The Coronado Islanders girls lacrosse team cruised through the CIF Div. 1 Playoff bracket. After a four-goal win over Carlsbad, the Islanders quickly rolled La Jolla Country Day in the CIF Semifinals by 20-10. And on Saturday, May 21, the only thing left for the girls in green and white was to defeat The Bishop’s School and take home the CIF Title.
In the opening minutes of the first half, the Islanders and the Knights would go goal for goal as both early goals from Ella Ackerly and Allie White would be matched to make it a 2-2 game.
But the tie would not last long. After an excellent steal by Marianna Dick and ground ball by Katie Collins, the Islanders would quickly net a transition goal thanks to a fine drive goal by Ackerly.
Coronado would waste little time adding to their lead as, after yet another face-off win by Lauren Hundley, she would find her teammate White who would score from three yards outside the circle to make it a 4-2 Coronado lead.
However, the first half offensive fireworks were not done yet. After a goal from Bishop’s to make it a 4-3 game Coronado would quickly respond with two more goals of their own, both of them coming from Ackerly, giving her four in the first half and extending the Islander lead to 6-3.
Bishop’s, however, would have a counter punch after a penalty forced the Islanders to play a girl down, and Bishop’s responded with two goals to make it a 6-5 game.
But, as they did all afternoon, Coronado would respond with a goal of their own. This one coming from White to make it a 7-5 game heading into the half.
While the offensive display was impressive in the first half, it would kick into another gear in the second half.
The Islanders would net three goals out of the half in under six minutes. Julia Mineo, Hundley, and Charlotte Peterson would all find the back of the net to make it a 10-6 game.
While it’s easy to get lost in the offensive numbers posted by the Islanders on Saturday, it should not be overlooked how well the defense played.
On multiple occasions, Marianna Dick, Mineo, Collins, and Emma Fabiszak would force turnovers to allow the Islanders to generate fastbreak goals.
In goal, Allyson Bryant turned in yet another stellar performance, recording seven saves while also doing a great job of communicating with her fellow defenders. In total, the Islander defense would allow just two second-half goals.
With the Islander defense appearing near-impenetrable, the Islander offense continued to put space between themselves and the Knights.
White would add yet another goal, and after a steal and excellent ground ball by Mineo, the sophomore would find Hundley, who would dish to Peterson for the goal to make it a 12-7 game.
Over the final six minutes of regulation, Coronado would go on a 4-0 scoring run. During that stretch Hundley scored two goals, while Mineo and Riley McGrath would each find the back of the net. The final goals would seal the 16-7 victory and give the Islanders the 2022 CIF Division One Title.
The Islanders asserted their dominance from the opening whistle and showed why they were the No. 1 seed. They were the better team on paper, and they played like the better team on the field. It was indeed a large exclamation point on a dominant and remarkable playoff run that will forever be etched into Islander girls lacrosse history.
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