Mustangs Fall Short in 16-12 Loss to Rival Redondo

Two weeks ago, the Mira Costa girls lacrosse team fell 11-4 to the two-time defending Bay League champions from rival Redondo Union.

On Tuesday night, the Mustangs came back strong, but although they got within three goals of winning late in the second half, they were unable to come away with a victory, falling short 16-12.

Early on, both teams traded goals, and immediately following a Mira Costa time out, Mira Costa's Sara Adams found Lexi Kurugian for a goal, bringing the Mustangs to within one at 6-5 with 11:28 remaining in the first half.

The Sea Hawks' offense would then flex its muscles, outscoring the Mustangs 6-1 as Julia Denny and Bailey Czech each scored twice.

“Sometimes we are indecisive and don’t take the initiative right away," Mira Costa coach Amanda Cross said. "This game took a while for us to get going, but it was very encouraging in the second half.”

With 17 minutes remaining in the game, Redondo’s Denny pounded the back of the net with a strong toss to give the Sea Hawks a commanding 14-7 lead.

The Mustangs (7-5, 6-2) would clamp down defensively and goalie Megan Difley would hold tough in net as the Sea Hawks (10-2, 6-0) would go scoreless for more than 14 minutes.

“We stepped up defensively in the second half," Difley said. "We got a feeling for what they were trying to do and really played better.” 

The offense perked up with Carly McGuire, Emma Schiewe and Taylor Pool finding creases in the Redondo defense, using their speed to get goals from close range.

“We were more aggressive going one-on-one instead of waiting for wide-open opportunities,” Cross said.

The Mustangs went on a 4-0 run and cut a seven-goal deficit to three at 14-11 with 9:09 remaining.

“Early on we didn’t communicate well," said McGuire. "We got pumped up after Lia [Sepanek] got hit in the chest and directed our emotion to the field and were more accurate on passes and just wanted it more.” 

Mira Costa’s momentum would slow down as the Sea Hawks moved into a preventive, controlled offensive style. Neither team would score until the 2:45 mark when Redondo's Brittany Ross put back a rebound to her own shot, extending the Redondo lead to 15-11.

“It feels good to know we can play them close," said McGuire. "This is a confidence boost for us, for sure.”

Despite falling short of the comeback, Cross was encouraged by her team's effort, a much closer contest than two weeks earlier when the Mustangs were tied 3-3 at half, but were outscored 8-1 in the second half by Redondo.

“The girls responded well to the large deficit. They came back and made it close and they should be very proud of their effort,” Cross said.

Pool and McGuire led the Mustangs with three goals apiece. Schiewe and Lia Sepanek added two each. Difley had 12 saves in goal.

“They [Redondo Union] have been our biggest competition for us and we hope we can grab second place and maybe get another chance at them in CIF,” Difley said.