Simaan wrestles CdM past Trabuco
Jason Simaan took a seat underneath the canopy during the fourth quarter of the Corona del Mar High boys’ lacrosse game on Saturday. It’s a rare sight, but the faceoff specialist earned an afternoon break in the shade.
The Brown University-bound senior won almost all of his 17 faceoffs, except for one. The Sea Kings capitalized on the possessions in the fourth quarter, turning a one-goal game into a rout in front of the home fans.
The Sea Kings recorded six goals in the fourth quarter, even Simaan got involved in the scoring to put away Trabuco Hills, 14-7.
A couple of minutes after Simaan produced his second goal of the year, coming with 7:12 left to play, he sat behind the scorer’s table. All the scoring provided in the fourth was by CdM (14-1), ranked No. 4 in the state by laxpower.com, and Simaan was the one who got everything started.
“He’s special,” CdM Coach G.W. Mix said of Simaan, who added 15 ground balls. “He enables you to get the ball back when you get scored on. When you get the ball back, that’s a lot better than getting scored on and not getting the ball back. He’s able to make it easier for us to go on a run and make it harder for our opponents to go on one.”
Simaan didn’t let Trabuco Hills (7-7) get the ball back in the fourth.
Trabuco Hills, which trailed, 8-7, after three quarters, never stood a chance in the final 12 minutes because Simaan kept winning faceoffs. The beneficiaries were Ryan Meckler, who scored twice in the fourth quarter, and Stephen Von Der Ahe, Eric Fries and Jordan Greenhall, who each found the back of the net once in the fourth.
Greenhall, who led CdM with four goals, to go with four ground balls and an assist, contributed to the Sea Kings scoring more in the fourth than they had in the first half. They went into halftime tied at 5-5, and the Mustangs’ zone defense created issues for the hosts.
“We cannot lose this game to this team, especially at our field,” Greenhall said is what was discussed during the break.
The only setback CdM has suffered this year came at home three weeks ago in a 9-8 overtime loss to San Diego Torrey Pines on a Saturday afternoon.
There would be no four-minute overtime in this one.
The Sea Kings created some separation in the first 3½ minutes in the second half. Simaan’s successful faceoffs led to Greenhall and Will Favreau scoring, and Von Der Ahe, who had three goals and two assists, scored while the Mustangs were on the man-up advantage.
Trabuco Hills managed to cut the deficit to 8-7 because of Harry Evans, who finished with three goals. Midway through the third quarter, he scored from up top, and then before the quarter expired, he scored while falling down toward the goal.
“I was hoping this was going to be one of the ones where we could shock the world,” said Trabuco Hills Coach Eric Bassett, whose team has suffered tough one-goal losses to Foothill and Santa Margarita, ranked No. 8 and No. 15, respectively, in the state, and Tesoro. “We just couldn’t hang in that last quarter.”
The Sea Kings enter next week, the final one in the regular season before the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs begin, with momentum because of Simaan. He was a big reason why CdM outlasted the Mustangs.
Mix best described what it’s like to be a faceoff specialist.
“It’s a wrestling match for an hour and a half for those guys,” said Mix, who had no qualms about Simaan taking a breather away from the sun because he deserved it.
