Sea Hawks Cruise to 20-7 Win in Bay League Lacrosse Opener

Some have suggested this year’s Redondo girls lacrosse team might be rebuilding. Perhaps the correct word is reloading.

The Sea Hawks (4-1) began their Bay League title defense Monday against Beverly Hills by jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes with a balanced offensive attack. The Sea Hawks had their way on the Normans’ half of the field and finished the first half with a comfortable 11-5 lead over the Normans.

The second half of the game was more of the same as Redondo ratcheted up the defensive intensity and allowed only two goals in the second half, winning 20-7.

“I thought we shot well today. We want to fine-tune our stick play and continue to improve,” senior Julia Denny said.

Redondo, which is 21-1 for the past two seasons in Bay League play, is looking for a third consecutive league title.

“We have had good chemistry in previous years. There are a lot of new players this year, but we take them in and treat them like family, and I think we’re coming together well,” said junior Micayla Kotzbach, who led the Sea Hawks with four goals and four assists.

“Our girls are really focused,” Redondo coach Tom Borgia said. “They know the target is on them and everyone in the Bay League will be looking to make their week if they beat us. Tonight was a good start, we got to play everyone about 10-15 minutes, which is valuable for our depth.”

The senior trio of Denny, Bailey Czech and Allison Field each added three goals, with Denny assisting on four goals.

“We know everyone is going to be coming for us, and we are working on coming together and looking to win another Bay League title,” Kotzbach said.

Last season’s Redondo offense scored a remarkable 18 goals per game, and while they are replacing several graduated contributors, Borgia does not see this as a rebuilding season.

“I see us scoring more along the lines of 12-15 goals [per game] this year, but I think we have the chance to be a better defense, with goalie Heather Czech having another year of experience,” Borgia said.

Junior Ally Berry comes over from the Sea Hawks' very successful volleyball run and adds an element of toughness to the defense, Borgia noted. “Ally brings that type-A personality to the field and patrols the middle like a middle linebacker and has been great for us,” he said.

On the offensive side, Borgia pointed to his star midfielder Denny, whom he believes is the best in Los Angeles County.

“She doesn’t have the hardest shot, but it’s her combination of accuracy and stick work that makes her so great,” Borgia said.

The Sea Hawks will learn a lot about their team this week as they face off against rival Mira Costa on Wednesday, followed by a date with Peninsula on Friday.

“We have lots of room for improvement, but I think we’re keeping up our level of play because we have so much athleticism on this team,” Denny said.

With three Bay League games this week, there will be no rest for the team as it travels south to Laguna Hills for the inaugural Los Angeles/Orange county shootout and face preseason top 10 teams El Dorado and Mission Viejo.

“It’s a big week for us, we have our goals, and going undefeated in the Bay League is one of them, but this will be a great opportunity for us to test ourselves against great competition,” Borgia said.