Brian Kaiserman
Staff Writer
Mira Costa’s boys lacrosse team showed its heart, fighting its way past St. John Bosco High School’s early lead to clinch the win.
The Mustangs defeated the Braves, 13-9, at home on Tuesday in a non-league game. Bosco scored two goals in the first two minutes, and ended the first quarter up, 4-0.
“We came out really flat at the start of the game,” junior attackman Macallan Laver said. “We struggled to get open on clears and play effective defense.”
Mira Costa Lacrosse, Max Preps:
As the game progressed, Costa tightened up its defense and gained momentum on offense through quickening ball movement. The team was led by senior attacker Casey Bonner, who scored three pivotal goals to narrow the gap in the first half. By halftime, the Mustangs had tied the game, 6-6.
“My teammates set me up really well and gave me a lot of motivation,” Bonner said. “We started rallying to the ball, and we were able to capitalize on our man-up situations.”
The second half started with a goal by the Braves, but junior attacker Zach Horowitz responded with a goal for Costa, followed by another from senior midfielder J.J. Packer. Minutes later, Laver fired one into the net, earning him his first hat-trick of the season. Costa led 9-7 at the end of the third.
“Once we got our energy up, we started playing our style of lacrosse,” Laver said. “We felt like we were the better team, but we didn’t show it until the second half.”
Mira Costa possesses the ball in the attacking zone until sophomore Josh Mauruyama barely misses the net. The Mustangs used this possession to build up momentum in the game.
The Mustangs racked up four more goals in the fourth and played with hustle and impenetrable defense, cushioning their lead, coach Aaron Karsh said. A last-minute push from St. John Bosco cut the lead to two, but the attack was not enough to overcome Costa’s lead.
St. John Bosco Lacrosse, Max Preps:
“After the first half, we started making good decisions with the ball and finding the open man,” Karsh said. “If we do things the right way and make smart choices, we can see how good of a team we really are.”
The Mustangs, 6-2 overall, played Brentwood High School on Thursday at Brentwood, but results were unavailable at the time of publication. The Mustangs face Peninsula at home at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in their first Bay League game.
“We set our schedule up to play really competitive games for most of the season,” Karsh said. “We need to keep showing up every day and, hopefully, our results will reflect that.”
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