Paloma girls lacrosse team improves record to 7-1
Paloma Valley's Lacie Lomenick takes a shot in Thursday's game against Poly. (Photo by Haven Rice) By Doug Spoon, Editor Enjoying i...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
Enjoying its best season in the program’s six-year history, the Paloma Valley High School girls lacrosse team has a 7-1 record following Thursday’s 18-3 victory over defending league champion Riverside Poly.
Lacie Lomenick scored 5 goals, Gianna Bailey 4 and Crystal Kron 4 for the Wildcats, who are on the way to a record-breaking season that has coach James Murphy making bold predictions about his team.
“We’ll probably win the league championship,” Murphy said. “We’re undefeated in league right now. We’ve only lost one [non-league] game, and we should’ve won that one. It was in a travel team tournament.
“We had such a good off-season, I’m not surprised what the girls have done. They’re on track to break school records in a lot of scoring categories.”
The Wildcats lost eight players from last year’s team, which went 9-7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Even so, they are fielding another strong team in what Murphy thought might be a rebuilding year.
Lacrosse is still relatively new to California high schools, so there are much fewer youth programs and clubs in the area than for other sports. Murphy says there currently are no clubs based in Menifee, but there are clubs in Murrieta and Temecula. Knowledge and development of local athletes in lacrosse is increasing in the area.
“We recruit heavily from other sports like soccer and softball,” Murphy said. “We can see where the athleticism is."
Gianna Bailey (6) battles a Riverside Poly opponent for possession Thursday. (Photo by Haven Rice)
Crystal Kron looks to pass during Paloma Valley's game Thursday. (Photo by Haven Rice)
