Pine Crest’s Faison, Aquinas’ Yovino ready to take difference-making skill to next level
Jordan Faison and Ava Yovino haven’t just been two of the best players in Florida throughout their careers.
They’re also poised to be stars at the college level.
It’s part of why they’re the Miami Herald’s Broward County Lacrosse Players of the Year.
Yovino, a senior, is headed to play for the Navy Midshipmen next year after leading St. Thomas Aquinas to its first Class 2A championship last season and another 2A final-four appearance this year.
“Being able to lose and win with my teammates, I think is something that is special and makes a team closer,” Yovino said.
Yovino is the Herald’s Broward County Girls’ Lacrosse Player of the Year for the second straight year and now a three-time first-team All-Broward County selection by the Herald.
Yovino scored 45 goals, and led the Raiders with 39 assists and 82 ground balls. As an attack, her two-way ability is rare.
Faison, a junior, has already orally committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and scored 54 goals as a midfielder for Pine Crest this year, while also providing standout defense.
He hones his abilities in the summer, when he always travels up to New York and lives with family on Long Island to play against high-level competition. It helped him get
attention from Notre Dame last year and he committed to the Fighting Irish not long after they started recruiting him.
“It was surreal,” he
said. “My parents’ reaction was awesome.”
He’ll have one more season in Fort Lauderdale, too, with his Panthers still trying to get past the second round of
the Florida High School Athletic Association tournament for the first time.
Faison — who’s now a two-time, first-team AllBroward County selection by the Herald — wants to
help them get over the hump.
Said Faison: “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”