Jenna Brodkin
Executive Sports Editor
Costa boys lacrosse traveled to Palm Desert last weekend for Sandstorm, the biggest tournament in the country for lacrosse. The tournament consisted of 534 teams both girls and boys, from around the world. The Mustangs struggled after being put in a difficult bracket and ended with a record of 1-3-1.
“Even though we struggled during the tournament, it was good practice for the season,” Fenton said. “This was our first time playing together as a full team and there were definitely positives to take away from the weekend.”
The Mustangs started off with a tough loss to Mater Dei 9-2. Costa was able to hang with the Monarchs for the first half but were unable to capitalize the rest of the game. Following their loss, they faced another tough opponent, Pinnacle, a team from Norco and lost 6-8.
“The two losses to start off the tournament were very tough for us,” junior defenseman Chinny Hackley said. “It sucks to start off a tournament 0-2 but we couldn’t let it affect us and we just had to move on and keep grinding.”
The final game on Saturday was against Corona Del Mar, a team that has given them struggles in recent years. Last year in the regular season, the Sea Kings dominated the Mustangs in a 17-3 win. However, the Mustangs showed up ready and controlled the majority of the game. The Mustangs built a 7-4 lead before the Sea Kings started their push. Corona Del Mar was able to score three goals in the last couple of minutes of the game to tie the Mustangs. According to Fenton, this game meant a lot to the team because of what happened in the regular season
“We were disappointed by the result because we were the better team and had the lead for most of the game,” Fenton said. “It always sucks to tie but that game showed that we have the ability to compete with top tier teams.”
The first game of the day on Sunday was against Westlake, another team that had given the Mustangs trouble in the past. However, the Mustangs were able to defeat the Warriors 5-4 after a game winning goal by Hackley. The Mustangs ended their weekend playing against a gritty team from Colorado, Team Dinoco. Costa struggled to keep up with their offensive success and lost the game 4-8. According to Hackley, the tournament was a great way to see what the team needed to work on.
“Throughout the tournament, there were a lot of highs and lows but I think we grew as a team,” Hackley said. “This was our first time together so it was good to see some success. Now we can use what we saw at the tournament and make sure the mistakes are fixed before our season starts in February.”
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