Del Oro lacrosse falls to Bella Vista in overtime thriller

High school lacrosse season is in full swing, as Del Oro hosted Bella Vista on Monday night in a final non-league tune-up before Sierra Foothill League play resumes. The Golden Eagles led for the majority of the game, but Bella Vista scored two quick goals early in the fourth quarter to pull in front. Trailing by two in the final minutes, Del Oro turned up the intensity to score two goals in the final three minutes to send the game into overtime deadlocked 7-7. Penalties were a problem for the Eagles, who were shorthanded in overtime, allowing Bella Vista's Jackson Ellsworth to score the winning goal in an 8-7 victory. "Anytime you go into overtime in a man-down situation, you have to change the way that you're going to look at it," Del Oro co-head coach Eric Oversteg said. "We did our plan and it just didn't go our way." "We were just unfortunate," added co-head coach John Daly. "On another night, the boys would have turned a ball around but not tonight. You have to take the good with the bad." The Golden Eagles were led by dynamic scorers Cole Meyer with three goals and Riley Reese with two. For Bella Vista, Joseph Thomas had three goals while five players each scored one. The win was the Broncos' second of the year, both over Del Oro. Despite the loss, Del Oro's coaching staff is confident the team is headed in the right direction and noted the result was better than the 15-7 loss in the first game of the season. "We came in with the same game plan. We were just a little bit more intense and focused on what we needed to do," Oversteg said. "The boys did not give up. They knew that they could come back and they were able to tie it up." "They learn from every game," added Daly. "They're getting better and better as they come along. We'll probably see an improvement tomorrow and the lessons have been learned. They can only get better and better from here." Del Oro was to host Rocklin on Tuesday night and Folsom on Thursday night.