Crowley instilled ‘relentless effort’ in STA’s boys while Pliske’s balanced approach propelled Pine Crest’s girls
With senior-laden rosters and lofty expectations, both Terry Crowley and Eileen Pliske made their teams two of the best in Broward County.
It’s why they’re the Miami Herald’s Broward County Lacrosse Coaches of the Year.
Crowley led St. Thomas Aquinas to its third state championship and Pliske led Pine Crest to the Region 4-1A championship for the second straight season while going undefeated against county opponents.
Crowley deferred credit for most of what the Raiders did to win the Class 2A championship, mostly because of how spectacular and player-driven the final moments were in the title game. St. Thomas Aquinas was down by one with one minute remaining when midfielder Chase Garey scored twice in 10.7 seconds to give the Raiders a stunning 13-12 win against Ponte Vedra.
The wild ending, however, was the product of a season-long emphasis on “relentless effort.” It was the mantra Crowley established early in the year, and St. Thomas Aquinas embraced it to get back to the title game for the first time since 2019 and win for the first time since 2017.
“That’s kind of a byproduct of the whole ‘relentless effort’ mantra,” the Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Lacrosse Coach of the Year said.
The win also provided redemption for Garey, goaltender Wade Lamon and attacker Jacob Urbano, who were freshmen in 2019 when the Raiders got blown out by the Sharks in the championship.
Three years later, they got to end their careers by beating them.
Pliske’s Panthers couldn’t quite make the final four for the first time, but no one dominated Broward quite like they did in 2022, even though St. Thomas Aquinas got to the 2A semifinals. Pine Crest won all eight games it played against county opponents and both games it played against
Miami-Dade County teams.
The Panthers’ win against the Raiders was a signature victory, she said.
“We have a whole alumni little group chat,” the Herald’s Broward County Girls’ Lacrosse Coach of the Year said, “and they went crazy.
Pliske gave credit to her group of 14 seniors, who bought into a balanced concept and got the Panthers to the region championship for the second time.
“The hardest thing when you have 14 of the seniors is to make sure that they
respect each other, that they listen to each other, and they support one another through thick and thin,” she said, “and this group did.”