Edison girls’ lacrosse tops CdM, wins fourth straight league title
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Edison’s girls’ lacrosse team is sprinting toward the postseason, the Chargers riding a season-best seven-game winning streak to a fourth consecutive league championship.
Senior attacker Lauren Salem had four goals to lead Edison to a 13-6 win over visiting Corona del Mar and an undefeated run to the Sunset League title.
Afterward, though, the Chargers could not catch sixth-year coach Olivia Smart — at least not while carrying a cooler of ice-cold water above their heads. On a chilly Tuesday evening, Smart expertly evaded what was coming her way.
Smart returned to her postgame interview only after the athletic trainer had poured out the contents of the cooler, she said, adding that she was running “pretty hard.”
Senior captains — midfielders Ashley Brown, Katie Neumann and goalkeeper Isa Perdomo — said Smart has successfully avoided the celebratory splash multiple times, with one suggesting that they needed to change tactics to spray bottles.
“It feels really good,” Smart said of hanging on to the Sunset League crown. “Winning league is always a small victory within season, so regardless of how playoffs go, it always feels good to come out with this.”
The CIF Southern Section released its playoff pairings for both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse on Friday. Edison, which has appeared in the Division 1 bracket in each of the four seasons since the section sanctioned playoffs, has never made it out of the first round. The Chargers will visit Redondo Union (15-2) in the first round on Wednesday.
Corona del Mar beat Canyon, 12-8, in the inaugural Division 2 final on its home campus in 2021. The Sea Kings await the winner of Temecula Valley (14-8) at El Dorado (16-5) to begin their path in the Division 2 bracket.
There was ample reason for the Chargers to celebrate, otherwise, with 11 seniors honored in a pre-game ceremony. It makes for an interesting dynamic in the leadership structure with so many upperclassmen on the roster.
“Everyone puts in so much effort at every single practice and every single game,” Brown said. “We feel like we all are there for each other, and it just feels very equal. We do the coin toss and stuff, but I feel like on the field, our communication, we’re always supporting each other.”
Edison led 3-1 after the first quarter, took a 6-2 advantage into halftime, and the Chargers had doubled up the Sea Kings 8-4 heading into the fourth quarter.
Junior midfielder Kaylin Grady and Brown each recorded a hat-trick, the former factoring heavily into the beginning of the game. Grady erased an early deficit with a free-position goal, subsequently took a 2-minute penalty, and then returned to score her team’s first goal of the second quarter, too.
Junior attacker Ayden Dunne had a goal and four assists for Edison (10-7, 4-0). Senior attacker Sloane Kershaw produced a goal and an assist. Junior attacker Maddy Ryan and junior midfielder Haleigh Ore each scored once.
Neumann was pleased to see the depth of contributions across the lineup on Wednesday.
“Seeing all the effort that everyone puts in every day at practice, everyone shows up, everyone puts in 110%, and it’s really exciting to see all the effort go into the field and see an outcome,” she said.
Perdomo made a dozen saves, several coming on free-position opportunities.
“It’s really exciting,” Perdomo said of the Chargers winning a league championship all four years of the seniors’ time at the school. “It shows how much our team really cares about this and that we all have a drive. It just shows what our teamwork gets us. We’ve been able to get it four years in a row, not because of one person, but because of all of us.”
Corona del Mar (12-7, 2-2) had a chance to join Edison atop the Sunset League standings. Instead, a three-way tie was forged between CdM, Huntington Beach (6-11, 2-2) and Los Alamitos (8-10, 2-2) for second place. Tiebreaker matches to determine league seeding were completed on Wednesday evening at Newport Harbor High, CdM coach Jessica Murray said.
Senior attacker Meg Vanis scored a match-best five goals for CdM against Edison.
“She is a big part of this team,” Murray said of Vanis. “Really hard worker. She is a great motivator to her teammates. She’s a believer in her teammates. She’s one of the captains for a reason.”
Freshman attacker Bijou Luong also scored a goal. Senior attacker Rihanna Quinn and junior midfielder MK Angeloff each drew an assist.
Junior goalkeeper Sofia Petek made six saves, with junior defenders Grace McCarthy and Gabi Bales providing outlets to transport the ball away from the CdM net. Allison Hykes also battled on draws to give the Sea Kings more chances in possession to climb back into the contest.
The CIF Southern Section released its lacrosse playoff pairings on Friday. Below is the schedule for local teams that qualified for the postseason:
GIRLS’ LACROSSE
Division 1
Edison (10-7, Sunset League champion) at Redondo Union (15-2, Bay League No. 2), Wednesday, April 30.
Division 2
Huntington Beach (6-11, Sunset League No. 2) to host winner of Newbury Park (Marmonte League No. 2T) at Simi Valley Royal (15-4, Marmonte League champion), Thursday, May 1.
Corona del Mar (12-7, Sunset League No. 3) to host winner of Temecula Valley (14-8, Southwestern League at-large) at El Dorado (16-5, Crestview League No. 2), Thursday, May 1.
Laguna Beach (16-2, Pacific Coast League No. 2) at San Marcos (17-2, Channel League champion), Monday, April 28.
Division 3
Long Beach Poly (6-9, Moore League No. 4) at Sage Hill (7-5-1, Pacific Hills League No. 2), Monday, April 28.
BOYS’ LACROSSE
Division 1
Servite (12-6, Trinity League at-large) at Corona del Mar (14-6, Sunset League champion), Thursday, May 1.
Division 2
Corona Santiago (10-12, Big VIII League champion) at Huntington Beach (10-10, Sunset League at-large), Tuesday, April 29.
Edison (11-8, Sunset League No. 3) at Oak Park (16-4, Coastal Canyon League champion), Tuesday, April 29.
Updates
5:56 p.m. April 25, 2025: This story was updated with information on the release of the CIF Southern Section boys’ and girls’ lacrosse playoff pairings.
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