One of the smallest girls on the field made the biggest impact on Friday night as Carlsbad High School won its first CIF San Diego Section championship in girls lacrosse.
A 5-foot-1½ junior, Lisa Magill scored with no time remaining in regulation to send the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 championship game into overtime. Then, two minutes into OT, she netted her fifth goal to give top-seeded Carlsbad a 9-8 win over No. 2 Del Norte at Scripps Ranch High School.
“It was wild,” Lancers coach James Magill said of the back-and-forth game and of his daughter’s heroics. “That was awesome.”
A most improbable goal by Magill sent this one to overtime. Trailing 8-7 with 20 seconds remaining, Carlsbad (18-4) worked the ball 60 yards downfield and a penalty stopped the clock at 0:02. On a free position set play, Magill came into the crease from the left hash and fired a shot that bounced through the legs of Del Norte goalie Bella Salek. The clock read 0:00, but the officials ruled the shot was released before the final tick.
“I’m thinking, ‘I gotta score. There’s no other option,’ ” Lisa Magill said. “I was thinking, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s keep it going.’ ”
In OT, Magill scored on a similar free position play from the opposite side that set off a wild celebration by the Lancers.
Magill scored five of the Lancers’ final six goals. Freshman Ella Avery scored the first two Carlsbad goals. Senior Cal commit Clara Devlin and sophomore Layla Muno each scored one. Lauren Lorentzen (UMass-Lowell) made five saves in goal.
“Since seventh grade, Coach Magill has been telling Lisa and I that this is going to be our year,” junior Sophie Larson said. “It’s pretty special. I will never forget this moment.”
Last year in the semifinals, Carlsbad edged Del Norte 12-11 in overtime to advance to the championship. The Lancers lost to Bishop’s in the 2023 final but routed the No. 4 Knights 11-5 in Tuesday’s semifinals. Del Norte defeated No. 3 Poway 12-4 in the other semifinal.
“Three years in the league, it’s pretty amazing,” James Magill said. “I want the girls to know what it’s like to be a champion every time they walk into a job interview for the rest of their lives.”
Trailing 7-4 early in the third period, Del Norte (14-7) battled back with four consecutive goals by Dominican University commit Kyra Evans (2 goals), junior Elise Cardell (3 goals) and two by freshman Anielle Standing to pull ahead 8-7 with 3:10 to play.
Magill’s tying goal carried some controversy.
“From the bottom of my heart, I know the girls played really really hard. At the end of the day, we know who the real champions are,” Del Norte coach Jose Soto said. “Anytime the refs affect the game in the last two seconds … “
Del Norte has only two seniors and 22 of the 24 players are expected back next spring.
“We couldn’t have gone as far as we did without everyone in this program,” Salek said. “I’m happy to have had this opportunity in my senior year.”
