Mustangs Trounce Sea Hawks; Bay League Title in Sight

Hat tricks were the fashion of the night, as the Mira Costa Mustangs stamped out the Redondo Union Sea Hawks 21-1 in Waller Stadium Monday night.

Four boys lacrosse players recorded hat tricks as Mira Costa (12-3, 9-1) jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead and went on to win 21-1 against Redondo Union (7-8, 5-6), moving the Mustangs one step closer to the Bay League title and hopefully a number one seed in the playoffs.

Marcus Egeck, Ryan Kole, Alec Weaver and Tajes Mobley all found the back of the net three times as a balanced Mustangs offensive attack stayed hot on a night in which the winds whipped in Manhattan Beach.

Egeck took a pass from Clay Russert and found the back of the net just more than a minute into the game.

Mira Costa’s lightning fast transition attack would strike with 8:34 remaining in the first as Mobley scored on a fast break. The Mustangs would tack on four more goals to notch five in a two-minute span.

Midfielder Tom Farrell assisted on goals from Egeck and Chris O’Brien (two goals) and ended up with a team-best five assists on the night.

“We distributed the ball well," said O'Brien. "Lots of guys had a lot of points, guys with hat tricks who normally don’t. It was a good team effort overall.” 

The Mustangs would increase their 8-0 first quarter lead to 14-0 before half as Kole scored for the third time on a well-placed pass from Russert (four assists).

“Our offense has improved immensely," Farrell said. "Everyone on the team is an athlete and the transition game is great, but we’re improving in running our sets, too.” 

Kole, who has been a force on faceoffs all season, was again dominant as he won every faceoff until Jeff Brandon bested him with 1:09 before half, following Kole’s own goal.

“Normally I pass first, shoot second, but coaches have been giving me the green light from 10-12 yards and I had some good shots on cage and they went in,” Kole said.

Taylor Romeo would sneak the only goal of the night, finding the top of the net past goalie Jon Mayfield in the third quarter.

“I do believe Redondo is going to be good in years to come," said Mira Costa head coach Chris Jewett. "They have a lot of good freshman on this team and that’s going to be good for us as we want the Bay League to keep improving each year.” 

The night, however, belonged to the Mustangs as they continue to rack up victories against league foes, including their most important last week when Mira Costa pulled off a key 15-7 victory over Palos Verdes, avenging their only loss in league play this season.

“PV, was the first time all season I’ve seen our team come together and really want it bad," Jewett said. "We were physical, won the 50-50 ground balls. It was a total team effort and a fun game to be a part of.” 

Monday night’s win over Redondo upped Mira Costa’s Bay League mark to 9-1 and puts them in position to claim the league crown if they can finish up with wins against Culver City and Peninsula.

“In practice we have to work harder," said Kole. "In games like this,  where we have the command of the game early on, we know we will be facing tougher and tougher teams down the line and have to stay prepared.”