Spartans stifled in semifinals

Laguna Beach, the tournament's top seed, came out on fire and took a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, behind two McConnell goals. The Spartans first got on the board when Allen Morovati scored on a man-advantage, off an assist from Peter Loakes, with 3:38 remaining in the quarter to trim the Breakers' lead to 2-1.

McConnell scored his second goal of the game with 2:17 left in the first, followed by a score from Caleb Scott, who finished with three goals, with 38 seconds left, giving Laguna Beach a 4-1 lead headed into the second quarter.

Symeon Stefan got La Cañada (19-7), the No. 4 seed, on the board first in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 4-2, but the Breakers (21-5) still increased their lead to 7-3 at halftime behind another goal from McConnell and two from Ben Thomas. Bryce Hopkins had the Spartans' other goal with 1:55 to go in the half.

"We just didn't step up as much as we should have," Loakes said. "I felt like we should have been tied the entire game, but they just took an early lead and kept it."

Things got ugly in the third quarter, as Laguna Beach scored four more goals and held La Cañada scoreless in the seven-minute span to carry an insurmountable 11-3 lead into the final quarter.

"They already played us, so they knew who our shooters were," said Loakes, explaining his team's struggles on offense. "They probably practiced that a lot."

Scott scored twice in the quarter and McConnell added another to his tally.

Stefan scored two more times for a team-high three goals, but the Breakers kept up their tempo, scoring three goals in the final quarter for the final 14-5 tally.

The victory puts Laguna Beach in the Division III finals against Damien (24-6), which defeated Palos Verdes, 10-8, Wednesday. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 11:45 a.m. At the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.