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    Orange County teams go 0 for 5 in CIF-SS boys and girls lacrosse finals
    • May 17, 2026

    Santa Margarita’s girls lacrosse team couldn’t overcome Mira Costa’s fast start and fell 12-6 in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship game Saturday at El Modena High.

    Mira Costa jumped to a 7-2 lead midway through the second quarter and Santa Margarita (16-3) couldn’t get enough possessions to catch up.

    “They started fast. They’re a great team,” Santa Margarita coach Kelly Petite said. “It’s hard to chip away and come back from that. It wasn’t our day, but every single person played to the last whistle so that’s all you can ask.”

    Mira Costa (17-3) reached the Division 1 championship last season but fell to Foothill.

    This is the first CIF-SS championship for Mira Costa and only the second time a team from Orange County didn’t take home the Division 1 championship.

    The Mustangs won 12 of 18 draws and possessed the ball for much of the game. Santa Margarita sophomore goalie Nayana Katragadda kept the Eagles in the game with 14 saves.

    “She was great today, especially for an underclassman and against some very good shooters,” Petite said. “I know this is her recruiting summer so I’m stoked to see what comes out of that. Huge things to come for her.”

    Isabella Hamo and Madeleine Yoo each scored twice for the Eagles. Alexaundra Szcuka and freshman Siena Cain also scored for Santa Margarita.

    Santa Margarita won the Trinity League, went 13-0 against Southern Section teams entering Saturday and beat Palos Verdes and Marlborough in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

    Thirteen of Santa Margarita’s 19 players were underclassmen so Petite, who is a first-year coach for Santa Margarita, is optimistic about the future.

    “Honestly, this has been such a special group aside from lacrosse,” Petite said. “They are like a sisterhood, that’s why the ending was so tough. We got a lot of talent coming back and it’s exciting because we had future Eagles watching in the stands. The loss stings but I’m fired up for the future.”

    In other CIF-SS championship games:

    Boys Division 1:

    Loyola 14, Santa Margarita 6: Santa Margarita couldn’t keep pace with a high-powered Loyola offense in the Division 1 championship game.

    Loyola (16-3) averaged 16 goals per game this season and scored 19 goals in its semifinal win over Mater Dei. The Cubs scored three times in the first three minutes to put Santa Margarita (15-4) in an early hole.

    Tyler Ghyzel and Andrew Mravle each scored twice for Santa Margarita. Defenseman Austin Leonard scored with a long stick and Evan Fabiano added a goal.

    Eagles’ goalie Connor Dugan had seven saves but couldn’t keep up with the volume of shots Loyola was getting. Loyola outshot Santa Margarita 35-20 and won 16 of 23 faceoffs.

    Santa Margarita was making its first CIF championship appearance and won the Trinity League this season. The Eagles beat Corona del Mar and St. Margaret’s to reach the title game.

    Loyola has won two consecutive CIF-SS championships and is the only team to win three championships since the CIF-SS took control of the lacrosse playoffs in 2021. The Cubs have been to five of the six Division 1 championship games in that span.

    In Girls Division 2:

    El Segundo 4, Huntington Beach 3: Huntington Beach had the ball in the final minute with a chance to tie, but failed to score and fell to El Segundo in a low-scoring game.

    The Oilers had the ball with 19 seconds left and Brian Eisenberg called a timeout. Huntington Beach (14-9) got the ball into El Segundo’s territory and had a free position shot from the 12-meter arc with one second remaining, but failed to get a shot off.

    Ella Jones scored the first goal for Huntington Beach with under four minutes left in the 2nd to cut El Segundo’s lead to 3-1.

    Jones scored her second goal early in the third quarter on a free position shot from the 8-meter arc.

    Emily Mehr passed to Lily Greco Rosen who scored to tie the game at 3 midway through the third quarter.

    Tessa Tipton scored all four goals for El Segundo (13-4), including the game-winning goal with 6:23 left in the game.

    Huntington Beach won the Sunset League this season and won the Division 3 championship in 2023. The Oilers also lost to El Segundo last season in the Division 2 semifinals.

    In Girls Division 3:

    Glendale 14, Northwood 8: Northwood fell short in its historic bid for a CIF championship with a loss to Glendale.

    The Timberwolves hired coach Dillon Lewis in November, although he had never coached the sport before. Lewis was an assistant football coach at Northwood and dedicated his time to learning the sport and leading a Northwood team that is on its fifth head coach in five seasons.

    Northwood (15-9) was tied with Glendale 8-8 heading into the fourth quarter but allowed six consecutive goals in the final frame. Alexis Low led the Timberwolves with four goals. Lauren Low, Rebekah Welch, Paige Kesler and Caitlin Ko also scored for Northwood.

    Northwood was the third place team from the Pacific Coast League entering the playoffs and beat Valencia, Beckman and Great Oak to reach the championship game.

    In Boys Division 3:

    Oaks Christian 16, Dana Hills 11: Seven different players scored for Dana Hills, but the Dolphins struggled to stop top-seeded Oaks Christian.

    Junior attack Charles Tzagournis led Dana Hills with three goals. Luke Lambert and Kyle Weaver each scored twice. James Tzagournis, Carson Calvin, Noah Macias and football standout Thompson Foulger also scored for the Dolphins.

    Dana Hills (20-3) was playing in its first championship game and won the Sea View League this season for the first time since 2015.

    The Dolphins had a 15-game winning streak entering the championship game under first-year coach Drew Reynolds.

     

    ​ Orange County Register 

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