Bradley Hofmeister
Staff Writer
Two minutes left and down by two goals, can the Mustangs pull off the upset in the final few minutes?
Mira Costa girls lacrosse was defeated by Redondo Union High School 21-10 on Tuesday away ay Redondo. The team was lead by junior Charlie Manley who scored four goals and had one assist.
“After the first half we talked about improving our sliding when the other team is on offense and how it needs to improve,” said head coach Amanda Cross. “As well our passing out of the back needs work but we managed just fine throughout the game.”
In the first half, senior Kelli Mark led the Mustangs with two goals and one assist, other offense contributors included Manley and sophomore Alysia Hall who each had themselves one goal. According to Manley the team got off to a slow start as they struggled with the draw and were never able to come back from the deficit.
“I felt like our start was very slow while the other team was ready right away,” Manley said. “Unfortunately they took an early lead which allowed them to stay ahead for the whole game as we were never able to close the gap.”
Also in the first half, juniors Jamie Averch and Micaela Tomaro held a strong defensive line that was only penetrated by the opponents on a few occasions including penalties and fast breaks. According to Averch she felt the girls hustled after every ball and transitioned very smoothly from offense to defense.
“All the girls gave a 110% effort the whole game and hustled after every ground ball,” Averch said. “By winning the ball on the ground we were able to transition smoothly and get the ball to our attackers with ease.”
Entering the second half Costa was losing 4-7 and with key offensive plays by Manley and Mark Costa was almost able to come back. According to Manley the defense played very well in the second half and in the last couple of minutes the girls really started to pick up the intensity.
“They stayed ahead for most of the game but in the second half our defense played really well,” Manley said. “However in the last couple of minutes we really picked up our intensity as a team and were very close to making a comeback.”
Costa, now 3-15 overall, will play against Palos Verdes High School on Friday away at Palos Verdes. According to Averch the team is very excited to get Manley back from her ankle injury and hope that they can beat Peninsula this time around now that they have one of their star attackers back.
“We are all very excited to have Manley healthy agains and ready to play,” Averch said. “Hopefully this will help us get the upper hand against Peninsula this time around.”
Leave a Reply