LJ g lax: Recap

By Ed Piper

La Jolla's second-seed lacrosse team went down 3-0 to Scripps Ranch before the first five minutes had elapsed in the Open Division title game Sat., May 18.

Though Kitty Cullen and Sam Farrell's crew didn't give up and fought with fortitude through the 50-minute contest, by that early juncture the Vikings were already back on their heels in a defensive posture. The Falcons took the CIF championship game convincingly, 17-9, at San Dieguito Academy.

What we can say is that Scripps' lacrossers showed themselves to be superior on this day. That's how championships are awarded. The two teams split their previous encounters: On April 10, La Jolla won an overtime match, 12-11. Then the Falcons took an 18-11 decision on May 1, both in league matches.

Senior captain Reagan Jetter and sophomore Stella Wineman fought aggressively late in the second half, driving to the net even as La Jolla fell behind by six.

The Vikings could have folded their tents much earlier, such as when Scripps, featuring multiple scorers, pushed the lead to 9-3 right after the half. The closest La Jolla could come back to was four goals down, short-lived at 10-6 with over 16 minutes left in the game.


Farrell and Cullen tried a combination of players in the draw, but the Falcons, keeping that early momentum, won most of those. That forced LJHS to play a lot of defense, and put pressure on sophomore goalie Ari Conboy, who played a creditable game. Time of possession was overwhelmingly in Scripps Ranch's favor.

To sophomore Terra Evans' credit, she stemmed the early bleeding with the Vikings' first goal with 12:31 left in the first half to make the score 3-1.

Freshman Allie Foerster followed that with another La Jolla goal at 8:36, the score now 4-2. Things looked hopeful.

Evans sneaked another one in with 43.2 seconds left in the period for 7-3. The half ended with the Falcons leading, 8-3.

Jetter scored on a free position shot at 20:33. La Jolla trailed 9-5.

Four minutes later, Wineman drove from the left middle for a goal, 10-6.

Senior Kayla Nitahara showed her aggressiveness against a smothering Scripps defense by scoring with 8:53 on the clock. The Falcons maintained their lead, 13-7.