It didn’t come as easy as in previous years, but Redondo’s girls lacrosse team captured its eighth straight Bay League championship going undefeated in league play for the third consecutive season thanks to late-game heroics in the regular-season finale last Friday.
Having already clinched the title but with the league winning streak on the line, Redondo started slowly falling behind rival Mira Costa 3-0 before tying the game 7-7 in the final minute of regulation.
When Sea Hawk Gracie Schneider was fouled going to the goal, she was awarded a free position shot. The sophomore faked the goalie twice before scoring the winning goal that set off a wild celebration.
“I think we surprised a lot of teams in the Bay League this year,” Redondo coach Tom Borgia said. “After graduating seven starters, most people thought we would struggle this year. We had very few close games last year and this year we had more than ever. We started out terrible against Mira Costa and, to make matters worse, our best defender/midfielder Allie Vorndran hurt her ankle and was out for the game. We had momentum on our side going into overtime and our goalkeeper, Melanie Paiz, came up with huge saves to keep us in the game.”
Redondo finished the regular season outscoring opponents 114-50 while improving Borgia’s record at 81-7 during his eight years as head coach. The Sea Hawks (12-2) are ranked No. 9 in the CIF-Southern Section and earned the No. 3 seed in the North Division playoffs.
Redondo takes a 12-game winning streak into the playoffs when the Sea Hawks began their quest for a fourth North Division championship hosting No. 14 Crescenta Valley on Tuesday. The winner will take on the Birmingham-West Ranch winner in the second round on Thursday.
Palos Verdes is seeded No. 7 and hosts No. 10 Royal in the first round while No. 9 Mira Costa plays at No. 8 Thousand Oaks and No. 11 Peninsula travels to No. 5 Cate on Tuesday.
Borgia feels a come-from-behind 13-7 victory in Redondo’s first meeting at pre-season favorite Palos Verdes was a turning moment for his team
“That win set the tone for us and our girls and gave them a lot of confidence so they knew that they had a good shot at winning league,” Borgia said. “We have a chance to get back to the North finals. For a team that features a lot of new girls, it’s been a thrill to watch them play so well this year. Now we need to do the same this week in the playoffs.”
Borgia hopes Allie Vorndran’s return will be quick as she anchors the defense along with Jackie Schneider, Adrianna D’Agostino and Maddie Marcon.
Hailey Vorndran is Redondo’s leading attacker scoring 62 goals this season, setting the team’s single-game record with nine goals versus La Canada. Also on attack is Julia Brand with a team leading 22 assists to go with 23 goals and Schneider (13 goals).
The Sea Hawk’s midfield is led by Allie Shafer who does the draws, leads the team in ground balls and has 25 goals and 18 assists. Samantha Marcon is another force at midfield with 20 goals and 11 assist and handles draws as well. Other key starters on offense are Kate Rourke (21 goals) along with Caleigh Ranjo and Jaymie Bettger who play both attack and midfield.
