Oaks Christian boys lacrosse team, Foothill Tech boys tennis team reach CIF-SS finals
It may have been too close for comfort, but it got the job done.
Lawson Spruill scored four goals as the Oaks Christian boys lacrosse team held off visiting El Segundo, 9-8, Wednesday night in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 semifinals at Thorson Stadium.
“Too much drama for me,” laughed Oaks Christian coach Geoff Sebold. “I’d like to see a little more comfortable lead.”
Top-seeded Oaks Christian (13-6) advances to play Sherman Oaks-Notre Dame for the Division 3 title Friday at 3:30 p.m. at El Modena High in Orange.
Marmonte League foe Agoura (16-3) will face Mira Costa in the Division 2 final immediately after at 6 p.m. The Division 1 final between Loyola and San Juan Capistrano-St. Margarets will follow at 8:30.
The Lions (13-6) led for nearly the entire night, mostly by a handful of goals. The lead peaked on Spruill’s goal from Jack Isola’s feed with 11:22 to play.
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But El Segundo made a final run, closing to within 9-7 with 1:58 left and a single goal in the final seconds.
“We felt pretty good the entire game,” Sebold said. “We would get to a two-goal lead and we’d know it’s an inflection point, where we could build a lead.”
Oaks Christian took a 4-2 lead after the first quarter on a Spruill goal. Jensen Bell and Jonah Zirretta found the net in the second quarter to maintain a 6-4 halftime edge.
Spruill scored three straight goals as the Lions built a 9-5 lead with 11:22 to play.
Sebold highlighted the play of Nick Grossman in the faceoff circle and junior defenders Jasper Devaul and Brandon Kramar, who were forced into larger defensive roles when top defender Will Siminak was lost with an illness.
More: Eight local boys golfers qualify for CIF-Southern Section Individual Championships
BOYS TENNIS
The Foothill Tech boys tennis team reached the CIF-SS Division 4 championship match by defeating host Millikan 11-7 on Wednesday.
The doubles teams of James Sokoloski and Aadi Althuri and Greg Davis and Dylan Files swept their matches to lead the Dragons. The Tri-Valley League champions will play Rowlands in the final at the Claremont Club on Friday at 11 a.m.
Oak Park’s perfect season came to an end with a 13-5 loss to host JSerra in a Division 1 semifinal. The Coastal Canyon League champion finished at 14-1.
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oaks Christian boys lacrosse, Foothill Tech tennis reach CIF-SS finals
