LACROSSE: Petaluma sweeps Casa Grande again

In a game that was very similar to the first official meeting between the Petaluma and Casa Grande rival lacrosse teams, Petaluma’s boys repeated their victory over their rivals from the east side with a 13-9 win.|

In a game that was very similar to the first official meeting between the Petaluma and Casa Grande rival lacrosse teams, Petaluma’s boys repeated their victory over their rivals from the east side with a 13-9 win.

Petaluma’s girls made it a sweep for the Trojans with an exciting 11-10 win over the Casa girls.

The wins came in the Battle for the Paddle, a tradition started when both schools were still playing club lacrosse.

Once again, the Petaluma boys led the distance, but Casa Grande made a strong run only to falter once it had pulled to within a goal of the Trojans.

“We had our opportunities again,” said Casa Grande coach Ben Hewitt. “But opportunities are only good if you can take advantage of them. We got close, but we couldn’t take that final step.”

“Petaluma has a very competitive team,” Hewitt added. “There is no phase of the game where they are weak.”

Petaluma fed top goal makers Brandon Rusick and Isaiah Blomgren, and they responded big time with Rusick scoring six goals and Blomgren four, but as Petaluma coach Kevin Louchis noted, the win was a collective effort.

“It was a team effort as always,” Louchis said. “Charlie Walker had a great game. He was all over - long stick, midfielder and attack - he did it all for us.”

Walker also scored a goal.

The coach also had praise for midfielders Ellis Scherer and Ben Spaletta, while Garrett Teagarden helped with two goals.

The game was similar in nature to the first meeting between the two rivals, but much more competitive than the Gauchos’ 10-4 win on their home turf.

“Casa Grande has improved a lot,” Louchis complimented. “They gave us a good game.”

Hewitt agreed about the Trojan improvement.

“I’ve never had a team that has improved as much as this team,” the Casa coach said.

Although Casa played hard behind the attack of Angelo Lagomarcino and Tommy Buickerood, Rusick powered the Trojans to a 7-4 halftime lead.

Casa Grande scored the first goal of the second half, but then the Gauchos charged with goals by Peter Lantier, Tobias Israel and Buickerood, pulling the Gauchos to within a goal with Petaluma leading just 8-7.

However, the Petaluma defense stiffened and the Gaucho assault stalled a goal short of a tie.

Playing a deliberate offense that featured excellent stick handling and effective patience, the Trojans scored the next four goals, with Teagarden contributing two and Blomgren and Walker one apiece to put their team out of danger.

As the game wound down, Petaluma coolly passed the ball around in the Casa Grande end of the field, trading goal attempts for time and ultimately victory.

T-Girls hang on

The girls game was another wild battle, with Petaluma building a seemingly secure five-goal second-half lead, only to have Casa Grande charge back to provide a heart-thumping finish.

The intensely played game was marred by the constant tweeting of the officials’ whistles that reduced the contest to 30-second segments.

When play wasn’t being stopped, the teams battled even through the first half, with Taylor Forslind sparking the Petaluma attack, while Makayla and Alyssa Chavez led the Lady Gauchos. At the midpoint, Petaluma led, 6-5.

The second half opened with Petaluma totally taking charge behind the stick handling of Forslind and Nichole Costa. The T-Girls led 11-6 and seemed to be completely in control when Casa’s Makayla Chavez took over the game.

Charging the Petaluma goal with abandon, she sliced through the T-Girl defense to score five goals in the span of about five minutes.

Makayla Chavez’s final goal made it a 11-10 game with a minute to play. Twice during the final 60 seconds, Petaluma goalie Brittney Tomrose made superb saves to allow the Trojans to hold on to their second emotional victory over their rivals in a season of memorable games.

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