Brian Kaiserman
Staff Writer
Despite facing a halftime deficit, the Mustangs were able to rally behind three critical second half goals by senior Casey Bonner, leading the Mustangs to a 12-9 victory in his final game.
On Thursday May 11, the Mira Costa Mustangs clashed with the San Marcos Royals in the United States Lacrosse Invitational finals. The Royals kept the game extremely close for much of the game, but a second half surge by the Mustangs was enough to scrape out a narrow victory.
“Offensively, we moved the ball much more effectively than in previous games,” Bonner said. “I just fed off my teammates and they rewarded me with great passes every time I made a good cut.”
Early on, the game appeared to be a defensive struggle, with the first quarter ending 1-1, and the Mustangs only goal coming from sophomore Zach Rosenberg. The Mustangs once again had to rely on their sophomore goalie Jonas Wahlstedt to keep it close early.
“I thought our defense did a great job to keeping the game low scoring early,” Wahlstedt said. “We cleared the ball really well and they definitely made my job easier.”
In the second quarter, both offenses came to life, but the Royals were able to score an extra goal and take a lead into halftime. The Mustangs had faced similar adversity throughout the year, and would need to make a comeback once more to win the Lacrosse Invitational.
“At halftime we decided to switch around our personnel and put guys in different positions where they could be successful and we were able to fix our mistakes,” coach Aaron Karsh said.
The Mustangs briefly possess the ball in the offensive zone before the Royals manage a clear late in the game. The Mustangs kept attacking the royals zone all night, racking up a total of twelve goals throughout the night.
In the second half, the Mustangs looked like a completely different team. In the third quarter they went on a huge run and never looked back, taking a nearly insurmountable lead into the fourth.
“I thought our guys played fantastic,” Karsh said. “Like our season, it was an up and down game and we had to stick to our game in order to come out on top.”
The Mustangs were able to close it out in the fourth and clinch the United States Lacrosse Invitational championship. Although they did not qualify for CIF, the Mustangs competed at their highest level throughout the invitational tournament and came out with a hard-fought win.
“It was a really positive year for us as a team,” Bonner said. “It was a good senior season and really a great way to go out.”
The Mustangs finished the season with a 13-6 overall record and a victory in their playoff bracket. After suffering a crushing defeat to Palos Verdes in the Bay League finals, the Mustangs bounced back to close the year on a three game winning streak.
“This year was a lot of fun and definitely an adventure,” Karsh said. “Every year I coach I learn something new and I hope our players take away the life lessons that they learned playing lacrosse.”
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