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EASTVALE — Time was quickly running out on the Roosevelt girls lacrosse team’s season.
But there was just enough time remaining on the clock for Maelynn Saucedo to extend the match.
Saucedo’s goal at the buzzer sent the match into overtime, and Sabrina Loughridge scored the decisive goal in the extra period to lift the Mustangs to an 8-7 win over King in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinal.
“One thing I’ve tried to get the girls to focus on is staying in the game mentally regardless of whether we are winning or losing,” Mustangs coach Todd Grigsby said. “We won our first playoff game by scoring the winning goal with 1.4 seconds. I’m super proud of everything they’ve accomplished. We’ve came a really long way.”
Roosevelt (16-9-1) and Temecula Valley (17-6) square off for the Division 3 championship Saturday afternoon at El Modena High School in Orange, with the winner becoming the first Inland girls lacrosse team to claim a Southern Section championship. Temecula Valley defeated Cate 13-7 in Thursday’s other semifinal match.
King and Roosevelt faced off twice during Big VIII League play this year. King won the first meeting 7-4, but Roosevelt beat the Wolves 11-9 in the semifinals of league’s carousel tournament. Thursday’s playoff contest was tightly contested from start to finish, with both teams putting together scoring runs to seize momentum.
The score was tied at six entering the fourth quarter. King’s Liliana Slagle won the opening draw and scored to give the Wolves a 7-6 lead. And it remained that way for 11-plus minutes as turnovers plagued both sides.
Saucedo draw a foul with 2.7 seconds left in regulation. After a timeout, Saucedo lined up at the 8-meter spot for the restart. Saucedo’s stick was clipped on the shot, but the ball trickled into the net as time expired.
“I was so, so nervous,” said Saucedo, who scored a match-high five goals for Roosevelt. “I was just looking up and praying. I really didn’t shoot it. They all came crashing and hitting my stick. Somehow, it still went in.”
The Roosevelt girls lacrosse team will face Temecula Valley in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship match. (Eric-Paul Johnson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
With overtime a golden-goal scenario, the opening draw was crucial. Slagle won possession for King, and Olivia Worden got an excellent look. But Worden was denied her fourth goal of the match by the crossbar.
Roosevelt got the rebound and eventually earned a power-play opportunity. Saucedo had a chance to end things, but her shot was stopped by King goalie Alicia Garcia. But Loughridge collected the ground ball and drew a whistle. On the restart. Loughridge took off from the 8-meter mark and fired home the winning goal.
“I knew (King) would be coming hard. I wanted to get around them and get a shot off,” Loughridge said.
Roosevelt controlled much of the action during the first 10 minutes, as Saucedo won the first four draws of the match. But the Mustangs could only carve out a 2-1 lead, as Garcia stopped six shots in the opening period.
King (15-10) settled in and scored the final two goals of the opening quarter. The Wolves held a 4-3 lead at halftime and extended that to 6-3 midway through the third period after goals by Worden and Abby Vannatter.
But Roosevelt scored three goals over the next two minutes, the final two on a power play, to level the score.
Vannatter scored a pair of goals for King, and Garcia registered 12 saves despite not playing the third period.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/05/09/roosevelt-girls-lacrosse-team-outlasts-king-to-reach-division-3-championship-match/