IRVINE – Back in October, the eventual coach of the Northwood girls lacrosse team didn’t know anything about the sport.
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Six months later, Dillon Lewis and the Timberwolves are headed to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals.
Third-seeded Northwood scored a 9-6 victory over Beckman in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
The Timberwolves (14-8) will play host to No. 2-seeded Great Oak of Temecula in the semifinals Tuesday at Northwood at 5 p.m. Great Oak, a defending CIF-SS champion, scored a 9-5 win over El Toro on Thursday.
Beckman fell to 13-9 after going undefeated in the Sea View League.
Lauren Low scored four goals for Northwood, including three in the first half as the Timberwolves built a 7-1 lead.
Lindsay Nagata added two first-half goals. Rounding out the scoring were Rebekah Welch, Paige Kesler, Alexis Low and Caitlyn Ko.
Beckman sophomore Audrey Fan scored twice, with goals to begin the second and fourth quarters.
Goals by junior Avery Lin and freshman Audrey Lu cut Northwood’s lead to 9-6.
Others who scored for Beckman were sophomore Kourtney Ting and senior Sophia Choi.
“A lot of little things, that’s the tough part,” Beckman coach Mandi Willis said of the loss. “We’ve been playing really good in playoffs. Things we dealt with during the season, we sharpened up. We played this team before and lost by one goal. They held the ball similarly. … We played them here before and lost and I think it shook them.”
It has been a remarkable season for Northwood, which is on its fifth head coach in five years. Lewis said he knew nothing about the sport when he was hired to coach the team in November.
He was an assistant coach on the football team with aspirations of one day leading a program. So co-athletic directors Erik Terry and Sierra Wang went to work on him, telling him that this could be great experience without the spotlight of varsity football.
“We started where our first, initial goal was just to get a couple of wins just to get our feet going and get the culture positive,” Lewis said, “but as the season progressed and the girls started buying in even more and seeing their own development, I think the sky’s been the limit.”
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With a roster of 26 players, Lewis’ commitment has fashioned a cornerstone for what might be a program of the future.
“I didn’t know how many to keep at each position, so I kept everyone,” he said about a roster that includes 12 seniors, including seven starters. There are also 16 juniors, four sophomores and a freshman.
“We never would have thought we could make it this far,” said Northwood junior attacker Lindsay Nagata. “I know he does a lot of research on his own, which is amazing, and puts in a lot of effort into scouting other teams and trying to learn concepts about lacrosse. But he is also applying what he knows from football, especially on the defense, which is where he’s most comfortable.
“He uses his coaching abilities from football, but also makes a really big effort to learn about lacrosse and apply that to attacking and other elements of the game.”
It has been a learning experience for everyone, and, importantly, Lewis is committed to returning next season now that he actually understands the game a little bit.
“We are building for the long term,” Lewis said. “I don’t know if dynasty is the right answer yet because we still have to finish this season, but I plan, and hope (assistant coaches Tony De La Cruz and Laura Cardenas), plan to be here for the long run and continue to build these girls and this program.”
Lewis’ approach and commitment has inspired his assistant, De La Cruz, who is the boys’ varsity basketball coach.
“The way I’ve seen this team respond to him, and the tough love he gives to these girls,” De La Cruz said, who added “his approach – he’s always so well-prepared, so structured in practice – that it has inspired me … as a basketball coach, that maybe I need to make this approach.”
Lewis gives the players credit for doing what he considers the heavy lifting that was needed to get the program to its new level. He pointed to the team’s captains, sisters Alexis and Lauren Low, senior Kaelyn Hong and Nagata, for their “step-up in leadership” that has made the team strong.
The coach says he’s learning every day. But the biggest thing is the importance of community within the program.
“When people are playing for each other more than anything,” he said, “it makes a great team.”
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