The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The Wilson Bruins put together a strong second half on Tuesday against Long Beach Poly, outscoring the Jackrabbits 10-1 in the half to pull themselves to victory, 16-4.
The Bruins held a 2-0 lead after the first quarter, before Poly’s Caitlyn Jung went on a scoring terror in the second earning a hat trick to tie the game up at three apiece midway through the period. Wilson’s Megan Ligenza, Mia Romera, and Brooke Donovan were able to reply with three collective goals of their own to send the Bruins to the break with a 6-3 lead.
“I liked the Jackrabbits’ energy and they came out with more energy than we did,” credited Wilson coach Vic Escoto. “If that’s how we’re gonna play then the score’s gonna be a reflection of that, but Poly had great energy to come out into the game and we had to respond there in the second quarter.”
“We just needed to get our confidence up and keep hustling,” added the sophomore Ligenza. “I think after the first quarter we talked about our mistakes and cheered each other on. Just cheering each other on and giving each other stick clicks and it really helped build the spirit.”
The Bruins were able to build more momentum into the second half with help from their lead attacker Ligenza, who finished with a game-high five goals. Despite being an underclassman, Ligenza presents an experienced presence with a lacrosse background dating back to elementary school when her dad inspired her to play in fifth grade. She says that she enjoys being able to contribute to her team with her experience playing lacrosse.
“It definitely helps that I have more lacrosse experience over the other girls,” said Ligenza. “But everyone does really well despite what sport they come from and everyone on this team hustles.”
“She really leads the team in minutes, assists, goals, and is definitely one of our offensive threats at all times. I love having her out there and she played about 99% of the game today,” said Escoto.
The Jackrabbits were able to find one more score in the third quarter from Zoie Hodges. Jung finished with her team high three goals meanwhile Olive Chang chipped in five saves from inside the goal.
Meanwhile the Bruins exploded for 10 more goals in the second half and had three players finish with multiple goals. Lingenza threw in four assists with her five goals meanwhile Amelia Nulty matched Lingenza with a game-high five goals of her own. Brooke Donovan also chipped in four goals with three assists.
Wilson will look to keep their momentum going against Compton on Thursday meanwhile Poly will face Millikan next Tuesday.
“We just need to continue to improve and clean up the little mistakes,” Escoto added. “Just need to make sure everyone knows their role on the field. We have a couple injuries right now but hopefully we’ll come back strong (on Thursday).”
