The Mission Bay girls lacrosse team continued its impressive start to the season by routing Clairemont 17-4 at home on Tuesday to open league games.

The Bucs have started with a 5-2 record after beating a team they swept last season.

Mission Bay started this season with a 16-10 loss to Point Loma but rebounded with a dramatic 13-11 victory over Grossmont the following week. The Bucs continued their winning ways in a 14-5 domination of Mission Vista on Feb. 11, followed two days later by a nail-biting victory 14-11 against Classical Academy in which they came back from a 9-3 deficit at halftime.

The streak was extended to four games on March 17 in a 17-0 shutout of Monte Vista, which avenged last season’s 11-9 defeat to the Monarchs. But on March 20, Mission Bay lost 10-3 to El Capitan. Mission Bay has 11 more games this season, with seven of those being at home, and will face Clairemont three more times during that span.

“We’ve played them in the past and they’ve always been good matches,” said head coach Hayley Burke. “It’s always been pretty tight, and they have a strong team. I know that we will come out ready for it.” The Bucs are led by their lone senior, Dailigh Kirsch (above), along with midfielder Sydney Walters and former midfielder turned-defender Cali Christ.

“I’ve been blown away with how determined these girls are this season,” Burke added. “This year’s team has a ton of perseverance, grit, and hard work. I’m so excited to see how far they can go this year compared to last year.”

Mission Bay finished last season on top of the league standings despite only having three returning seniors at the time. The Bucs outscored their opponents 164 to 116 during the 2024 regular season, which included back-to-back shutouts over Lincoln and Hilltop by a combined scoreline of 35-0.

The Bucs are back in action at 4:30 p.m. on March 28 at Preuss UCSD, at Morse on April 8, and home against San Diego High at 7 p.m. on April 10.

Photo by Steve Sidell