| The La Costa Canyon (LCC) Mavericks headed north from the San Diego area for Saturday’s game against the Sea Kings, but their reputation preceded them. The Mavericks, having played in five straight CIF championship games in San Diego County, quickly demonstrated why they are one of California’s top ranked teams. From the opening faceoff, they dominated possession with crisp, accurate ball movement that caught PV off guard and resulted in a 4-0 score by the end of the period. Palos Verdes, uncharacteristically, struggled with face-offs going 0-5.
The Sea Kings made some adjustments in the second quarter and stepped up their intensity and level of play. Although LCC scored again early on, the defenders started to get in sync with the ball rotation and plug the gaps. PV’s breakthrough came with 5:55 left when Andrew Pandora bounced one in from the right side to make it 5-1. Sea King Goalie Matt Schladen was heating up as well and stopped several Maverick shots before Brandon Lim scored before halftime to get the home team one goal closer at 5-2.
The third quarter saw LLC score first, but PV responded in kind when Alex Richardson scored on a perfect pass from Sammy Romer. Possession was again dominated by LCC in the quarter, the result of efficient ground ball work and PV turnovers on defensive clears. The Mavericks scored twice more to make it 8-3 by quarter end. Each team scored once in the fourth period to reach the final tally of 9-4.
The Sea King’s top scorer, Nolan Semel was kept in check the entire game by the constant attention of a defensive stick. While goals and assists were limited, Matt Schladen finished the game with 20 saves. A lot of credit goes to the defensive unit whose hard-nosed efforts disrupted many of the La Costa Canyon attempts to setup and make shots. It was a tough game, but the Sea Kings played hard and got a good taste of what it’s like to play with the best.
Next Up: The Carmel Invitational Tournament, March 14-15
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2009