Boys Lacrosse loses championship

On Friday, May 14, the Mustangs traveled to Placentia to take on the three-time defending CIF champion in this year’s CIF championship game at 8 p.m.

The Mustangs put up a fight but fell, 14-12, to the Foothill Knights, who scored the go-ahead goal with less than one and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Senior attacker Mitchell Hymowitz and sophomore attacker Dakota Randall each had three goals in the Mustangs’ loss.

The Mustangs ended their season with a 17-4 overall record (including playoffs) and a 6-2 regular season Bay League record. Costa’s only two Bay League losses came against Palos Verdes, who they beat in the Northern Division finals on May 11.

“The game was truly a heart-breaker for us. We knew that we had a lot to prove going against the three-time CIF champions, but we were confident that we would be up to the challenge,” Hymowitz said.

Junior midfielder Thomas Farrell and Hymowitz each scored goals in the first half, but the Mustangs found themselves down 8-5 at halftime.

“We were down at halftime, so we pulled ourselves together and came out strong as a team, and we were really fired up to give Foothill a run for their money. Everyone played their hearts out,” Farrell said

Hymowitz scored his third goal of the night just two minutes into the third quarter and Randall scored three goals in a row to end the quarter, 10-9.

“We did our best. We all made some minor mistakes, but we still played our hearts out and just came up a little short. It’s never fun to lose, but in the end we all came together,” Randall said.

Costa battled back in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 12, but Foothill took the lead with less than two minutes remaining.

Costa attempted to press the Knights and get the ball back, but Foothill scored an empty-net goal with 12.9 seconds left after senior goalie Tony Gibbs tried to steal the ball from a Foothill attacker. With that crushing goal, the Mustangs’ season ended, and Foothill won its fourth consecutive CIF championship.

“Being the first Northern Division champions in Mira Costa lacrosse history is a feat within itself. We should hold our heads high. I have the utmost respect for all of the players and coaches in this program and have cherished the experience I had in four years with this program,” Hymowitz said.