First-year Heritage girls lacrosse team wins playoff opener

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The success story that is Heritage High girls lacrosse added a new chapter on Wednesday when the Patriots beat Tesoro High 13-12 on the road in the first round of the CIF Division 3 playoffs.

Savannah Reveles scored late in the game to break a 12-12 tie and the Patriots hung on to improve their record to 11-4. Danica Doskocil led the scoring attack with seven goals, Anastacia Martinez scored two, and a strong supporting group – Amerie Cisneros, Cassidy Shaw, Reveles, and Makenna Suarez – scored one each.

Strong defensive play was displayed by Isabella Martinez, Hannah Hill, Michelle Do and Sarah Gratzer, while goalkeeper Addie Walker made 10 saves in the game at Rancho Santa Margarita.

“It gave the team a sense of satisfaction,” said coach Michael Mattison. “The girls have worked really hard this season and were proud that their effort paid off.

“The prevailing opinion is that teams from our league cannot beat an Orange County team. Luckily, our girls do not know this.”

A bigger challenge lies ahead on Friday at 3:15 p.m. when the Patriots play host to top-seeded Portola of Irvine, which has an 18-1 record this season. But the Patriots go into the game with momentum and confidence that just keeps building – an impressive fact, considering this is the first year of lacrosse at the school.

“We only have one girl that has ever played before,” Mattison said. “Our goals coming into the season were simply learn the game, hopefully win one game, and have fun.

“In our very first contest, we achieved our second goal. We defeated Centennial in overtime. From there, we started to raise our hopes and expectations. We then wanted to win one league match. In our first league match with Hemet, we won by one. We then started to think about finishing third and qualifying for CIF.”

Heritage went 4-0 in the second round of league play, including wins over second-place Paloma Valley and first-place Riverside Poly, each by a score of 11-6. The Patriots finished in second place in the Ivy League and were off to the playoffs.

The team’s leading scorer is Doskocil, who finished second in the league in scoring with 39 goals and 14 assists before her seven-goal game at Tesoro. “She is a sophomore and has tremendous potential,” Mattison said.

Shaw (right), a senior who has a scholarship to play softball at Princeton, decided to play lacrosse this spring and was second in goals with 33 during the regular season. Chevez has 20 goals and 15 assists.

The team’s depth is impressive. Junior midfielder Hill, playing with a broken arm, helped solidify the team’s defense, as did Martinez, a junior who also plays football.

Mattison also has high praise for Anastacia Martinez, a freshman who has played very well of late. She has 14 goals in the last four games and has the highest shooting percentage on the team.

“We hope to build off our success this season and be even better next year,” Mattison said.