Lacrosse Tops Mira Costa

In a game it had to have, the Palisades High boys’ varsity lacrosse team played an inspired second half to defeat Mira Costa, 5-2, on Monday night at Stadium by the Sea. The hardfought victory was a much-needed shot in the arm for the Dolphins (3-4), who could be without leading scorer Wyatt Kaufman for the rest of the season. When the final horn blew the Dolphins mobbed goalie Turner Hanley, who saved the day with 10 stops, including several from point-blank range. “Turner probably had four saves from two-feet which is pretty amazing,” Pali Coach Scott Hylen said. “Goaltending is always important but it especially was tonight.” Eric Rosen and Riley Gitlin each scored two goals for the Dolphins and Chris Hanusun added one. The teams traded goals in a fast-paced first quarter. After Palisades intercepted a pass at midfield, Gitlin rushed in and scored to give the Dolphins a 3-1 late in the second quarter. Mira Costa (3-5) responded moments later on a man-advantage to pull within a goal at halftime. “In terms of the power rankings, we’re equal with them so it was important for us to win this because it shows we can beat teams that are as good as us,” Hylen said. “We don’t know about Wyatt yet (he had an MRI on Tuesday to determine if he has a torn ligament) but he’s scored about a third of our goals this season. If he misses the rest of the season the honus is on the other guys to pick up the slack.” In the preceding junior varsity game, Palisades rallied late but lost, 5-4.