Possession was 97% of a championship for the Oaks Christian boys lacrosse team.
Senior Chase Macleod had seven goals and three assists and junior Greg DeGroote had three goals and three assists as the Lions defeated Dana Hills, 16-11, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championship game on Friday, May 15, at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.
The sharpshooters were kept fed by junior faceoff specialist Trent Malan, who won an incredible 28 of 29 faceoffs to keep the Lions in possession.
“My job was to do my best to get the ball for my boys,” Malan said. “Chase and Greg have been phenomenal all year.”
Malan, who attended middle school with many of his teammates, transferred back to Oaks Christian from Sierra Canyon last year.
“Trent was unbelievable,” said Oaks Christian coach Geoff Sebold. “Chase just took over. We were missing two of our starting middies and (Macleod and DeGroot) just said, ‘We’ve got to do this.’ ”
Malan and attackman Asher Wolfe added two goals apiece and goalie Ian Hall made several momentum-turning saves as the Lions won their second section title in three seasons.
Oaks Christian beat Sherman Oaks-Notre Dame, 6-5, in overtime in the Division 3 final in 2024.
With two starting midfielders out with injury and an illness, respectively, Bronson Jones and Will Mason started with Malan in midfield. Ben Hatfield, Trevor Harris and Owen Hafner started in defense.
Malan’s dominance and Macleod offensive efficiency helped Oaks Christian overcome a series of clearing errors, which kept Dana Hills hanging around.
“Honestly, we just kept letting them back in the game with mental errors,” Sebold said. “Our clearing was not as good as it should have been.”
After DeGroote found the net inside the first three minutes, Macleod scored three straight goals to put the Lions ahead 4-0 midway through the first quarter.
But the rout did not develop.
Dana Hills responded with four straight goals to pull even midway through the second quarter.
“That happened to us in the semifinal also,” Sebold said. “We’ve been in that position before. That’s one of the best thing about this team, they’ve learned to not get down.
“Just stick with the game plan and keep plugging at it.”
Malan’s goal on the man-advantage started a run that restored the Lions’ lead to 7-5 at the half and 12-7 after three quarters.
Sebold credited assistant coach Sean Lindsay with the game plan and assistant Will Lyman for his work developing a young defense.
“Coming into the season, I wasn’t quite sure what I had,” Sebold said. “Some of the newer players really stepped up and got better.”
Joe Curley covers lacrosse for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook, Bluesky and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oaks Christian wins its second boys lacrosse title in three seasons
Reporting by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
