“They just kept fighting, I don’t know how they did it,” Foothill coach Jon Fox said of his players. “First of all, they stopped getting penalties. The refs were real tight early on and called some things we didn’t agree with."
(From OCVarsity.com article) The No. 2-seeded Knights rallied from a five-goal deficit to defeat top-seeded Corona del Mar, 10-8, on Tuesday night in the championship game of the U.S. Lacrosse-Southern Section Orange County playoffs in front of 2,145 at Irvine High.
Foothill, which has won two consecutive Southern California titles, will go for a third crown on Friday at 7:30 p.m. when it faces Los Angeles section winner, Loyola, at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.
- #1 Corona del Mar Boys Lacrosse came into the U.S. Lacrosse-Southern Section Orange County Championship game against Foothill-Santa Ana with a 20-1 record and high expectations….Photo by LaxBuzz
LaxBuzz asked Foothill Knights coach Jon Fox for his comments after the game: “It was an honor to compete vs a very talented CDM team. Coach Mark Todd has built an excellent program and developed some incredible players. Our guys wanted this rematch ever since we lost in the overtime during the first week of the season, and I’m real proud of them. The defense really came together and Kleponis had his best game of the year by far. We have grown so much as a team down the stretch of this season and it was a huge emotional win to come from behind on a team of that caliber. We’ve always believed in ourselves this season even through some tough losses to LCC, SI and Coronado. Were finally starting to put together some solid play, but have yet to play 4 great quarters this year. I hope we can do that this Friday vs unbeaten Loyola. All in all it was just a very special moment for all these seniors who have never been champions. But the celebration is over, today is a new day and a new challenge lies ahead on Friday. We’re proud to represent all the players and teams in Orange County , it was a great playoff tourney, with lots of exciting games, and we want to honor that by bringing home the title to Orange County .”
Foothill Knights Lacrosse attacker Cameron Cole (4 goals) ignited the Knights offense in final 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter in the Orange County Championship game against Corona del Mar Tuesday night. (Photo by Gary Campbell, NuPhoto.net)
Foothill Knights Lacrosse senior middie Chris Cole (3 goals) provided key leadership for the young Knights in their stunning 10-8 comeback victory over Corona del Mar. (Photo by Gary Campbell, NuPhoto.net)
Corona del Mar (20-2) led, 6-1, early in the second quarter before the Knights (19-5) began to rally. “We had a lot of intensity and focus when we first came out,” Corona del Mar coach Mark Todd said. “We just couldn’t sustain it all game. “They did what we expected them to do, we just couldn’t stop them.” (From OCVarsity.com...Photo by LaxBuzz)
Corona del Mar middie Noah Molnar (2 goals) and the Sea Kings led Foothill 7-2 in the second quarter but couldn't hold the lead... Photo by Gary Campbell, NuPhoto.net)
Foothill Knights Lacrosse coach Jon Fox told LaxBuzz: "...Our guys wanted this rematch ever since we lost in the overtime during the first week of the season, and I’m real proud of them. The defense really came together and Kleponis had his best game of the year by far." Photo by LaxBuzz
Foothill was led by Cameron Cole, who had four goals and his brother Chris Cole, who had three goals.
“There are no words that can express this game,” Cameron Cole said. “It was a whole team effort, without our whole team, none of this could have happened.”
“We’ve been planning this victory all year, ever since day one,” added Chris Cole. “Each and every day, we’ve been using CdM as a motivational tool.
“We’ve been preparing every day in the weight room and out doing speed training, each and every day working hard to try and defeat CdM.
“We knew we were going to face them in the finals.”
- The Foothill Knights Boys Lacrosse team defense limited Corona del Mar to 1 goal in the last 26 minutes of the game….(Photo by LaxBuzz)
Foothill Knights Lacrosse goalie Nathan Kleponis (#9) "was amazing in the goal.” (Photo by LaxBuzz)
Foothill also got a solid performance from goalkeeper Nathan Kleponis, who had 13 saves.
Corona del Mar was led by Noah Molnar and Daniel Noto, who had two goals each.
The Sea Kings appeared to on their way to their first county title when they moved out to a 6-1 lead on a goal by Ryan Mix with 8:33 left in the second quarter.
But Foothill caught fire, scoring four consecutive goals at the end of the second quarter to cut the Sea Kings lead to 7-6 at halftime.
Cameron Cole’s goal with 8:07 left in the third quarter put Foothill ahead, 8-7, and the Knights never relinquished the lead.
A goal by Tucker Rowe with 7:21 left made it 10-8. After that Kleponis and the rest of the defense, shut down the Sea Kings.
“It’s amazing, we were only returning one starter,” Fox said. “These guys worked hard all season. We took some blows early on when we lost, but that just prepared us for tonight.
“They played as a team and never gave up and Kleponis was amazing in the goal.”
http://www.ocvarsity.com/articles/foothill-team-cole-2407493-goal-corona
(From DailyBreeze.com article) What appeared to be shaping up as the upset of the season ended up being simply upsetting for the Mira Costa boys lacrosse team.
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