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Sports

Redondo Union Not Dunn, Advances in Playoffs

Led by Meesha Robinson and Chantel Celotto, the top-seeded Sea Hawks move on to the north division final on Tuesday against No. 3 Cate.

The Redondo Union High girls lacrosse season lives on, and a tight-knit group of players do not want it to end anytime soon. After getting off to a jittery start Saturday in its first playoff game, the Sea Hawks regained their composure and methodically dismantled Dunn School of Los Olivos 15-5.

"Most of the seniors on this team won't be playing lacrosse anymore after this,'' Redondo Union co-captain Meesha Robinson said. "We want to continue to play our hearts out for as long as we can.''

Top-seeded Redondo Union, which improved its record to 16-2, returns to action Tuesday, when it travels to Chaminade to play No. 3 seed Cate, which advanced by squeezing past Palisades Charter 10-9.

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Senior Chantel Celotto paved the way for the Sea Hawks, with three goals and three assists. Celotto has seven goals and six assists in her last two games. Robinson also scored three goals Saturday and had a fourth goal late in the game waved off by an official who ruled that the shot was a dangerous propel. Robinson also was whistled off the field with a yellow card.

"I felt like it was a weird call,'' Robinsons said. "It's my first yellow card of the season.''

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With no scouting report to pour over or previous game tape of their opponent to peruse, the Sea Hawks had no inkling the caliber of opponent Dunn School presented. The visitors, who drove two hours for the Saturday morning start, initially had more pep in their step than the Sea Hawks. Dunn scored first, barely two minutes into the game, and the action in the first three minutes of the game primarily was confined to Dunn's offensive end of the field. Redondo Union was denied on its first three shots on goal.

"It was an unknown team,'' Redondo Union co-head coach Erin Garnsey said. "We didn't know what to expect. We had some nerves at the start.''

In typical fashion, it was Robinson who broke through for Redondo Union. With 16:56 remaining in the first half, Robinson tied the score with a goal. Four minutes later, she sliced through a thicket of three defenders and fired in a shot that put the Seahawks ahead 2-1. Any lingering nervousness that anyone wearing red and white might still have felt dissipated at that point.

"Winning the center draws is what sets the tempo of a game,'' Garnsey said. "Once we started winning those, we took off. And (securing) most of the ground balls was key. Soon after we got ourselves on the scoreboard, the girls' energy set the mood.''

As though Celotto and Robinson were not enough to contend with, Dunn also had its goal mouth peppered by six other goal scorers, including Bailey Czech and Mariah Linnett, who scored two, apiece. Bailey's sister, freshman Heather Czech, was stout again defending the Seahawks' goal.

"Despite the score of the game (Dunn) are a good team,'' Garnsey said. "Good teams are judged by how well they play defense and they're a strong team.''

The ultimate goal for Redondo Union is to figuratively catch the tiger by the tail, that ferocious cat being mighty Los Alamitos, the queenpin among Southern California lacrosse teams, and a seemingly invincible squad. Tom Borgia, Garnsey's coaching partner, likens Los Alamitos to the University of Connecticut women's basketball team, which has won 78 consecutive games.

"Ultimately, we'd love to be playing Friday against (Los Alamitos) and just see if we can give them a run for their money,'' Garnsey said.

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