It was another year of success for Live Oak boys lacrosse.
The Acorns dominated Blossom Valley Athletic League play, with an unbeaten 10-0 mark, and all the victories came by nine goals or more. In the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs, Live Oak drilled Sacred Heart Cathedral 17-6 and then fell in the semifinals to Menlo-Atherton 6-1.
“We have a hard work ethic,” said coach Collin Fisher, after a late-season game. “We really work together as a team.”
Live Oak extended its league win streak to 40, going back to an April 27, 2022, defeat to Stevenson. At that time, the Acorns were part of the Pacific Coast Athletic League, a group of teams mostly to the south. Beginning with the 2023 campaign, they are in the BVAL, with schools in South County and up in San Jose.
During the past four years, the Acorns have had an impressive league streak, at 40 in a row and counting, and a cumulative record of 55-17. As always, the 2026 team tested itself with non-league matches against Central Coast Section powers.
The team featured a deep group of scorers. Aiden Rogers led the attack with 51 goals. Tyler Lang and Sam Ellingson were the top two multi-faceted players, with Lang delivering 41 goals and 28 assists and Ellingson scoring 39 and passing off 34 assists.
Ayden McGraw was a force with 33 goals. Also dangerous were Austin Woods with 23 scores and Maverick Clark with 18.
Other major contributors included Sawyer Drago, Ryan Brown, Justin Svoboda, Dylan Fisher
Ben Dougherty and Dylan DeHaro. Also contributing and providing depth were Dayton Miller, Tanner Holeman, Chace Rogers, Jacob Orta and Mason Hutton. Frank Serrano stood tall in goal.
Individual highlights for the season were many. Rogers scored five against Saratoga, Mitty and SHC, while notching four against Carmel, Mountain View, Los Gatos and Christopher. Lang scored five against Carmel and Christopher and four in the other Carmel contest and four against Saratoga. He had four assists against Saratoga, Leland and Sobrato.
Ellingson scored seven against crosstown rival Sobrato. He tallied four against Saratoga and four again, with five assists, in the other game against Saratoga. He had three goals and three assists in the Leland match. McGraw scored five against Carmel, four versus Leland and four against SHC.
One of the top highlights of the season was the 11-6 victory over Archbishop Mitty on April 24. Competition with West Catholic Athletic League schools is always a big challenge, with the game played at a high level throughout the full 48 minutes.
Getting a win over the Monarchs in front of a large home crowd was exhilarating. Rogers tried to recall the previous win over a WCAL team, as those schools had often gotten the best of the Acorns.
“It’s always good to beat a team like this,” Rogers said. “It’s definitely really nice to get one over them. The key difference was our defense and our goalie Frank (Serrano). He made a lot of saves.”
Live Oak scored five in the first quarter and was on top 6-3 at halftime. The Acorns led 6-4 after three quarters as the Monarchs fought back. But Live Oak erupted in the final stanza and ran away. Every aspect of the game was sharp.
“We took care of the ball,” Rogers said. “And we were putting the ball into the back of the net.”
Mitty closed within 6-4 but Live Oak regrouped. Clark tallied on a highlight-reel play with a backhand bouncer in traffic. Ellingson won the next draw and within seven seconds, he found Lang on the doorstep and it was quickly 8-4.
In less than two minutes more, the Acorns had another. Ellingson, Rogers and McGraw connected on passes and Rogers tossed the ball in the net.
Mitty replied again but McGraw and Rogers scored to extend the lead. The victory was assured and at the final buzzer, the bench erupted to join the players on the field in a big celebration. Yells, cheers, hugs, big smiles and photographs followed.
“The team really came together today,” coach Fisher said. “Our offense has been the harder side but it came together. I’m proud of them.”
After completing the regular season, the Acorns headed into the post-season.
The post-season unfolded on May 12 with a 17-6 mauling of the WCAL’s Sacred Heart Cathedral. In that game, Live Oak rocketed ahead 10-2 by halftime and kept it going.
For the day, Rogers scored five times and added two assists. McGraw scored four, Clark had three and Ellingson and Woods each tallied twice. Ellingson also sparkled with 16 wins in 19 draws.
Two days later, the Acorns travelled up to Menlo-Atherton and lost 6-1. McGraw scored the lone goal against the Bears. Live Oak’s defense was strong but they could not get much traction against the M-A defense. Nonetheless, it was another solid season.
Girls notch fifth straight league championship
The Acorn girls team had a stellar 17-2-1 season and were unbeaten league champs for the fifth straight season.
In the initial match of the year, Gunn beat Live Oak 11-6. Coincidentally, it was Gunn again at the end, as the Acorns opened the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs versus the Titans.
This game was much tighter but Gunn won 8-7. Amelya Forbis scored three goals for Live Oak and Leila Azar and Phoebe DePalma each scored two.
The loss marked the fifth straight first-round playoff exit for Live Oak but was much closer than those in past years, which were by margins of 14, 15, 10 and eight.
Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Live Oak has fashioned a 58-game unbeaten streak in league play and an overall 73-19-1 record.
