Boys lacrosse: Foothill Wins Battle of Pleasanton, Headed to NCS Finals

North Coast Section semifinal

Foothill 8, Amador Valley 4

Records: Foothill 18-4; Amador Valley 15-8

The Star: Shane O'Neill received the game ball for Foothill and was lauded by coach Bob McManus for his short-stick defense.

What's Next: Foothill will play No. 2 De La Salle in the championship at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Dublin High. De La Salle beat No. 3 San Ramon Valley 10-6 in its semifinal game.

The Bottom Line: Foothill wasted no time in building a 5-0 first-half lead and wasn't seriously threatened the rest of the match to claim town supremacy. It was the Falcons' first NCS semifinal game in school  history.

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Foothill's Shane O'Neill knew at 8 a.m., on Wednesday the Foothill boys lacrosse team was focused and ready to play.

"In my first period class I could tell just looking at (my teammates) faces that it was game day," he said. "It started in practice and carried over."

The focus was on display early as the Falcons scored the first five goals in the North Coast Section semifinals against rival Amador Valley en route to an 8-4 win.

"Our coaches got us ready and we were fired up," O'Neill said. "This means everything to us. We're the EBAL champions and soon to be NCS champions."

Foothill had never advanced to an NCS semifinal before this year, so it was an  especially meaningful win for coach Bob McManus — the lone coach in school history.

"It's really satisfying," he said. "We've had some good teams, but there was always something that held us back. This is a great group of kids who have worked hard and managed to stay healthy."

Top-seeded Foothill will carry an eight-game winning streak into Friday's championship game with No. 2 De La Salle, which will start at 7:30 p.m., at Dublin High.

The Falcons swept the season series with the Spartans, but needed overtime to pull out a 14-13 win in their last meeting.

"It's going to be a shootout," McManus said. "I saw them play against Piedmont and they are really moving the ball well right now."

De La Salle beat No. 3 San Ramon Valley in its semifinal match to advance. 

Foothill, which is ranked third in the state by laxpower.com, got several ground balls from O'Neill, a solid performance by goalie Ben Krebs and a balanced offensive attack. 

Colin Kacinksi led the Falcons with two goals, while Gabe Garcia, Josh Rigor, Christian Dutcher, Scott Wheaton, Broc Schall and Seth Benson also scored.

Amador's Mitch Flaherty, who scored the game-winning goal against Monte Vista in the quarterfinals, paced the Dons with two goals.

The Dons finish an outstanding season with a 15-8 record.

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Foothill 8. Amador Valley 4

Amador Valley 0 1 1 2 — 4
Foothill 4 1 2 1 — 8

Scoring: AV — Flaherty 2, DeLuca, Ewanich. F — Kacinksi 2, Garcia, Rigor, Dutcher, Wheaton, Schall, Benson. 

Saves: C. DeLuca (AV) 8; Krebs (F) 10.

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