Lina Kwon
Staff Writer
The Mustangs were elated, and they had every right to be. Their victory against View Park Preparatory High School was their first, after a winless run of four matches.
Girls rugby concluded its season by losing to Carson High School 21-7 and defeating View Park Preparatory High School with a score of 26-7 on Feb. 9 at the Rancho Cienega Recreation Complex.
“Our girls played their hearts out and really showed their improvement this Friday,” senior captain Alexis Fonua said. “We had an amazing win and broke Carson’s streak for winning without being scored on.”
The Mustangs played the top team in the region, the Carson Colts, in a rematch of an earlier contest. In the first match, the Colts shut out Costa while scoring over 70 points with the Mustangs only scoring a few tries.
“Although Carson was a very competitive opponent, we held our best against them,” junior Jaslynn Mejia said. “Carson was especially hard to beat because of their strong defense and aggressive offense.”
The Mustangs scored several tries, as well as holding the Colts to only 21 points. Costa furthered their momentum with nonstop offense throughout the match. By the end of the game, Costa fell short of 14 points, and the Knights ultimately ended up on top 21-7.
“We fought hard till the very end, and that’s what really matters,” senior Felitxa Zaragoza said. “I think It was a great way to end my High School Rugby career with my girls.”
In a rematch against the View Park Prep Knights, Costa held the early lead as junior Ashley Brownsberger picked a loose ball and raced past the Knight’s defense line, scoring from 66 meters out. Freshman Camille Boll dashed 42 meters down the touchline for her first career try. Fonua put off the best performance, scoring multiple tries and converting to give the Mustangs an early 14-0 lead.
“Alex’s performance tonight was astonishing,” Brownsberger said. “She really contributed to our win against View Park, and I’m also very proud of Camille for scoring her first try ever.”
During the second half of the match, the Mustangs handily took control of the game. After setting up two scores for Costa, Fonua picked up a loose ball and ran 62 meters leading the Mustangs to an easy 26-7 victory. It was fitting for Fonua to score the final try of the match, said coach Duke Dulgarian.
“This was the girls’ final game of a very successful second year,” coach Dulgarian said. “While we will greatly miss or captain Alexis and this senior class, our future is very bright as we have some extremely tough and talented young ladies ready to carry the banner for Mira Costa.”
The Mustangs ended their season 1-5 overall. Costa will next compete in a tournament in Las Vegas from Mar. 1 to Mar. 4. The team is satisfied with their performance this season and is looking forward to their upcoming tournament in Vegas, according to Fonua.
“It was an amazing thing to see the improvement from the beginning to the end of the season, and I’m more than proud of my rugby sisters,” Fonua said. “We will try to make the best of our last tournament of the season as a team.”
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