Athlete of the Week: Simaan leads CdM

Three years ago, Jason Simaan sat in the stands and watched the Corona del Mar High boys’ lacrosse team try to defend its U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division title.

As much as he wanted to be down on the field, at least on the sideline, Simaan understood why he could not join the Sea Kings. He was a freshman on the junior varsity team.

“[The varsity team] had a huge senior class and [it] didn’t bring any freshmen up for that game or in the playoffs,” Simaan said.

The best way for Simaan to be a part of the game was as a CdM fan. There wasn’t much to root for after the Sea Kings lost their only lead late in the first half.

The Sea Kings wound up losing to St. Margaret’s, 12-7, and Simaan knew the reason why. Everyone in the crowd that night at Mission Viejo High knew why.

“Unlike anybody else on the field or in the stands that day, Jason found a positive [from our loss],” CdM Coach G.W. Mix said. “He knew our loss was primarily due to the faceoff dominance of Ryan Harnisch.”

While he played no role in CdM’s setback to St. Margaret’s in 2013, the result changed Simaan. One day, he figured the Sea Kings would need someone to win those faceoffs, to control possession.

That someone turned out to be Simaan. Mix said Simaan put in hundreds of hours of training on his own time to become one of the top faceoff specialists, not only in Orange County, but also in the country.

Three years later, as a senior bound for Brown University, Simaan earned his chance to take the field for CdM in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division final. He arrived after he won 80% of his faceoffs and totaled 19 ground balls and three goals in the Sea Kings’ three playoff wins last week.

The same program that Simaan witnessed as a spectator stop CdM in 2013 stood in the way again. For Simaan, it was fitting that CdM and St. Margaret’s played for the Orange County championship on Wednesday.

Simaan made a difference right away, winning the opening faceoff and darting in a straight line toward the heart of St. Margaret’s defense. Instead of taking the game’s first shot, Simaan passed the ball to the left to Stephen Von Der Ahe, who wasted little time. Von Der Ahe unleashed a ferocious shot to put CdM up seven seconds into the contest.

Three years ago, Simaan remembers sitting next to Von Der Ahe while St. Margaret’s defeated CdM, which suffered its third South Division final loss in five years. Three years later, Simaan and Von Der Ahe were doing their best to put the Sea Kings back on top.

They both did their parts at the start and at the end. The two hooked up on the game’s first goal, and in the fourth quarter, Simaan won a key faceoff to set up the go-ahead goal that Von Der Ahe assisted on to help top-seeded CdM beat the No. 3 Tartans, 11-9, at Trabuco Hills High.

The Sea Kings beat St. Margaret’s for the first time in the postseason. The previous three other meetings went to the Tartans.

To end the losing streak, CdM rallied from a 9-8 deficit in the fourth quarter to edge the Tartans for the second time this year. Unlike in CdM’s previous matchup with St. Margaret’s on March 29, when it dominated possession in a 8-7 win at home because Simaan won 13 of 15 faceoffs, the Tartans threw a couple of players at Simaan.

The move proved effective, as Simaan won 10 of 23 faceoffs, but six of those victories led to CdM goals.

“Over the past three seasons, our team has benefited tremendously from Jason’s ability to control the faceoffs,” Mix said. “By winning most of the draws he takes, he allows us to play make-it, take-it on offense. We can go on multiple goal runs against very good teams. He also helps prevent our opponents from being able to do the same. In most of our games, if you want to score on us, you usually have to stop us from scoring first. That can get tiresome.”

Simaan won two fourth-quarter faceoffs and CdM wore down the Tartans in the final 12 minutes, outscoring them, 3-0. The Sea Kings (20-1) advanced to the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section finale against Los Angeles Loyola (19-4), the North Division winner, at Valencia High on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The section finals appearance is CdM’s second in the program’s history. The first time the Sea Kings made the trip they won it four years ago, when they completed a perfect 24-0 season under Mix.

This year, the Sea Kings’ lone blemish is a 9-8 setback in overtime to San Diego Torrey Pines on April 2. Simaan said the loss at home was a good thing.

“We just knew that like we had to come out harder every game, we needed to work harder in practice, in the weight room, and it paid off,” Simaan said. “We have one more [game] in us.”

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Jason Simaan

Born: Nov. 6, 1997

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-9

Weight: 165 pounds

Sport: Lacrosse

Year: Senior

Coach: G.W. Mix

Favorite food: Bacon

Favorite movie: “Warrior”

Favorite athletic moment: Beating St. Margaret’s, 11-9, in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division final on Wednesday.

Week in review: Simaan won 80% of his faceoffs and totaled 19 ground balls and three goals in the Sea Kings’ first three rounds in the U.S. Lacrosse Southern Section South Division playoffs.