Foothill’s boys lacrosse team flipped a switch in the second half against JSerra and came up with an 11-4 win in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals Tuesday at JSerra High.
The Knights (15-7) went on a 7-0 run that spanned over 27 minutes of game time before JSerra (13-7) scored in the final seconds of the game.
Foothill was able to play keep away from JSerra in the third quarter and controlled the ball for nearly 10 of the 12 minutes.
“We cleared the ball well and were a little more patient,” Foothill coach John Fox said. “In the first quarter we were pushing so hard. We got some secondary looks and were finding guys with open passes and were able to put a few in the net.”
The game featured two of the better face-off specialists in the county: Luke Bittner of JSerra and Logan Cummins of Foothill. Bittner had the slight edge in face-offs, but even when JSerra won the face-off, Foothill’s defense was often able to get the ball back quickly.
Foothill moved the ball well offensively and it was difficult for JSerra to key on just Foothill’s attackmen. Four different players scored multiple goals for the Knights and two long-stick players scored.
Ben Wehage and Connor Wolfe each had two goals and an assist. Tavin Russell, who scored five goals the first time Foothill played JSerra this season, scored twice as did Landen Rosenthal.
“It’s hard to stop us. The chemistry is unmatched,” Wehage said. “Even the JSerra players were saying our chemistry is looking really good.”
Jack Mills and Max Cavazos were the long-stick players who scored for Foothill. The goal was the fourth of the season for Mills and the second for Cavazos.
JSerra got off to a hot start to the game with two consecutive goals in the first seven minutes. Mason Stephens scored and had an assist to Gavin Goodrich, which prompted Fox to call a timeout.
“Our defense needed to take a breath and remember their assignments,” Fox said. “We also needed to remind our offense that it doesn’t have to happen on the first pass and to be patient to get a good look.”
Goodrich had two goals for JSerra and Gabe Seldow added a goal. Jack Pearl had nine saves for the Lions.
Foothill will find itself in a familiar place against a familiar opponent Saturday. The Knights will play Loyola in the semifinals for the second consecutive season. Foothill beat Loyola to win the championship in 2023 and Loyola beat Foothill to win the inaugural CIF Southern Section championship in 2021.
“When you get to the playoffs, you have to be tough on ground balls and get great looks on offense,” Fox said. “Loyola is so good in transition too so that will be a key to the game.”
“This is like a championship game for me. I’m ready to go,” Wehage said of Loyola.
Foothill is the only team in the Southern Section to reach the semifinals each season since CIF took over the playoff format in 2021.
In other quarterfinal games Tuesday:
Mater Dei 13, Westlake 7: Sinjin Kroener scored six goals for Mater Dei.
Harper O’Hara had two goals and three assists for Mater Dei (14-3) and goalie Sam Heafner had nine saves.
Mater Dei will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between St. Francis and Santa Margarita in the semifinals on Saturday. The Monarchs beat Santa Margarita 10-6 earlier this season.
Loyola 15, Corona del Mar 5: Corona del Mar had its season come to an end with a loss to top-seeded Loyola.
Owen Majit scored three goals for the Sea Kings and Garrett Ip added two.
Corona del Mar (12-7) won the Sunset League this season for the fifth consecutive year and coach G.W. Mix tallied his 250th career win.
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