WSL California Boys Player of the Year

By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

Defense wins championships, and senior long-stick middie Jonny Poe was the key cog in the defense that helped Coronado win the 2009 CIF-San Diego Section title and finish the season ranked No. 2 in the West.

The Islanders allowed just 95 goals in 23 games (4.1 per game) en route to the first section crown in school history and the top spot in WSL’s California Top 20. Coronado allowed an opponent to score more than eight goals just once, and it held its last 10 opponents to 36 combined goals. 

The Washington College-bound Poe was all over the place in leading the Islanders’ defense, scooping up 113 ground balls and averaging four strips per game. He is WSL’s 2009 California Boys Player of the Year.

Poe said a 15-5 loss to La Costa Canyon in the 2008 CIF-San Diego Section championship game was the impetus for the Islanders’ 2009 title.

“That was our main motivation,” Poe said. “We all worked hard in the offseason, and we never stopped working.”

Poe began playing lacrosse in fifth grade when he moved to Coronado from Arizona. He started out as a close defender, but his coaches decided his standout speed made him a prototype long-stick middie. He was a perfect fit.

“I don’t feel I get to move as much on defense,” Poe said. “I like to have the whole field and to be able to run everywhere.”

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Poe said his speed, checking ability and knack for scooping up ground balls were his top attributes. 

He locked down top scoring threats one-on-one and also provide big plays in transition. And that helped Coronado’s defense key a championship run.

“This season, it was a storybook ending,” Poe said.