The Bonita Vista High School boys lacrosse team continues to gain momentum as the season heads to a close.
The Barons defeated the visiting Olympian Eagles, 8-4, on Monday to improve to 6-9 on the season. Bonita Vista is now 4-2 in its last six games after facing off the season with a 2-7 mark.
“We’re stringing them together,” BVHS coach Peter Locke said after Monday’s game.
The win over the Eagles was significant, as Olympian entered the game as the South Bay League leader.
“We lost to them earlier (8-3 on April 3) at their place, so it was nice to get a win to show our progression as a team,” Locke said. “We have three league games left. If we can win those games, we have a chance to be league co-champions.”
The Barons concluded the opening round of Mesa League play with a 2-1 league record following a 14-2 loss at league front-runner Eastlake on April 15. Bonita Vista closes second-round play with games at Hilltop on Wednesday (April 24) and Otay Ranch (April 29) before hosting Eastlake on May 1.
Jaylin Lee and Timmy Tucker led the Barons on the scoresheet with two goals apiece while Zak Potok, Miguel Morgan, Leo Zepeda and Mark Cornejo each scored one goal.
Justin Locke led the team defensively with eight ground balls while Lee had five.
The ability of the Barons to scoop up the ball in key situations, whether on offense or defense, helped turn the course of the game.
“Of you can win the ground balls, a lot of time you can win the game,” Locke explained. “Keeping possession is the key to winning lacrosse games.”
Monday’s loss dropped Olympian to 11-5 overall. The Eagles improved to 4-0 in league play after winning a dramatic 6-5 match-up at Mar Vista on April 17.
Julius Fackler, Michael Nafarrete and Robert Tagart each scored two goals to pace the visitors while Tyler Duke collected two assists.
Tagart scored the game-winning goal in the dying seconds to keep Olympian undefeated in league play.
“That last game against Mar Vista was big,” OHS coach Keith Quigley said. “To find a way to pull it out was huge. I really give credit to Mar Vista – they came out and played a great game. They worked hard.
“For us to find a way to get a shot off with 30 seconds left and get the goal to win the game was absolutely huge. Hopefully we can find a way to win our last two league games and be league champions again.”
Fielding proved critical for the Eagles. Nafarrete paced the Olympian defense with nine ground balls while senior Blake Yamamoto and freshman Andrew Leibold each had eight ground balls. As a team, the Eagles collected 70 ground balls
Leibold made 20 goalkeeper saves.
The Eagles fielded an undermanned line-up in Monday’s game due to player suspensions (from an earlier game). Olympian was missing two key players and had to shift another player to a different position.
Sophomore Bijan Razi scored three goals in Monday’s loss while Duke, a freshman, scored one goal. Razi led the visitors with seven ground balls while senior Alijah Gonzales had six ground balls.
Yamamoto, normally a midfielder, made 21 saves while pressed into emergency goalkeeper duty.
It wasn’t an ideal situation, but the Eagles hope to move forward in their remaining four regular season games, including league match-ups against visiting Chula Vista (Senior Night on Wednesday (April 24) and at Mater Dei Catholic on May 1.
Olympian has non-league games scheduled at Serra on Friday (April 26) and Helix on April 30.
Helix (11-4) is ranked sixth among the San Diego Section’s Division II teams while Olympian is ranked 19th.
Mar Vista (4-9 overall) remains in second place in the South Bay League standings with a 2-2 league record, followed by Mater Dei Catholic (1-2 in league, 2-4 overall) and Chula Vista (0-3 in league, 0-10 overall).
If the Eagles can win their final two league games, they would automatically qualify for the CIF playoffs as a league champion.
Eastlake, which advanced to last year’s Division II championship game, is ranked second in the division standings with a 9-5 overall record (4-0 in Mesa League).
Hilltop (8-7 overall, 2-2 in Mesa League) is ranked 14th among Division II teams with a good chance to qualifying for postseason play as an at-large team as 16 teams will qualify for the Division II playoffs.
Bonita Vista is ranked 21st out of 36 teams in the division but has room to move up with key wins to close out regular season play.
Otay Ranch is 0-5 in Mesa League play, 0-13 overall. The Mustangs lost, 21-2, at Eastlake on Monday.
Eagles regroup, top Spartans 16-0 on Senior Night to clinch South Bay League championship
The Olympian Eagles celebrated Senior Night on April 24 with a trio of senior players, Robert Tagart, Blake Yamamoto and Michael Nafarrete, leading the team offensively in a 16-0 shutout win over visiting Chula Vista to secure sole possession of first place in the South Bay League standings.
Tagart led the host Eagles with four goals and one assist while Yamamoto collected four points on two goals and two assists. Nafarrete scored three goals. Additionally, seniors Alijah Gonzales and Brandon Lara each scored one goal.
Olympian fired off 38 shots and collected 73 ground balls in the win. Yamamoto and junior Renz Miranda led the Eagles with 10 ground balls apiece.
Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Leibold stopped all seven shots he faced to record the shutout victory.
Olympian improved to 5-0 in league play, 12-4 overall, with the win over a Spartan team (0-4 in league, 0-12 overall) that was coming off a 20-0 non-league loss at Hilltop on April 22.
Girls lacrosse:
Trojans win pair to improve to 6-1 in South Bay League play
Nani Roche scored four goals and tacked on one assist while teammates Berenice Villalobos and Celeste Preciado each chalked up three goals and one assists in a 14-2 win against visiting Montgomery on April 22. The Trojans scored seven goals in each half en route to improving to 5-1 in South Bay League play.
Castle Park out-shot the Aztecs 39-7. Trojan goalkeeper Kim Zuniga made five saves to record the victory.
Castle Park defeated host Southwest, 15-0, on April 24 to extend its winning streak to four games – and league record to 6-1. Preciado led the Trojans with four goals while Allison Velasco and Roche each scored three goals.
Castle Park (8-7 overall) out-shot the host Raiders 31-4 as Citalli Fernandez and Zuniga shared credit for the shutout victory.
South Bay League Standings
(Through April 24)
Mar Vista 7-0, 10-6
Castle Park 6-1, 8-7
Chula Vista 5-2, 5-11
Montgomery 0-5, 1-7
Southwest 0-6, 0-11
Mesa League Standings
(Through April 24)
Eastlake 5-0, 8-5
Hilltop 3-2, 7-5
Bonita Vista 2-2, 10-7
Olympian 1-2, 7-7
Otay Ranch 0-4, 0-11
