Lacrosse team roars in finish

The Huntington Beach lacrosse team, which was formed just four months

ago, stunned the competition in the 13th annual Orange County

Lacrosse Assn. High School Tournament.

The Oilers reached the championship game of the 25-team

tournament, where they fell to Trabuco Hills, 4-2, in the final at UC

Irvine.

Teams from Southern California, Sacramento, Palo Alto, Arizona and

Nevada competed at the tournament.

Huntington defeated Trabuco Hills in its first tournament game,

4-3, then lost to the Palo Alto Tomahawks, 5-4, in their second game.

In their third game, the Oilers were tied, 4-4, with a team

combining players from University, Corona del Mar and Mission Viejo.

In a “brave heart” challenge -- where each team fields a goalie and

one midfielder, who battle in a face-off -- Huntington goalie Matt

Smith came out of the net to make a save, then passed the ball to

Erik Zugarazo, who drove the length of the field to net the winning

goal.

It was Zugarazo who scored with 10 seconds left in regulation to

tie the score at 4-4.

Huntington came back the next day to defeat Bella Vista of

Sacramento, 4-1. Led by Zugarazo, Andrew Mahlmeister, Scott Harris,

Troy Fleck, Hannes Rieger and 13 saves by Matt Smith, the Oilers

upended a favored Foothill team, 4-2.

Matt Smith had 13 saves and was backed by stellar defensive

efforts from Mahlmeister, Ricardo Vallejo, Crispin Woods, Alex Diaz

and Fleck.

In the championship final, Travis Kennedy and Rieger scored goals

in the 4-2 loss.

In AYSO action:

Under-14 Division

HB Crush 4, Region 56 1

HB Crush crept into a tie for second-place in the division

standings following a solid win over their Region 56 rival.

The defensive efforts of sweeper George Demes, goalie Melody Sainz

and fullbacks Breanne Justice and Jessica Ross, held the opposition

to a single score.

Kristy Verone, Alison Hensley, Osiris Ceja, Lily Khosroupour and

Erika Longoria provided strong midfield playmaking and offensive

support.

Haley Townsend scored off an assist from Patty Amador, who later

scored herself when she knocked in a corner kick to give the Crush a

2-0 halftime lead.

After the teams traded goals in the third period, Kirsten Marony

capped the game with a solo breakaway up the middle, which made it a

4-1 score.