Santa Ana, CA — Two goals apiece for captain attackers Jenna Egan and Regan Scherff were not enough to top the Torrey Pines Falcons on Tuesday, February 25. In this match, the Monarchs and Falcons were almost even in draw control at 4-5. Draw-takers Ashlyn DiGennaro and Kahiau Yamaguchi performed at high standards to secure Monarch possession time and time again. On the draw circle, DiGennaro won two draws. Yamaguchi and fellow midfielders Katie Mattson and Jaden Kessler secured one draw each. Possession off the draw translated to at least two Mater Dei goals. Scherff was the first to score in the game at 18:43 in the first half. Egan followed suit nearly four minutes later with a goal assisted by Scherff at 14:28. These were the only two goals scored in the first half. To end the first half, the Monarchs fought a lengthy defensive battle against a vengeful Falcon crew. In this defensive stand, newly-initiated goalie Emily Sisson made three saves. Though they could not capitalize again, the Monarchs finished the first half with offensive possession and several shots on goal by Egan and fellow captain attacker Chrissie brown. Kessler snatched the first draw control of the second half. Less than three minutes later, Egan scored! With the score at 0-3, the Falcons were under pressure to get on the board. Despite one save from Sisson, caused turnovers by Becca Hersey and captain defender Liliana Rigdon, and a ground ball by Yosely Ocampo, Torrey Pines scored their first point at 17:36 in the second half. This brought the score to 1-3. The next three goals would be for the Falcons - a flurry too fast and momentous for the Monarchs to staunch. Although Mater Dei won two draw controls, two subsequent and unfortunate turnovers gave possession to Torrey Pines. The Falcons scored one of their goals in less than 30 seconds off of a draw control. In this period, defense gave it their all against the Falcons. Sisson made four saves. Kessler caused one turnover and won a ground ball. The Monarch lead slipped away with 9:00 left in the game, bringing the score to 4-3. Unfortunately, the Falcons won a draw control, which contributed to their next point off of a free position shot. Three more saves by Sisson could not keep them from taking the lead. Nevertheless, Scherff put a point on the board to cut the stream of Falcon goals. As it often goes with many lacrosse games, draw control determined the next outcome. With the score at 4-4 and 3:14 left to play, the Falcons achieved draw control and the last offensive possession of the game. They scored with 30 seconds left on the clock, which left very little time for the Monarchs to come back. The Monarchs swing a proud effort into their upcoming game against another San Diego team, La Costa Canyon, on Thursday. Many thanks to Kate Middlemas and Sarah Kubasek for taking live stats for this game!