ORANGE — The Foothill girls lacrosse team reclaimed its place at the top of CIF Southern Section girls lacrosse by beating Mira Costa 12-7 Friday at El Modena High.
It’s the fourth CIF-SS Division 1 championship in five seasons for the Knights (20-2), who won three consecutive CIF championships from 2021-23 and fell to Marlborough in the championship game last season.
“We made the championship all four years as a class and we really wanted to bounce back from last year,” Foothill senior Brynn Perkins said. “We knew we were going to have to face adversity. We had a new coaching staff and a brand new chance to prove ourselves. We worked so hard to get here and I’m so proud of everyone.”
Foothill lost to previously undefeated Mira Costa (18-1) 19-18 on April 5.
The Knights controlled the game Friday, never trailing and holding their lead for the last 31 minutes of game time.
“Mira Costa is a fantastic team,” Foothill first-year coach Taylor Lindores said. “We learned from the first game that we needed to focus on ourselves. We focused all week on playing our game and making our game as fast as possible.”
A major factor in Foothill’s win was the dominant performance of Elle Vickers at the dot. Vickers led Foothill to 18 of 23 draw wins.
“Elle Vickers won us the game tonight,” Lindores said. “We say ‘win the draw, win the game.’ She has been working all season on perfecting that skill and it showed tonight.”
Perkins, who was the Register’s girls lacrosse player of the year last season, led Foothill with five goals. Ava Pistone scored three and Vickers added two goals.
Foothill’s defense shut out Mira Costa in the third quarter and the Knights had a 9-4 lead entering the fourth.
Kate Donnelley and Peyton Malone each scored twice for Mira Costa. Goalie Piper Dalsemer kept Mira Costa in the game in the first half and had five saves.
Addison Duvel and Kayla Agarie each scored once for Foothill and Nellania Banuelos had three saves.
Lindores has championship experience from her previous head coaching position at Tamalpais High in Northern California.
“Coach CJ (Rodriguez) laid the groundwork for this team and made our job so easy,” Lindores said. “We just came in the end, tied down loose ends. The base of this team was hers and we just added some strategies. It’s the best of both worlds.”
DIVISION 2
St. Margaret’s 11, El Segundo 8: St. Margaret’s used dominating draw play to win the CIF-SS Division 2 championship at El Modena High.
St. Margaret’s (16-3) won the last two US Lacrosse Southern Section championships in 2018-19 before CIF took over the playoff format in 2021. This is the first CIF-SS championship for St. Margaret’s.
The Tartans won 18 of 23 draw attempts which led to extra possessions and some quick goals. St. Margaret’s scored goals in the first 15 seconds of both the first and second quarters after winning a draw and getting a quick transition goal.
St. Margaret’s girls lacrosse team celebrates after beating El Segundo 11-8 in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship game Friday, May 16, 2025, at El Modena High. (Photo by Michael Huntley)“The last couple of games have been really close and it’s always come down to who can win the draw control and maintain possession,” St. Margaret’s coach Megan Armes said. “We knew that if it came down to a draw, we had the highest amount of confidence in our draw team.”
Avery Smith took the draws for St. Margaret’s with Izzy Samluk and Scarlett Welsome on the wings.
Welsome was excellent on offense with seven goals and two assists. The Hofstra signee finished the season with 140 points which is the fourth most in the Southern Section.
“I felt really good. We worked really hard all season and all across the field our whole team contributed,” Welsome said. “I’m really proud of this team. It’s surreal.”
Grace Burke and Greta Blau each had two goals for St. Margaret’s. Goalie Kate Carr had seven saves including two major ones in the fourth quarter.
DIVISION 3
Oaks Christian 15, Trabuco Hills 9: Trabuco Hills got off to a hot start, but was unable to keep pace with Oaks Christian.
Trabuco Hills (11-9) was the top seed in Division 3 and cruised to the finals with blowout wins over Mission Viejo, Cate and Aliso Niguel.
“I am so proud of these girls,” Trabuco Hills coach Jillian Phillips said. “I’ve even played with some of them my senior year and seeing them grow, play so hard and not give up warms my heart.”
Phillips was an All-County player at Trabuco Hills in 2022 and played with senior Maddi Wong that season.
Trabuco Hills’s girls lacrosse team made its first CIF-SS championship appearance but lost to Oaks Christian 15-9 in the Division 3 championship game Friday, May 16, 2025, at El Modena High. (Photo by Michael Huntley)The Mustangs got out to a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game with two goals by Wong and a goal by Lydia Hurst. Oaks Christian went on a 9-0 run and kept Trabuco Hills off the board for 25 minutes of game time.
“They got possession and the momentum kept going for them,” Phillips said of Oaks Christian.
Sydney Lo scored for Trabuco Hills midway through the third quarter to end the scoring drought. The Mustangs went on a 3-0 run late in the third quarter, but Oaks Christian answered with a 4-0 run of its own.
Wong and Hurst each had three goals for Trabuco Hills and Sam Rynders added two. This was the first CIF championship appearance in school-history for Trabuco Hills.
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