Lady Sea Hawks Fall in Championship

The girls from understood the challenge they  faced  Saturday as perennial power and two-time defending U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section Champion Los Alamitos, looking for a third straight trophy, traveled to Redondo's home field.

"We knew what we were in for [losing 24-7 last season in the championship to Los Alamitos], we are disappointed we couldn't win, but I'm thrilled with the effort that our girls put out today," Redondo head coach Tom Borgia said.

Despite a close beginning to the first half, the Griffins proved to be too athletic, too skilled and just plain too much for the Sea Hawks as they won 19-5 and captured a three-peat.

"This was the first time for a lot of these girls to play in such an important game, and I think that hurt us," Julia Denney said.

The Sea Hawks trailed 2-0 until seniors Denney and Allison Field got the team on the scoreboard—just like they did so many times during their four years as varsity players.

With 16:59 remaining in the first half, Denney evaded defenders and passed to an open Field, who put a shot past Los Alamitos goalie Emily Alpaugh.

"The first six or seven minutes it was going OK," Borgia said. "They are really athletic; they move the ball so well and are an outstanding team."

Things would turn quickly, however, as Los Alamitos sophomore Julie Crowell scored three consecutive goals, igniting the sleeping offensive giant that would amass 13 goals in the half and allow just one.

"This team really likes to double- or triple- or quadruple-team.  Wherever we were on the field, they were there, and that flustered us," Redondo senior Eva Elsner said.

Los Alamitos player Allie Conrad would score with 9:53 remaining in the first half. She immediately took a pass from teammate Melissa Hastie and scored a mere nine seconds later to stretch the lead to 7-1.

Hastie, who won the majority of draws during the afternoon, was a key to the Griffins' control of the ball.

"We had a very hard time getting possession off the draw," Borgia said. "We are a pretty good team when we have possession, but I think they got about 90 percent of the draws today."

Conrad would score three more goals before the end of half, giving her five in the first 25 minutes and a game-high six by the end of the match.

The second half was much more hotly contested as the Sea Hawks came out with a nothing-to-lose approach. The girls were able to put together a 4-0 run to close the gap from 14 to 10 before succumbing 19-5 in the end.

"I absolutely love this team," Field said. "In no way am I sad about this loss. I think we played ten times better than last year against them, and I'm proud of us for that."

Denney, who set a school record this season with 67 goals, scored twice in the second half. So did junior Brittany Ross.

"This was the last time for our seniors to play on this field," Ross said. "We didn't want to leave anything out there and gave it our all in the second half."

Appearing in the championship the past two seasons, the girls from Redondo are setting their sights even higher.

"There is so much fire in me that cannot wait until next year," defensive star Ally Berry said. "Just to get another chance at them with the fire we showed in the second half, it bodes well for us next year."

Meanwhile, their coach looks back on the graduating seniors with fond memories.

"This senior class is the only group of girls that remember the down times," Borgia said. "They got killed as freshman, but they were the ones who really turned the program around for us."