last Saturday’s opening round, advanced to Thursday’s semifinal round to take on top-seeded San Dieguito Academy.
Olympian, which finished 8-0 in league play (16-4 in regular season play), closed an initial deficit to 4-2 in Tuesday’s game before El Camino pulled away to post the elimination win.
Hilltop pulled off a 12-9 upset win at third-seeded Francis Parker on Tuesday to advance to Thursday’s semifinal match at second-seeded Academy of Our Lady of Peace, which posted a 11-9 win over seventh-seeded Mt. Carmel on Tuesday.
Hilltop saw its path blocked by OLP, which generated a 10-7 win to advance to its first CIF championship game. The second-seeded Pilots will face 12th-seeded El Camino for the Division II title after El Camino upset top-seeded San Dieguito Academy, 10-4, in Thursday’s other semifinal game.
The Division II championship game is scheduled Saturday, May 12, at noon at San Diegiuto Academy.
Otay Ranch (9-9 overall) finished second in the Mesa League standings with a 6-2 league record behind Eastlake while Hilltop finished in third place in the league standings.
Boys playoffs
Eastlake, Otay Ranch and Chula Vista all received berths in this year’s Division II boys playoffs.
Mesa League champion Eastlake (8-0 in league play, 13-6 overall) received the No. 4 seed and will host fifth-seeded Point Loma (15-4) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Game time is 7 p.m.
“Our No. 1 goal each season is to win league, and this year was no different,” EHS coach Dale Drees explained. “In preparation for league play we scheduled the toughest non-league games that we could and I think that strategy paid off this year, allowing us to go undefeated in league.
“Our boys caught the vision early and knew they would have to put in the work to be in the running for a league title. We have a lot of talent on the team and getting everyone playing time was a challenge.
“Every offensive player scored, with eight scoring in double-digits and almost 60 percent of our goals coming off an assist. That speaks well of unselfish play, always looking to move the ball to the open player. I’m proud of what they accomplished this season.
“Overall, its good to see three teams from the Metro Conference in the playoffs, especially Chula Vista, making what I believe is its first appearance. It represents progress in the sport in the South Bay.”
Jaxen Trinidad set a new school record for both assists (63) and points (107) this season for the Titans. He also led the team this season with 44 goals.
Following Trinidad on the scoresheet are McKinley Egland-Young with 59 points (35 goals, 24 points),
Tony Santos with 42 points (40 goals, two assists), Braden Mayer with 36 points (24 goals, 12 assists) and A.J. Caturay with 23 points (17 goals, seven assists).
Mayer paced the team defensively with 76 ground balls, followed by Caturay with 47 ground balls and Errol Fitzpatrick with 45 ground balls.
Egland-Young collected 37 ground balls while Santos scooped up 29 ground balls.
Tristan Corpus won 119 face-offs while Kai Bowden made 239 saves.
Drees noted that during the regular season Eastlake played six of the 12 teams in its playoff division. “We have a good feel for what we are up against,” the EHS coach said. “Our goal now is nothing less than a CIF title. It will be a tough road, but the boys are up for it and committed. I am looking forward to these next two weeks.”
Chula Vista won this year’s South Bay League title with a 6-0 league record. However, the Spartans needed to get past Foothills Christian in a play-in game on Monday to advance to the elimination bracket.
Chula Vista won 9-6 to claim the No. 12 seed in the division and extend its season to Wednesday’s opening round.
Monday’s game was necessitated after the Spartans (11-6) finished 15th in the division rankings behind 12th-ranked Foothills Christian. Since league champions are guaranteed a berth in the section playoffs, a play-in game is required when a league champion finishes behind the last ranked team in a division.
Foothills Christian (13-6) finished 12th in the regular season rankings — one spot ahead of 13th-ranked Bonita Vista (8-10).
Point Loma advanced after eliminating Chula Vista, 16-7, in Wednesday’s opening round. The Spartans finished the season 12-8 with a league title and two playoff game experiences.
Eastlake finished third in the regular season rankings but dropped last Friday’s final regular season game, 8-7, to visiting Granite Hills to flip-flop with the Eagles in playoff seeding.
Granite Hills (12-6) had finished regular season play fourth in the division rankings.
El Capitan finished eighth in the division rankings while Otay Ranch finished ninth after losing, 11-10, to the Vaqueros in the opening game of the season.
The Mustangs reversed that result with a 14-10 playoff win on Wednesday.
Otay Ranch (12-5) advances to meet top-seeded Patrick Henry (13-6) in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Game time is noon at Otay Ranch High School despite the Mustangs being the lower-seeded team.
El Capitan finishes its season 14-6.
