Paloma boys and girls, Heritage girls in lacrosse playoffs

Gizelle Rodriguez (5) leads the Paloma Valley girls lacrosse team with 33 goals. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The growth of the Paloma Valley High School girls and boys lacrosse programs is evident in the fact that both varsity teams made the CIF Southern Section playoffs this year.

In the four previous years of the sport at Paloma Valley, the teams had each won a total of one game. This year, the girls have seven victories, the boys have six, and they are ready for postseason play this week.

In a CIF-SS Division 3 wild card game, the Wildcats girls team will be at home Monday at 3:15 p.m. to face Northwood High of Irvine. The visitors bring a 14-6 record into the game. If the Wildcats are victorious, they will advance to the first round on Wednesday.

In a Division 3 first-round game on Thursday, the Paloma Valley boys will play at Dos Pueblos, which brings a 10-3 record into the game.

The Paloma girls team is led in scoring by Gizelle Rodriguez, who has 33 goals. Gianna Bailey leads in assists with 17. Goalkeeper Isabella Pacitto has a save percentage of 72.

“We have 12 seniors on the team, but we have four underclassmen leading the charge,” said coach Julie Blied, who praised the play of Bailey, Rachel Ngo, Exelly Rosales and Pacitto. Rosales is the team captain.

The boys team is led by goalkeeper Wyatt Dudziak, who is receiving praise throughout the region for his consistent play. He has 248 saves this season and has also assisted on four goals.

Jake Nelson leads the Wildcats in scoring with 28 goals and 18 assists. Josiah Lavine ranks second.

In a Division 3 first-round game on Wednesday, the Heritage High girls lacrosse team will play at Tesoro High in Rancho Santa Margarita. The Patriots are 10-4 overall.

Heritage’s leading scorer is Danica Doskocil, who has 39 goals and 14 assists. Cassidy Shaw has 28 goals. Isabella Chevez has 20 goals and leads the team in assists with 15.

Goalkeeper Addie Walker is another standout for the Patriots. She has 63 saves.