Below a dimmed crescent moon at Coronado High School, bleacher chants could be heard cheering on two teams leading in the San Diego Girls rankings for lacrosse.
April 11 marked a second season loss for the Coronado High School Varsity Girls Lacrosse team in an anticipated home game against their season’s biggest competitor, Torrey Pines.
With the end of the third quarter, pressure for both teams increased and after the fourth quarter the Islanders fell four points behind them to what ultimately resulted in a 12-16 final score.
What started as a strong lead through the first two quarters, with the home team above a couple points as the minutes passed, the third quarter saw the visiting Falcons score increase with their twelve point bringing the teams to a tie.
This point, scored in the matter of seconds marking the end of the quarter, brought contrasting perspectives as people considered its validity.
“In women’s lacrosse, as long as the shot is in motion prior to the horn sounding, the goal will count,” sports official Jennifer Frapwell said. “In this case, we cannot determine when that happened. So our suggestion to the home team was to provide an air horn at the bench. You can blow that horn and then it’s clear to the officials on the field.”
Following this turning point in the game, the visiting team continued with four additional points in the last quarter, during which the Islanders missed promising goal shots in several instances.
“They’ve got a ton of talent. They’ve got two very special sisters,” Torrey Pines coach Kaitlin Doucette said post game. “We were game planning for them because they’re special players…We’ve been working on a defense all season and this was the perfect opportunity to throw it out there and see how it went.”
Islanders vs. Falcons
Torrey Pines won the 2023 CIF Open championship, and five of the school’s players have committed to colleges in the next two years.
But Coronado High, with mostly younger players, is also a top seed in the conference.
Last year, the Islanders won their regular season game against Torrey Pines, but suffered a close loss in the CIF Open Division championship game.
“Sydney and Breck are great players and most teams will side to them early and focus on them,” CHS head coach Caroline Carlson said. “We still have a great chance this year to focus on winning the championship.”
The recent game started with an offensive explosion by the Islanders. Sophomore Sydney Dunn, #10, scored in the first two minutes and soon after, assisted with a second goal. She then added two more scores and another assist to younger sister Breck Dunn, #22, who scored the fifth goal of the first quarter.
Then Torrey Pines completely turned things around, scoring six total goals by the end of the second quarter and then doubling that tally in the third quarter.
“Once we got the go-ahead goal, it became slow everything down and win,” said Doucette. “We had to take some time off the clock because…they were showing they could score like that.”
Top teams
Moving from being No. 2 at the beginning of their season, the Islanders pushed to their current rank, No.1, and hold a 10-2 record after their match against Torrey.
“Tonight we let Torrey beat us… Great for it to happen now and not in May,” said Carlson. “It’s a good learning moment and more fuel to the fire for us to work hard.”
Midway through the season, Carlson echoed the team’s position to fight for an open division championship.
“We’re in a good spot.” Carlson said at the time. “Everybody’s meshing well, from the attackers, the midfielders, defense is playing great as well. As a team, we’re excited.”
Dunn Duo
Part of that success story can be traced to the Dunn sisters, who chanced into lacrosse not long after they moved to Coronado in 2018.
“We were just driving in Coronado when we saw people playing lacrosse on the field, and we thought it looked really fun,” said Breck. “So we bought a couple sticks and we went back to our house and my dad was teaching us how to play.”
Soon, the sisters were playing for the Coronado Lacrosse Club (CLC) with many of their best friends who also are on this year’s Islander team.
The sisters manage busy schedules, finding time for soccer and lacrosse, as well as classes.
“When we come to the field, we’re just ready to play,” said Sydney, whose athleticism makes her stand out as she glides across the field.
Life-long friends
The Dunn sisters, who lead their team in goals, assists and caused turnovers, said they have a secret advantage: sisterhood.
“When you’re taking the draw, you’re trying to direct it, but Breck doesn’t have to tell me where it’s going,” said Sydney. “We just know where each other’s going to put it.”
Sydney made the open division championships as a freshman last year. And this year freshman Breck looks to follow in her sister’s footsteps.
“They have that sister connection where they like to work with one another and they’re very good at reading each other,” Carlson said. “She [Sydney] made such a huge impact [as a freshman]…Watching her now with her sister is fun.”
For two games in March, each of the sisters scored five points totalling half of the points in a first game against Poway and more than half of the final score in a game against Cathedral.
In the first 10 games of the season, the Dunn sisters have scored 72 goals and 33 assists, according to their mom Alisa Dunn who volunteers at a table beside the field with another parent to keep track of score throughout games.
Alisa said there are many parent volunteers like herself who also help as announcers, the clock and scoreboard as well as the music that can be heard each time one of the players scores.
Apart from team dinners that alternate between players’ homes, the 14 and 16-year-old say they bond with their team all season and in the seconds leading up to the start of a game with music that sharpens their focus like Eminem’s acclaimed ‘Lose Yourself.’
“We’re all really good friends in school, so it helps translate to the lacrosse field because you know them so well and their strengths and you can talk to them and you can direct them and give them suggestions easily,” Breck said. “We have such good chemistry. And the team dinners really help with that because they’re really fun, our coaches go and it’s just bonding.”
The next girls game will feature the Islanders’ senior night on Wednesday April 17 against Scripps Ranch High School beginning at 7 p.m. at the Coronado High School Niedermeyer Field.
“My favorite part is playing a sport with my best friends, so it just makes it super fun and I’ll play with them till I graduate,” added Sydney. “That’s my first memory, just stepping on the field with my elementary school friends.”
