- CIF Sac-Joaquin

A year’s worth of agony is going to be unleashed at De La Salle High School on Tuesday. Vista del Lago’s varsity boys’ lacrosse team has some unfinished business to take care of, as a season ago the Spartans ended their season in the semifinal round of the North Coast Section playoffs, courtesy of a narrow 9-8 decision. This year the teams find themselves back in the same spot in the semifinal round. The Eagles would love to avenge the loss to the Spartans and advance to the North Coast Section championship game, and, of course, win that too. But De La Salle isn’t just going to let them do it. “The loss to Oak Ridge in the SFL/Delta Tournament brought us back to reality a bit, and the boys have seemed focused and have played well since,” Vista coach Mike Messersmith said. “We have had a year to stew over the loss to De La Salle and I think the experience of last year’s playoffs will definitely help moving forward.” The team’s met earlier this season, as well, and De La Salle won that game as well, 14-11. This was clear back in Vista’ s second game of a season that’s seen them post an impressive 19-3 record. In both that game as well as in last year’s semifinal, the Eagles fell behind 4-0. That can’t happen if they are to challenge for the victory this season. “The one-goal loss in the semis last year still stings, and I know the guys will be thinking about it when we get down there,” Messersmith said. “Obviously, we can’t start slowly and we need to match their energy for all four quarters, If we manage to win, it will be because of our defense, but will also need to take better care of the ball. We’ve had too many bad passes the last three games.” The Eagles reached the semifinals courtesy of a 10-8 win over Marin Academy on Thursday. Tristan Sackmann scored five goals to lead the team. Elijah Acosta and Alex Grant each scored two goals, while Rex Wyrick scored one goal. Zachary Bailiff had three assists and Isaac Lee had one. Josh Rettinger allowed five goals for the Eagles, while Luke Aland allowed three. “It was a solid win last night, and it was definitely a team win,” Messersmith said. “The defense was great, and we had a few guys step up offensively in the absence of Max Vota.”

Vista, De La Salle to meet again in lacrosse semis