The Los Alamitos High boys lacrosse team overcame a slow start and rallied in the second half to a 10-7 win over Edison High, in the Sunset League opener for both teams. Edison jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 6-3 by halftime.
But the Griffins turned things around in the second half. A goal from Robstan Hansen, off a crossing pass from Thomas Argenzio, cut the lead to 6-4 and Sebastian Marr added another goal from about 12 meters in front of the goal to cut the lead to 6-5.
Los Al 0 scored a similar goal from the front of the goal to tie it up at 6-6, with 3:51 left in the third quarter. Edison regained the lead, 7-6, on a goal by Dylan Hale, but that would be the only goal the Griffins would allow in the second half. Los Al Head Coach Matt Cunniffe said that the Griffins were simply sluggish in the first half.
“The biggest thing was effort, and a lack of effort in the first half,” Cunniffe said. “The second half was a different story.”
Hansen tied the game again, 7-7, on a quick catch and shoot in front of the goal, off a pass from Marr, at the 7:08 mark. Marr would give the Griffins a 7-6 lead with an outside shot from an angle. Less than a minute later, Marr found Argenzio in front of the goal with a pass that Argenzio buried in the back of the net.
Hansen finished the scoring with another goal in front of the net, this time of a pass from Argenzio from behind the goal. The defensive stance in the second half, where the Griffins allowed just one goal by the Chargers, is something Los Al has been pretty consistent with this year, according to Cunniffe.
“Defense is all about body position and playing with your feet and fists and playing as a six-man unit and relying on your goalie and making sure that you’re doing the little things correctly and making sure that you’re anticipating whatever they’re going to throw at you on offense,” Cunniffe said.
The Griffins were ranked No. 7 in this week’s CIF-SS rankings. They fell to 10-3 on Saturday with a 13-3 loss to No. 4 ranked St. Margaret’s. The Griffins won the Sunset League title last year and should be in the hunt again this season. Corona del Mar is looking solid so far, ranked No. 5 in the Southern Section, at 7-1.
