The Eastlake Titans certainly had to enjoy being a part of history when they became the first Metro Conference boys lacrosse team to advance to the San Diego Section finals, though they would have preferred to step off the field last Saturday at San Marcos High School as Division II champions.
Canyon Crest Academy, seeded second in the division, recorded a 9-4 win to record its first CIF championship; the fourth-seeded Titans finished runner-up.
The championship game loss was really the only downer on the otherwise history-making afternoon.
“Making it to the finals was a great team accomplishment,” EHS coach Dale Drees explained. “Prior to this season no Eastlake team had progressed past the quarterfinals. In fact, I don’t think any boys lacrosse team in the South Bay has made it past the quarterfinals.
“Even though we fell short in the final game, I am very proud of the efforts of our athletes throughout the entire season and am happy that I was able to be a part of it. It is exciting when you see a team come together as they did when they realized they had a shot at going deep in the playoffs.
“We talked all season about honoring the legacy of the athletes and coaches that came before and helped to shape the Eastlake lacrosse program. I hope this season has added to that legacy and set a standard for what can be accomplished in the future.”
The Ravens (14-12) sped to a 2-1 first quarter lead and advanced their lead to 4-1 at halftime. Canyon Crest added three goals in the third quarter while the Titans scored twice to lead 7-3 entering the final quarter.
The Ravens scored twice more in the fourth quarter.
Jaxen Trinidad, Braden Mayer, A.J. Caturay and Tony Santos each scored goal for the Titans (15-7) while McKinley Egland-Young added two assists. Caturay also recorded an assist to finish with two points in the game.
Kai Bowden had 15 saves.
Matt Anderson led Canyon Crest Academy with four goals.
San Diego Section
Boys Lacrosse Champions
Open Division
(1) Torrey Pines 7, (3) Coronado 5
Division I
(1) La Jolla 10, (7) Scripps Ranch 8
Division II
(2) Canyon Crest Academy 9, (4) Eastake 4
