Barons lead early but Titans come back strong to post 15-4 win in Mesa League opener
The Bonita Vista and Eastlake high school boys lacrosse team shared last year’s Mesa League championship. It’s a rivalry that has obviously gotten more competitive.
When the host Barons took an early 2-0 lead in Monday’s Mesa League opener between the teams, new Eastlake coach Dale Drees admitted he felt a bit anxious.
“The league games always seem to be tough with Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch,” Drees explained. “It feels good to get the first league win under our belt.
“It was difficult, especially the first quarter and the first half. It was neck-and-neck the first quarter, then we started to pull away. We look forward to seeing them again later in the season.”
The visiting Titans rallied to lead 8-4 at halftime and scored seven more goals in the second half to step off the field with a hard-fought 15-4 win.
The victory raised Eastlake’s record to 5-3 on the season, inclusive of a 4-3 mark in non-league games.
The Titans still have work cut out for them following non-league losses to Rancho Bernardo (15-5), Westview (18-2) and Santa Fe Christian (15-4).
Eastlake drops this season to Division II for post-season action, which could be rewarding.
Drees said learning to play as a team will be the secret to success for his team the remainder of the season.
Tony Santos keyed the visitors on Monday with four goals while Evan Farrage and Jaxen Trinidad each scored three goals. Trinidad also tacked on three assists while taking 11 shots.
Tristan Corpus had four ground balls while goalkeeper Kai Bowden was credited with 12 saves.
The Barons were hindered in Monday’s game with a first-half injury to Billy Esparza, one of the team’s standout players.
“We’re very young as a team,” new BVHS coach Peter Locke explained. “We only have four seniors on the team. We’re built for the future. We had a few key players go down early in the game. That was a blow to us. We lost some experience on the field.”
BV goalkeeper Francisco Moreno III was credited with 16 saves in the setback.
Back to back
The Barons fell to 3-6 on the season after absorbing a 10-9 non-league loss to visiting San Dieguito Academy on Tuesday. The hosts rallied in the final minutes to narrow the score to one goal but could not complete the comeback.
“We’re getting better each week,” Locke explained. “We had a lot of positives in this game. We played a tough game against Eastlake and came back to play these guys. We had a lot of guys step up. We came back at the end. Actually, it could have gone either way at the end. I thought my boys matured in the second half.”
Esparza led Bonita Vista with four goals in Tuesday’s game while Jacob Peters and Michael Lopez each scored two goals. Peter Locke IV led the Barons defensively with six ground balls while Lopez collected four ground balls. Esparza and Peters each were each credited with three ground balls.
Moreno made 11 goalie saves, including one in the dying seconds of the game that allowed his team to make one last valiant attack at the Mustang net.
Hilltop defeated visiting Olympian, 11-6, in a Mesa League game on Monday. Olympian came back to edge visiting San Diego, 11-10, in a non-league game on Tuesday.
Chula Vista gets big jump on Mar Vista, opens South Bay League play with 14-2 win
The Chula Vista Spartans boys lacrosse team faced off the first of eight South Bay League games Monday by defeating the visiting Mar Vista Mariners, 14-2, to grab the early lead in the standings.
The Spartans’ goal this season is to remain at the top of the standings.
“It’s a good start,” CVHS coach Angel Ascencio said after Monday’s win. “(But) we have seven more games to decide banner.”
The Spartans improved to 5-6 overall with Monday’s victory. They play at Mater Dei Catholic on Friday, April 6, at 6 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic is 2-6 overall after defeating host Southwest, 9-4, on Monday.
Chula Vista built a 12-0 lead on Mar Vista (3-5). The Spartans received five goals from Gabriel Mancillas, four goals from Angel Reyes and two goals from Samuel Magana in Monday’s win.
The hosts took 38 shots in the game and collected 42 ground balls.
Levi Lord scored both goals for the Mariners.
Chula Vista opened the season with wins over San Diego (8-5) and Lincoln (12-0), then lost its next four games to Foothills Christian (13-7), Murrieta Valley (15-5), Hilltop (12-3) and Valhalla (5-1).
The Spartans defeated Lincoln, 13-0, on March 14 and topped Del Lago Academy, 8-2, on March 20. Chula Vista lost, 12-5, at Bonita Vista in a non-league game on March 21 and dropped a 10-7 non-league decision to visiting Olympian on March 27.
Mar Vista’s wins have come against Mira Mesa (9-7), Army-Navy Academy (6-4) and Gompers Prep Academy (16-1). The Mariners have lost to Valhalla (6-3), Del Lago Academy (4-3 in triple overtime), University City (11-4) and Preuss UCSD (13-4) besides Monday’s loss at Chula Vista.
Chula Vista hosts Southwest on April 12. The Raiders are 0-4 following Monday’s loss to Mater Dei Catholic.
Inaugural girls lacrosse tourney set at Eastlake High School
The inaugural Lacrosse by the Lake girls tournament will occupy the next two Saturdays at Eastlake High School. Six varsity teams and 10 junior varsity teams are entered.
Junior varsity teams will play Saturday, April 7, with JV and varsity teams finishing up with finals on April 14.
Varsity teams include Eastlake, Murrieta Valley, Bonita Vista in the Blue Division and Castle Park, Hemet and Sage Creek in the Green Division. JV teams include Eastlake A, Santana, Murrieta Valley, Bonita Vista and Hemet in the Blue Division and Castle Park, Grossmont, Vista, San Ysidro and Eastlake B in the Green Division.
Tournament play starts at 7 a.m. both days. The JV championship game is scheduled at noon on April 14, followed by the varsity championship game at 5 p.m.
“We hope to grow each year and be a tournament San Diego County schools want to enter,” Eastlake coach Robert Blas said.
Eastlake improved to 2-0 in Mesa League play (5-1 overall) following Monday’s 13-2 win over visiting Bonita Vista. The win was the 100th for Blas in his 10-year tenure with the Titans.
Impact players on this year’s EHS varsity team include seniors Glo Hinojosas (goalkeeper), Katie Carroll (attack), Janelle Fortuno (attack), Andie Aroas (attack) and Samantha Eastep (defense) and juniors Kika Funk (midfield), Cori Montero (midfield), Kameron Lujan (defense/midfield) Erika Farrage (midfield) and Marissa Garcia (defense).
SATURDAY, APRIL 7
JV RESULTS
Castle Park 6, San Ysidro 2
Eastlake A 7, Bonita Vista 1
Vista 3, Grossmont 2
Murrieta Valley 7, Santana 2
Hemet 2, Bonita Vista 1
Vista 9, Castle Park 0
Grossmpnt 6, San Ysidro 5
Eastlake A 10, Santana 0
Murrieta Valley 5, Hemet 3
Bonita Vista 8, Castle Park 5
Eastlake B 7, Grossmont 2
Vista 9, San Ysidro 2
Santana 2, Hemet 2
Prep Sportsline
Softball
South Bay League
Tuesday, April 3
Sweetwater 28, Castle Park 1
Mar Vista 13, Southwest 9
Non-League
Friday, March 30
Clairemont 8, Hilltop 7 (8 innings)
Monday, April 2
Crawford 12, Castle Park 1
Tuesday, April 3
Montgomery 17, Lincoln 5
Boys Lacrosse
Mesa League
Monday, April 2
Eastlake 15, Bonita Vista 4
Hilltop 11, Olympian 6
South Bay League
Monday, April 2
Chula Vista 14, Mar Vista 2
Mater Dei Catholic 9, Southwest 4
Non-League
Tuesday, April 3
San Dieguito Academy 10, Bonita Vista 9
Girls Lacrosse
Mesa League
Monday, April 2
Eastlake 13, Bonita Vista 2
Hilltop 17, Mar Vista 1
Non-League
Friday, March 30
Eastlake 17, Castle Park 0
Tuesday, April 3
Francis Parker 11, Bonita Vista 9
