[img]1778|exact|||no_popup[/img]
Goalie Raymir Simon makes one of his 19 saves in Culver City's 15-14 win over Mira Costa. Photo, George Laase.
Martin Beer, the win-clinching hero, scored three goals, Cayden Nakashima, Logan Young, Matthew Suyetsugu and Elliot Stanger each made two as Culver City High School’s lacrosse team defeated Mira Costa, 15-14, on Monday.
The Centaurs (3-3) play at Redondo this afternoon at 4:15.
“That last faceoff reminded me of last year’s game,” Beer said. “We also won that one15-14.
“With 54 seconds left, I knew I had to win this faceoff. I was thinking ‘Let’s keep together. If I win this faceoff, we win the game.’
“As a scorer, it’s great when you can get the lead and y can trust that your defense and goalie will have your back.”
“I have a big smile, said a grinning Coach Casey Chabola, “because beating Costa two years in a row is huge. After years of not beating them, this is awesome.”
Goalie Ramir Simon admitted that he “got scared a little. But I have trust in my team, and in the defense. Our offense came through and put some points on the board.”
Culver City fell behind 6-2 after the first period, but the Centaurs caught up when they scored six times in the second and held Mira Costa to two.
“This definitely was a half of two quarters,” assistant coach Adam Eskridge said at halftime.” He said Culver tied the game after falling behind by four because “in the second quarter, we were the more disciplined team.
“Defensively we were under control, and offensively we were patient. If we can continue that theme, instead of the loose play we did in the first quarter, we will win. The defense has to stay in their spaces.”
Falling behind was not a mystery to Logan Young. “We came out a little sluggish and got behind,” he said. “But in the second quarter we got our heads together. We played s really tight defense and put points on the board. That’s how you win games.
“In a game this close, the fourth is the most important quarter to win. Costa played pretty good offense, but our defense was having nothing to do with it.
We had to play defense for last five minutes of the game, and we shut them down. That was the difference What won tonight’s game was our defense.”
Even though this was only Culver City’s sixth match, Young called it pivotal. “At the beginning of the year we had players only interested in their personal stats,” he said. But when you play as a team, you win games.”
Aaron Bravo was celebrating because “we have beaten Mira Costa two years running, and they have one of the better lacrosse programs.” He is hoping that “we will get noticed by the CIF at playoff time.”
Elliot Stanger said that “it got a little tense at the end, but we pulled it out.”
To retired athletic director Jerry Chabola, the victory “shows how Culver City is building a good program that is comparable to other schools. ’
“In the South Bay, these schools already had built their programs when Culver just started theirs. Our youth programs in place, and those players are coming up to the high school with experience. The youth program at the elementary level and the program in the middle school are fundamental to the continued success at the high school. It’s just like the youth experience in AYSO and Little League. We have it now for lacrosse.”
Final Score:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Culver City | 2 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 15 |
| Mira Costa | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
Game Stats:
| Player's Name | Goals | Shots | Assists | Ground Balls |
| Thomas Melchor | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Martin Beer | 3 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Elliot Stanger | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Logan Young | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Diego Rodas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Matthew Suyetsugu | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Jack Sheehy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Clarkson | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Cayden Nakashima | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Goalie – Raymir Simon | 19 saves |
