Maddie Barkate, Katelyn Murphy, and Carly Tobias were named the Girls Lacrosse Players of the Week for the week ending April 14.  All three were nominated for the honor by opposing coaches impressed with their outstanding play.
The sharpshooting Barkate is a junior at St. Margaret’s.  Last week she put 10 shots on goal and scored on seven of them.  She also dished out six assists for a total of 13 points in two games.  She also had 10 draw wins.

​Murphy, another junior, has been a one-gal wrecking crew for Santa Margarita this season.  She leads the team in points with 56 (45 goals, 11 assists), takeaways (16), groundballs (24), and draw wins (84).
Tobias, the third junior in this week’s group, came through delivered an overtime victory to the Beckman Patriots for the second time this season.  Last week she victimized Corona del Mar in a key Pacific Coast League game.  For the season, Tobias leads the team in draw wins with 46, and is among the team leaders in points (51), groundballs (24), and takeaways (10).

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(Courtesy of MaxLaxOC)

​Tobias Delivers in Overtime

​For the second time this season, the Beckman girls lacrosse team, a.k.a. “the cardiac Queens” went down to the wire with Corona Del Mar. Only this time, the game went into overtime.With the Pacific Coast League championship likely on the line, the Patriots turned to Carly Tobias in OT her for the second time this season, and once again she didn’t disappoint.  Tobias who delivered the Patriots an overtime victory against San Juan Hills in March did it again on Wednesday.  In addition to scoring the walk-off goal, Tobias finished with a game-high three goals, as the Patriots beat the Sea Queens in overtime 7-6 on Wednesday at Beckman High School.

Tim Duchene, in his second year coaching with the Patriots (5-3, 5-0), has his team in great position to finish in first place in the league, as they are now a game and a half on the Sea Queens (4-8, 4-2) in the standings.
“It means a lot because they [CdM] took us [down] both times. It didn’t mean that wanted it anymore this year,” Duchene said. “We got to clean up a lot of stuff. Ball possession is so important, and I think sometimes the girls think scoring is important, but you can’t get down to set up your offense if you don’t clear well.”

After the Patriots gave up the first goal of the game, the game turned into a series of mini-runs for the most part. The Patriots responded by scoring three straight goals, only to have the Sea Queens score four straight goals, giving the Sea Queens a 5-3 lead at halftime.

The Patriots tied the game at 5-5 and took the lead at 6-5 off of a goal from Tobias. The Sea Queens didn’t get their first goal of the second half until Joslyn Simaan evened the game at 6-6 on a free position goal.
While neither team found the back of the net after Simaan’s goal, the Patriots’ best chance at taking the lead came toward the end of regulation. The Patriots forced CdM into a turnover and inbounded the ball with five second left. The Patriots got a good look at the net, but it was saved by CdM goalie Ashley Olson.
In overtime, Taylor Stern won the draw for Beckman and found Tobias for a shot, but she misfired. The Patriots retained possession and Stern found Tobias again and this time, she found the back of the net for the game-winner.

In addition to Tobias’ hat trick, Stern, Abby William, Layne Takahashi, and Nidhi Stayadev scored one goal apiece for Beckman. Stern, who was battling sickness, chipped in three assists while Maddy Wolf made four saves.

For the Sea Queens, Simaan led the way with two goals while, Ellery Amdor, Lauren Rowe, Caroline Brewster and Emily Faludy notched one goal apiece. Olson made 10 saves for the Sea Queens.
“I think we were nervous. I think we just had the jitters still that we entered the first half with and it took us a little bit to get our composure back. When we were huddling [after the game], the girls are proud of the game, proud of the attitude and composure they kept and that going forward will only be a strength for us,” Sea Queens coach Aly Simons said.

Up next for Beckman, a home game against Los Alamitos at 4 p.m. CdM plays at Mater Dei the same day at 2:30 p.m.

(Courtesy of MaxLaxOC)

​Behind eight goals from Brooke Williams, the Foothill girls’ lacrosse team beat Beckman 17-7 on Tuesday at Tustin High School.
“Today for us, it was just coming back from spring break. I told them I just wanted everything to be first for us, first goal, first groundball, first caused turnover, first draw, and I think they responded well,” Foothill coach Kate Hick said. “I think for Brooke [Williams], I’m just constantly trying to push her to make every opportunity count and not doubt and to keep shooting, and that’s her strength. She’s just going to be an incredible shooter this year.”

After the two teams were tied at 1-1 in the early stages of the first half, Foothill stringed together six straight goals to take a 7-1 lead and force Beckman coach Tim Duchene to call a timeout.
After the time out, the Patriots scored the next three goals to bring the game to 7-4. But the Knights put the game out of reach with their strong defense and their big game from Williams.
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“I think we were just shaking the jitters from spring break out a little bit. We hadn’t picked up our sticks too much, so we just got all the ‘cobwebs off’ and got going,” Williams said.
In addition to Williams’ big game, Ashley Stokes had four goals, three assists, and nine groundballs while Ava Brand and Lauren Kilger had two goals apiece. Vanessa Topete also scored for the Knights, who got eights saves from Rebecca Nailon.

For Beckman, Carly Tobias and Abby Williams led the way with two goals apiece while Taylor Stern, Layne Takahashi, and Sam Bui had one goal apiece. Maddy Wolfhad eight saves for the Patriots, which drew praise from Duchene.

“Maddy [Wolf] was solid like I would expect. She’s been a stalwart on our team,” Duchene said. “The girls continued to work, they kept their composure [and] kept their character, so they’ll learn from it and they’ll improve.”
Up next for the Knights (8-2), a road game against Corona Del Mar Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Beckman (4-2) travels to Redondo Beach to play Redondo Union the same day at 5:30 p.m.

Courtesy of MaxLaxOC

(Courtesy of MaxLaxOC)
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​St. Margaret’s was voted the top girls’ lacrosse team in Orange County by the 11 coaches who responded to the poll.  Votes were cast prior to the completion of yesterday’s games. The Tartans are 4-0 after defeating No. 2 Mater Dei yesterday.  Foothill, Santa Margarita, and Aliso Niguel round out the top 5.

(Courtesy MaxLaxOC)

Newport Beach – The Beckman girls’ lacrosse team, aka the cardiac queens, held off Pacific Coast League rivals Corona Del Mar 7-6 on Monday at Corona Del Mar High School.   The game marked the third straight time and fifth time in seven outings that the Patriots have been involved in a one-goal game.
“It took the girls being resilient and not trapping their heads and getting too anxious when things weren’t going their way. They [Beckman] knew coming in this is a huge rivalry, it has been for years ad it wasn’t going to be easy. They just kept battling,” Beckman coach Tim Duchene said.

​Beckman was led by Taylor Stern who had four goals and one assist while Carly Tobias had two goals and two assists. Nidhi Satyadev also scored a goal for the Patriots, which got four saves from Maddy Wolf.
The Patriots got off to a fast start scoring the first three goals of the contest. The Sea Queens were held scoreless for almost 21 minutes, until Joslyn Simaan them on the board. CdM closed out the quarter with two more goals to go into halftime tied at 3-3.
The Patriots jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second half and eventually led 7-5 until the Sea Queens scored to make it 7-6 with 9:41 left to play. Following a Tim Duchene, the Patriots were successful in running down the clock and keep the Sea Queens off the board.
In the waning seconds of the half, Sea queens goalie Ashley Olson made a save and tried to get it to her teammates up the field. But time ran out before they could do so.
“I think the defense was huge. Without our defense, a lot of our shots didn’t go in the first place, so without them, that game would’ve been theirs,” Tobias said.
Simaan led the Sea Queens with three goals while Ellery Amdor had two goals. Caroline Brewster added a goal for the Sea Queens, which got 10 saves from Olson.
“I don’t think anything specifically went wrong. I think we were actually playing a pretty competitively good game. We were winning draws, we had great goalie saves and we’re finishing our shots. It’s just a matter of getting the [win] next time,” Sea Queens coach Aly Simons said.
The two teams will meet on Wednesday April 11 at 4 p.m. There maybe a lot riding on that game.   The Patriots finished second in the PCL to CdM last year, and the two rivals are favorites to compete for the league championship, and head-to-head competition may be the deciding factor.
Duchene, though, isn’t looking that far ahead, as his team’s next game is Wednesday at home against Irvine at 4 p.m.
“We worry more about the way we play than what everyone else is doing. We need to keep working and do the things that we can do right and then everything will take care of itself,” Duchene said.
The Sea Queens (0-4, 0-1) will look to win their first game of the season on Wednesday when play at University, which went into Monday at 4-0, at 4 p.m. This is a busy week for the Sea Queens, as not only do they have their two league games, but they also play rival Newport Harbor on Friday at 4:45 p.m.
“I think every game we’re improving, even though we’re not getting the W’s. The score is showing, we’re playing collectively as a team and the vibes are very good on the sideline. I just think being consistent in practice and showing up and improving in games will lead to those wins,” Simons said.

(Courtesy of MaxLaxOC)

March 17, San Juan Capistrano – A beautiful St. Patrick’s Day brought an exciting, seesaw battle between two top Orange County girls’ lacrosse teams.  Beckman entered the day looking to turn the tide after a close, one-goal loss to a strong Santa Margarita, and San Juan Hills was looking to continue its winning ways after two straight victories—one of which was a one-goal nail-biter against San Clemente.
The Stallions came strong out of the gate, building an early 5-1 lead, due in part to dominance on the draw behind senior Bridget Cain.  On their first possession after claiming the opening draw, senior middie Taylor Austin made a quick feed to sophomore attacker Lucy Hodge, who cut from behind and received for the point-blank shot.

Minutes later, Jacy Fischbeck scooped a rebound after a nice save from Beckman’s Maddy Wolf and made good on the second chance opportunity.  Beckman answered when senior Carly Tobias lit up the cage with a free position shot from the center hash.  The next five minutes was all San Juan Hills, as Cain unleashed a rocket on an unsettled play, senior Mandy Muhr converted a free position, and junior Nicole Strauch took the feed from a driving Cain and pocketed the shot before the slide could shut her down.
With an immediate response from the ensuing draw, Tobias ripped a wicked left-hand shot through traffic to bring the Patriots within three.  The rest of the half belonged to Beckman.  Junior Lauren Frank finished a feed from senior Samantha Bui who was under defensive pressure on a tough pass.  The home team slowed down the ball, played patient lacrosse and found good scoring opportunities, while Wolf made a few strong saves to keep her team within two.  After back-and-forth turnovers, Tobias scooped and drove through the unsettled defense to make it a one-goal game.  Senior Taylor Stern made her presence felt by tying the game with a free position shot.
With the game now knotted at 5-5 and 6:18 until the half, Beckman kept it going.  Stern drove, pulled away from pressure, and re-attacked with a strong shot and goal—prompting a Stallion timeout.  But the pause in action was to no avail, as Stern netted her third straight off a great feed from senior attacker Nidhi Satyadev.  Moments later, Stern followed with a fourth.  In the last minute of the half, Muhr snapped the Stallion dry spell to make it 8-6, which was the score at the half.
The second half was a classic boat race, with each team going on short runs interspersed with back-and-forth goals.
Muhr opened the scoring with a high bouncer off the free position, and the home team was knocking on the door, down by one.  Moments later, Hodge lined up for the free position, drew the defense, and dumped the ball to a wide-open Muir on the goal circle—and just like that, the game was tied at eight.
On the following Patriot possession, Tobias drove on her strong hand and cranked a shot against the grain to net the top-shelf goal.  After each team took a trip in the offensive end, San Juan Hills responded after a nifty draw and dump from a creative Cain to Austin.  Game tied at nine.
Beckman scored on their following possession with a stick-skill showcase: Stern from the top to Satyadev down low to the cutting Tobias in the 8M for the shot and goal.  From here, the visitors went on a run, with Tobias shooting an awkward-yet-strong right-handed free position and senior attacker Layne Takahashi driving through light pressure to unleash a running lefty shot high.
12-9, Beckman, with 14:02 to go.
Cain brought her team back by attacking with a strong drive off a free position for San Juan Hills, and Beckman kept the lead at three when Tobias beat the double team by dropping the stick and firing the sidearm ripper.
The home team then mounted a run of its own.  Hodge earned a free position with a strong reception in the 8M and hit the shot, off-stick high.  Austin followed with a hard, low free position of her own.  Less than a minute later, Fischbeck tied the game with 7:39 to go in the game.
The final set of the match was a defensive showcase, as the scoreboard read 13-13 at the end of regulation.  Beckman earned two consecutive yellow cards but killed them both without any damage.  The visiting Patriots, after a key save from Wolf, played the clock for the final shot, but the Stallions held strong on defense, gave no ground, and prevented any offensive penetration.
In overtime, each team had its chances.  In a dramatic moment, Wolf saved a low, hard cannonball from Cain, but stepped out and back into her crease to give the ball back to San Jan Hills.  Austin had a nice chance on a feed and drive, but the shot went wide on the late defensive check.  With twenty seconds left to go, Beckman made a sweet defensive interception and pushed hard to the fast break, but the Stallion defense kept them out of the 8M to force a second overtime period.
San Juan Hills scooped the opening draw of the second overtime and Austin went straight to the drive and fired a left-handed shot that beat Wolf but caught the near pipe and rebounded to the restraining line.  Beckman junior Abby Williams shoveled the ground ball and pushed the action into the opposing zone, moved the ball behind to Frank, who found Tobias on the slow break for the shot, goal, and overtime victory for the Beckman Patriots.