Carlsbad, CA — Mater Dei Junior Varsity Girls' Lacrosse defeated the La Costa Canyon Mavericks 9-4 on Thursday. Mater Dei dominated at draw control and benefited from midfielder Juliette Hill, who scored a season high of six goals. Out of 14 total draws taken against the Mavericks, Monarchs came up with 10 by the efforts of center midfielder, Hill, and ground ball pickups by midfielders Sarah Sanchez, Reagan Arvidson and Samantha Buley. Winning the possession game led to fast scoring after opening whistle. Hill began the run with an unassisted goal 20 seconds into the game. Sanchez connected with attacker Claire Menzia less than three minutes later to bring the score to 2-0. La Costa Canyon scored their first goal of the game at 17:20. But for the rest of the first half, the Monarch defense and offensive weapon Juliette Hill (who would have a hand in each of the goals scored for the rest of the game) buried the Mavericks under a comfortable Monarch lead. After Monarchs controlled the next draw, Erin O'Connell scored assisted by Hill in a swift 60-second goal. The following draw was won by La Costa Canyon, but when the Mavericks brought it to her doorstep, goalie Yosely Ocampo made a strong save that led her defense to clear the ball successfully to the offensive end. Once there, Hill scored her second goal on a free position shot. Another draw control in Monarch hands brought Hill to score a second free position goal with 11:55 minutes left in the half, achieving a hat trick. The Mavericks, trailing Mater Dei 1-5 at this point, had a few hopeful offensive possessions. One such possession was impressively disrupted when Monarch defender Jessica Bui made an interception and clear. Unfortunately, scrappy turnovers in the midfield allowed La Costa Canyon to regain the ball and score with six minutes left in the half. Mater Dei caused several turnovers in the following minutes, including two made by defender and captain, Valerie Kramer. Hill assisted attacker Jackelyn Moreno for the last goal of the half, lifting the Monarchs 6-2 to start the second. With no surprise, Hill scored the first goal of the second half after winning the draw to herself and placing a shot in less than 40 seconds, total. The Mavericks suddenly became determined to score, gaining most of the possession in the next 12 minutes. To the dismay of both teams, the playing field was riddled with turnovers and ground balls leading up to the next goal. Despite two saves made by Ocampo, a Maverick crease violation and a couple attempted clears by the Monarchs, La Costa Canyon managed to score at 12:53, bringing the game to 7-3. After snatching draw control and possession again, La Costa scored another goal next, breathing life into the Maverick team and home field fans. The Mavericks had made two goals in a row and seemed to be gaining speed. But when they had a chance to score again on their next possession, Monarch defender Liliana Rigdon denied their offense by causing and winning a ground ball turnover. This brought the ball into the dependable hands of Juliette Hill, who then scored her fifth goal of the game on a free position. The score became 8-4 and the game seemed to have a winner. The Mavericks were running out of time to catch up with just two minutes left in the game, but they wanted to make the final goal. They had the chance when a mixup and delay of game awarded La Costa Canyon the ball at the draw. Yosely Ocampo shot down their attempts to score with two saves in a row. Soon, the ball was cleared and delivered to attacker Claire Menzia in the offensive third of the field. She assisted Hill for the final goal of the game and for Hill's sweet sixth. The Monarchs travel again to Trabuco Hills High School tonight and tomorrow for the Sticks and Stones tournament. By Saturday, they will have played five games in one week! Go Monarchs! Written by Coach Michelle Mendoza