West Ranch Wildcats junior Lauren Lamb left the field battered and bruised — but not beaten.
Lamb picked up multiple bloody scrapes after diving all over the West Ranch High School football field turf during Monday’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 first-round matchup against the Santiago Sharks of Corona, on her way to 10 goals that helped the Wildcats to a 16-12 win.
“That’s what makes her so talented, because she’s willing to do that,” said West Ranch head coach Leesa Chelminiak. “She will put anything on the line for her team. And again, it’s not for herself, it’s for her team.”
Sophomore Grace Manning added four goals, while junior Sofia Forbes and sophomore Raquel Olmos had a goal each.
West Ranch is now set to travel on Thursday in the second round to face the El Segundo Eagles (13-6), who had a bye in the first round as the top seed in Division 2.
“We’ve developed as a team incredibly over the season, from the start to finish, and so we’re not even done yet,” Manning said.
West Ranch ran out to a 4-1 lead after the first quarter on Monday before taking a 7-5 lead into the half. Lamb scored half of her goals in the opening two periods.
But a Santiago (10-11) goal in the first 30 seconds of the third quarter made it just a one-goal game. However, the Wildcats quickly responded with five unanswered goals, three coming from Lamb, and the game was never in doubt after that point.
Lamb said she knew she had to step up and deliver because of how much she and her teammates want to keep this run going.
“We want to win so badly. But I think it wouldn’t have been — without my teammates, it wouldn’t have been possible,” Lamb said. “So, I’m grateful for them.”
West Ranch junior goalkeeper Nikole Sandoval was immense with 16 saves in the contest, many coming in clutch situations when the Sharks were still in contention. Chelminiak had nothing but praise for her netminder, who may have broken her own record for saves in a game, though Chelminiak said she would have to check.
“She showed the performance of a top-level high-school goalie, like I’ve never seen her do,” Chelminiak said. “She’s getting more aggressive when it comes to intercepting balls. She’s stepping toward the ball. She’s been able to track the ball better than she ever has before. And it showed.”
While Lamb was the star on Monday, Manning has been a force for the Wildcats all season and even broke the school record for goals in a game with 16 in a win over Hart earlier this season.
“It feels pretty great,” Manning said. “I mean, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. I mean, the assists, off the draw, and just, overall, the defense in that game was incredible.”
In the other girls’ lacrosse playoff game on Monday featuring a Foothill League team, the Saugus Centurions (13-5) lost on the road, 11-9, at the hands of the Chaparral Pumas (14-5).
Saugus head coach Ryan Olsen said it was a tight contest. The Centurions were down 7-4 at one point before making it 7-7 in the second half.
But Chaparral took the lead and never gave it up, scoring in the final seconds to finally put the game out of reach.
Freshman Sam Weathers had three goals for Saugus, while senior Gabby Martinez and sophomore Caroline Doran had two goals each.
