Under the lights on a stormy night, the La Cañada High School varsity girls’ lacrosse team battled for a win on their home turf against Norco last Friday. It was a come-from-behind win as the Spartans shut out the visiting Cougars in the second half to win their home opener, 8-6.
“This win was truly a total team effort,” Coach Jenny Ho said. “With only one substitute player, and under challenging weather conditions, the team fought hard the whole game. I am really proud of everyone.”
Senior Bianca Cugno – playing with the team for the first time this season after her appearance in the school musical “Legally Blond” – scored half of the night’s goals with four while also contributing one assist and one interception.
Freshman Maddy Logelin scored the Spartans’ first goal of the night, which was also her first goal in league play. Sophomore Maddie McClure scored a goal in each half while junior Mia Louie recorded a goal and an assist. Senior co-captain Melanie Evans and junior Annabelle Fung each registered assists.
Freshman goalie Gretchen Louie had just three saves thanks to a strong performance by La Cañada’s defense which was led by senior co-captain Alex Gilmore and Mia Louie while also receiving strong support from sophomores Darlene Perez and Kayle Cho. Annabelle Fung had solid play all over the field and sophomore Chloe Lee demonstrated shining moments in the game as a novice player. Team collaboration was evident throughout the game with 13 ground balls recovered in the Spartans’ favor.
LCHS was recently one of 30 teams across Southern California to compete in the Rose Bowl Jamboree, ending the tournament with a 3-3 tie against Millikan High of Long Beach.
The Spartans suffered a pair of losses against Roosevelt High of Eastvale, 5-3, and Irvine, 13-4.
Sophomore Irelyn Fung had a solid performance throughout the tournament, scoring in every game and all three goals in the tie. McClure had two goals in the first game, with assists from Gilmore and Mia Louie. Gretchen Louie scored two goals in the second game with an assists from McClure and Logelin. Freshman Lucy Kim also scored off an 8-meter goal. Freshman goalie Gretchen Louie had a stellar 16 saves throughout the tournament and freshman goalie Olivia Baker, in her very first game playing the position, had four saves. There were also promising performances from first-year players Rachel Herrick, Cho and Logelin.
LCHS (1-4-1 overall) will face Hart High in Newhall for a nonleague game on Friday, March 17, at 4:30 p.m. before host California High of Whittier on March 22.
First published in the March 16 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
