Griffins Beat Santa Margarita for O.C. Lacrosse Title

Los Alamitos’ girls lacrosse program continues to set the standard for excellence in Orange County. The Griffins edged Santa Margarita, 15-13, on Wednesday evening to win the US Lacrosse Southern Section Orange County Division 1 title game at Mission Viejo High.

Griffins seniors Allie Conrad and Melissa Hastie and sophomore Julie Crowell each scored at least three goals in the victory. Crowell led all players with seven goals, but she was hardly alone in producing on the biggest stage of the season, so far.

"I never stress having a 'go-to' girl,” coach Liz Connelly said. "We set up our threats all across the field. Every single player we put on the field has the skill-set and the brains to work together and get the ball where we need it to go.”

Connelly, the team’s 20-something year-old-coach with an excitable attitude, is perfectly in-tune with what her Griffins needed in order to secure its third consecutive county crown. A graduate of Rollins College, Connelly took over for veteran coach Meredith Meyran, who won Orange County titles in 2009 and 2010 before leaving for Connecticut with her family,

Los Alamitos fell behind, 2-1, early Wednesday but the team wouldn't be down for long. Crowell scored her first goal of the game with just under 20 minutes remaining in the first half to tie the title match at two goals each.

When Santa Margarita star Adrienne Anderson, a junior who scored eight goals in the Eagles' semifinals victory over top-seeded Foothill, notched her first goal of the game to knot the score at 4-4 with nine minutes remaining in the half, it became apparent that fifth-seeded Santa Margarita (15-4) would make second-seeded Los Alamitos (17-3) work hard for its three-peat.

However, the Griffins closed the half on a three-goal run, extending their advantage to 7-4 at intermission. Crowell scored her third goal of the game with just over three minutes remaining to send Los Alamitos into the locker room with an expanding cushion over the dangerous Eagles.

"Julie was just lighting the cage up," Connelly said. "And it was important for us to keep working hard offensively. Knowing [Santa Margarita], I wouldn't have been comfortable with any lead because those kids are fighters.

The Eagles did, in fact, fight back to begin the second half. Santa Margarita senior Madlin Williams cut the deficit to 7-6 less than a minute into the 25-minute session. Conrad and Anderson then traded goals to extend the score to 8-7 with 19 minutes remaining in the title clash.

Los Alamitos senior Torrey Bailey, who tallied six goals in her team’s 19-13 semifinal victory over Beckman on Saturday, scored to push the Griffins' lead to 9-7, but the Eagles answered on the next possession. Anderson, a junior already committed to Stanford, scored her second goal of the half and third of the game with a power move inside Los Alamitos’ zone, cutting the deficit to 9-8 nearly midway through the half.

"[Anderson] is a warrior," Connelly said. "It was clear that she is the heart of that team and their attack. Our girls were well aware that when she had the ball, we'd better slide to her. But didn't matter how many defenders we had on her, I was still biting my nails and wondering what she was going to do next."

Connelly implemented a defensive effort focused on Anderson. The junior often found herself triple-teamed by Los Alamitos defenders. The impressive defensive effort didn’t prevent the Eageles’ dynamic producer from scoring her fourth goal with 12 minutes remaining to provide Santa Margarita with its first lead, 11-10,  of the second half.

"[Los Alamitos] slides really well if you try to drive," Anderson said. "We were struggling with cutting inside and getting open. But we definitely kept trying.”

From that moment, Los Alamitos’ defense took over. The Griffins held Beckman scoreless for nearly nine minutes in their semifinal game, and nearly repeated the feat against the Eagles on Wednesday. Los Alamitos kept Santa Margarita scoreless for almost seven minutes until Anderson ended the drought with approximately five minutes remaining.

During the dominant defensive stretch, the Griffins scored four unanswered goals to seize control of the pivotal matchup. Crowell accounted for three of the scores, which doomed the Eagles and spurred Los Alamitos toward a third consecutive Orange County crown.

"I've come to expect that our second half is going to be a little bit stronger," Connelly said. "Every day I see this team fighting more and constantly pushing harder."

Santa Margarita cut the Griffins' lead to 15-13 during the final few minutes, when Anderson and senior Bri Richards recorded goals. Despite falling short against a powerhouse Los Alamitos program, the Eagles, a team that had never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs until this year, are confident they're on the right track.

"I feel like we really worked until the very end," Anderson said. "Our team won't be the same without the group of seniors we're saying goodbye to, but there are a few underclassmen ready to contribute. We'll continue to grow as a team this summer and bring it next year."

Los Alamitos advances to the LA/OC Southern Section Championships at Redondo Union High on Saturday at 12:45 p.m.. Los Alamitos will be looking for its third consecutive title in this event as well.

Download the movie