Sea Kings rally to advance to title match

SAN CLEMENTE — Corona del Mar High didn’t even have time to break out in a full sweat.

Down, 3-0, to Santa Margarita, Coach Mark Todd stayed cool, too. No panicking in the semifinals of the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section Orange County playoffs Saturday night.

The boys’ team sweating more than CdM was the one ahead in the opening quarter.

Time wasn’t on the Eagles’ side. Too much of it left, as the top-seeded Sea Kings took control at halftime en route to winning 16-7 at San Clemente High and advancing to their first county championship.

The player igniting CdM’s comeback was Noah Molnar. The senior recorded his first goal with 7 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first, and he assisted on the team’s second goal.

The rest was history, CdM (20-1), ranked No. 5 in the state by LaxPower.com, returned to its dominating form. No one for No. 5-seeded Santa Margarita (15-6) stopped the Lehigh University-bound midfielder as Molnar finished with four goals and assisted on three others.

“We just came out a little flat. We just had to relax,” Molnar said. “We were playing a little jumpy. Once we settled down, we knew we’d be all right.”

The Sea Kings won’t settle for anything less than a county crown. They play defending champion Foothill (18-5) Tuesday at Irvine High. The No. 2-seeded Knights defeated No. 3 Los Alamitos, 14-12, in the semifinals.

The Sea Kings and Knights battled on March 11, when CdM won, 7-6, in overtime. They will go at it again and Molnar expects a relentless rematch.

“It’s probably going to be one of those games which come down to whoever has the ball last,” Molnar said.

The Sea Kings made sure their semifinal against Santa Margarita ended at halftime.

Attacker Ryan Mix scored with one second left before the break, putting CdM ahead, 9-5. Dave Kidushim fed him a sweet pass, and the junior finished as he has all season.

Coach Chris Driggs said the Eagles’ strategy was to take Mix out of the mix. It worked early on, with the Eagles leading 4-2 after the first.

Mix worked his way back into the offense, scoring two of his three goals in the second.

“We knew we were going to have to take some time off the clock because their offense is so darn good,” said Driggs, who also credited CdM goalie Andrew Noto and his 19 saves. “At the end of the day, they were just too much to handle.”