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Championship tournaments are only a memorable journey for one team. This years journey for CDM ended in the quarterfinals with an 11-8 loss to #4 seed San Clemente at Thalassa Stadium in San Clemente.

The Sea Kings started the night off with an early 2-0 lead, but San Clemente kept fighting back, never allowing CDM to put enough distance between themselves and the higher seeded Tritons. CDM seemed to have some momentum and took a 5-4 lead into half-time, but San Clemente took advantage of a number of miscues and costly penalties to take an 8-6 lead at the end of the third quarter. From there, the Kings could not cut into the two goal margin, eventually falling by three.

There was a critical series in the third quarter, which seemed to be the ultimate turning point in the game. With the game tied at 6-6, Michael Keasey (Jr./Midfield) was clearing the ball up the sideline when a player from San Clemente exited the penalty/substitution box area and leveled the Sea King midfielder. In lacrosse, in order to protect players from unexpected and indefensible contact, it is illegal for a player to enter the field from that area and make contact with a player from another team. The officials missed the play. In the ensuing groundball battle, Keasey retaliated with a hit on a San Clemente player for which he was given a two-minute non-releasable penalty. During that two minute period, the Tritons scored twice to go up 8-6 and never relinquished the two goal margin.

"That was a very unfortunate set of circumstances," lamented coach Mix. "The officials clearly missed a very dangerous and illegal play by San Clemente. Missing that call created a situation in which Michael let his frustration and athletic sense of injustice get the best of him. Both actions were clear penalties, but instead of us having a man-advantage in a tie game, we found ourselves down two goals. If the first call had been made, who knows? Things might have gone differently."

Keasey led all CDM scorers with 3 goals and an assist. Senior defenseman Donald Dalton added two goals, Parker Ewles (Sr./Midfield), Connor Gaal (Jr./Midfield) and Hunter Molnar (Jr. Attack) added a goal each.

"It was a tough night," said CDM head coach G.W. Mix. "This group of kids was pretty special and I hate for them to have their season end sooner than it could have. That's the negative side of building a program that competes year in and year out for a championship, unless you win it all, your season is going to come to an abrupt end, without preparation, and clouded in difficult emotions, particularly for the seniors."

Although CDM's 2011 season did end abruptly, there is much to celebrate. The Sea Kings were able to overcome the loss of 16 seniors, 8 starters, and 5 of their top 6 scorers from a season ago. Michael Ortlieb made a remarkable transition from a starting attack position in 2010 to become a game-changing goalie in 2011.

"I was a goalie and found myself playing the position under very similar circumstances in high school," said Mix. "We needed a goalie and Michael stepped up. His decision was a selfless act of leadership and courage. Without him, our season would have ended before it began."

"I don't think most people outside of our huddle can fully appreciate what these kids have accomplished in such a short period of time," added Mix. "They found a way to fight through so much adversity the entire year from last year's devastating graduation losses, to the lack of lacrosse experience in key positions, Michael playing the final 5 or 6 games with a broken thumb and then losing one of our top scorers down the stretch (Casey Mix). Absolutely remarkable!" 

The Sea Kings end their 2011 season with an overall record of 15-5, a fourth consecutive undefeated Pacific Coast League Championship, and a fifth consecutive trip to the CIF Southern Section playoffs.