The Granite Hills High School girls lacrosse team had its 2020 season halted after just six games because of the COVID0-19 pandemic. The Eagle ladies compiled a 5-1 overall record, including a 1-0 mark in league play.
Goalkeeper Patty Mills and defender Giselle de la Torre protect the Granite Hills
net from harm during the team’s season home opening victory.
Granite Hills reached double digits in scoring in all five games it won last spring, posting an 81-37 goal-differential.
Obviously, there was a lot of unfinished business coming into this spring as teams were finally able to play a full schedule.
Granite Hills improved to 11-0 this season, 5-0 in league play, following Monday’s 14-1 victory at Helix Charter High School.
The Eagles have soared on the playing pitch with a commanding 178-37 scoring differential. The El Cajon team has scored in double digits in all but one game this season, hitting 19 goals twice and 20 goals on two other occasions.
Granite Hills opened the season with a 19-0 non-league win at Vista on March 27 and hasn’t generally looked back. The Eagles scored a huge 10-8 revenge win over Patrick Henry in their first home match of the season on April 12 to make amends for a 13-3 setback last year.
The Patriots are currently ranked fifth in the section, placing the Eagles in elite company.
“That was a really great win on all fronts,” GHHS coach Jose Carlos Soto noted.
The Eagles followed with an equally intrepid 9-8 non-league victory at perennial powerhouse Bishop’s on April 15.
“The season is off to a great start,” Soto commented. “The team continues to grow and win as a team. With half the team with no previous experience, returners and captains Mikenna Ruffino, Julian Muns, Anelina Drugg, and Morgan Newkirk have really taken this team under their wings.
“Not to mention the underclassmen resurgence of freshman Sophia Jones and sophomore Natalie Acosta has provided a complimentary punch to the program. The girls are hoping to attain their eighth league title in nine years; this team is poised to overcome adversity and fight on.”
Ruffino led the Eagles in scoring last season as a junior with 29 points (23 goals, six assists) in six games, followed by Acosta with 18 points (12 goals, six assists) as a freshman. They have not disappointed so far.
Neither has the rest of the high-scoring team.
Granite Hills, which is ranked sixth among section teams, has seven games left on its regular season schedule, including high profile non-league matchups at No. 3 Torrey Pines on May 6 and No. 9 San Marcos on May 15.
The Eagles wrap up regular season play May 19 with a home game against Helix.
The section playoffs, which will feature a competitively balanced three division format, are scheduled to start May 25-26 with first-round elimination play. Quarterfinals are scheduled May 28-29, followed by semifinals on June 1-2.
Championship games are scheduled June 5 at a site to be determined.
San Diego Section Rankings
(Through May 2)
1. La Jolla (5-0), 2. Scripps Ranch (7-0), 3. Torrey Pines (8-2), 4. La Jolla Country Day (5-0), 5. Patrick Henry (10-2), 6. Granite Hills (10-0), 7. Mt. Carmel (11-0), 8. Poway (5-3), 9. San Marcos (7-1), 10. Coronado (6-4), 11. San Dieguito Academy (4-1), 12. Sage Creek (6-1), 13. Cathedral Catholic (3-4), 14. Mira Mesa (6-1), 15. Canyon Crest Academy (5-6), 16. University City (4-2), 17. Helix Charter (5-2), 18. La Costa Canyon (1-3), 19. Eastlake (3-1), 20. Bishop’s (3-3).
