| | Published May 22nd, 2024
| Girls lacrosse finish the playoffs with two semi-finals and a final game in NCS playoffs
| | | By Jon Kingdon |  | | Campolindo's Carley Hudson (48), Caroline Griffith and Elsie Ceridono on offense. Miramonte's Sawyer Bohlig (4) getting back in defense Photo Ann Murphy |
With the second, third, and fourth seeds in the NCS, it was a successful season all around for Lamorinda. The first seeded San Marin team snuck by Acalanes 11-7 in the semi-finals and Campolindo in the finals 11-7, after Campolindo defeated Miramonte 12-8 in their semifinal game.
CAMPOLINDO
With a 13-6 record and the second seed in the playoffs, in his first year as the Cougars head coach, Stephen Lineweaver was effusive in his praise of his players. "I am super proud of the girls, and they did a fantastic job with a new coach who brought in a different style of play," Lineweaver said. "It was a very tough game versus San Marin. They pressed us very hard, and we came back in the fourth quarter. We didn't lose the game - we just ran out of time."
Campolindo had a very balanced offense led by Molly Stephens, Carley Hudson, Elsie Ceridono, and Clara Cecchin. The team had eight players that scored ten goals or more and nine with double digit points. "That was by design," Lineweaver said. "I saw a ton of talent that was deep on the bench, and I wanted to create a motion offense where everybody got involved and the girls responded really well. This made it harder for teams to defend and it also sets us up with a good foundation for the future as well."
The defense was anchored by seniors Sadie Geenty, Caroline Obsitnik, and Maddie O'Balle, and junior Viv Tolajian, with some underclassmen who also stood out. "Our defense was very strong all year which allowed us to stay in games when the offense had a cold spell," Lineweaver said.
Goalie Haley Richards had twenty-one saves versus San Marin and will be playing for the University of Louisville next year. "Haley was extraordinarily gifted and talented in the cage," Lineweaver said. "She is a great leader that really sees the field, intercepted passes, directed the defense, and was just a rare talent at the high school level."
Lineweaver is already optimistic about next season. "I'm excited about our returning players and the JV players moving up next season and we'll diversify our offense a bit. With the culture at Campo, in terms of appreciation of girls sports and lacrosse, I'm looking forward to building on that."
ACALANES
In his first year as head coach, with a 13-8 record and the fourth seed in the playoffs, Giles Imrie was also pleased with the team's performance. "Overall, it was it was a great season for us," Imrie said. "We had a couple of tough close losses to our league rivals, Campolindo and Miramonte, but other than that had had a fantastic season."
The Lady Don's leading scorer and a leader of the team was midfielder and two-year co-captain Grace Imrie. The strength of the team however was with their defense. "Our goalie, Addie Martin had an amazing season, highlighted by her twenty-one saves against San Marin which is off the charts in terms of numbers," Imrie said. "Seniors co-captain Avery Ives and Kelly Todhunter were key players that anchored our defense."
Even with talented graduates, Imrie is already very optimistic about next year's team. "We have a number of key returners along with a very impressive group of underclassmen which included four freshmen, the first time in three years we've had a freshman on the varsity," Imrie said. "Grace Colaco started at midfield and Reese Tierney started on defense. There were also a couple of freshmen that were on Steven Seiler's JV team that could have played on the varsity, so the future's bright."
MIRAMONTE
Miramonte had a slow start to the season, winning only one of their first seven games. "With five starters still competing in the soccer and basketball playoffs and twelve new players on the roster, combined with a difficult early schedule against D1 teams, it ultimately made us much better in the second half of the season, winning nine of our last twelve games," Head Coach Jackie Pelletier said.
With the endorsement of Pelletier, the team voted sophomore Sawyer Bohlig as the team's overall MVP and freshman Sydney Gray as the team's offensive MVP, who netted 101 points on the season, despite sharing the workload with Bohlig and other players.
The co-MVP's on defense were sophomores: goalie Elsa Schroeder and defender Maegan Eichenberger. "Elsa had over 100 saves, facing down some of the top players in the Bay area, along with a career high eleven saves in the semi-final loss in the playoffs to Campolindo," Pelletier said. "Maegan is also a top basketball player and was in her first year on the varsity."
Departing after ten seasons as the head coach at Miramonte, Pelletier is looking for the team's continued success: "With a large number of players returning, I believe they will have fast success in the Diablo Athletic League next season." |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA