Rams rate some respect
Late in the regular season, Lake Mary boys’ lacrosse coach Gary Robinson thought his Rams were not getting the recognition they deserved.
Despite holding a 9-5 record against a brutal schedule on March 25, Lake Mary was not among the highest-ranked teams in the Sentinel Super Six or the Lax Power state poll. That has all changed with state playoff success.
On the heels of its shocking 11-9 comefrom-behind win against state No. 1 Ponte Vedra on Tuesday night, the Rams have surged to the No. 2 ranking in the Super Six and No. 10 in the state. Lake Mary (15-5) has won six consecutive games since falling to Boca Raton Saint Andrew’s 10-9.
Lake Mary hosts Jacksonville Bolles (14-7) in a region final tonight at 7 p.m. The Rams are one of three area teams on the doorstep of a Final Four berth. Region winners advance to next week’s state tournament in Jupiter.
Also playing tonight at 7 are the Super Six No. 1 Lake Highland boys (15-6), who host Tampa Berkeley Prep (15-4); and the area No. 1 Bishop Moore girls (17-4), who travel to Lithia Newsome (18-2).
“Extremely proud of our team,” Robinson said. “We had some tough times in the middle of the season with injuries, but have been on a steady climb ever since. The sport has become so competitive in the state (that) to be one of eight teams left out of 195 eligible for the state championship is truly an achievement.”
Bolles was beaten soundly by Lake Highland and Bishop Moore in the regular season.
“We assume that anyone can beat us and prepare accordingly,” Robinson said. “Bolles is a legit challenge. I have been watching tape on them all day and they are a solid team with several serious threats.”
Lake Mary is led by two-time All-American defender Nick Platt, Hostra signee Charlie Ragault, goal scoring leader Taylor Ayres and stellar face-off specialist Shiloh Shassian.
Lake Highland’s boys rallied to win their second consecutive playoff game on Tuesday when they edged Bishop Moore 13-12 in overtime. The Highlanders trailed 12-11 with 24 seconds left before tying the game and then winning in overtime.
Last week, Lake Highland rallied from a 7-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Hagerty 9-7.
“We are excited to have survived another scare and are moving on to the next round,” Lake Highland coach Chris Spaulding said.
Leading the Highlanders statistically are juniors Christian Cisneros (42 goals and 44 assists) and Lukas Kott (49 goals).
In girls’ play, Bishop Moore (17-4) is in a third round game for the first time since 2012.
“We do not know much about (Newsome),” Hornets coach Kelly Blystone said. “We have played one of the toughest schedules in the state. Newsome does not have any opponents in common with us. However, letdown is not in our vocabulary.”
Leading the Hornets statistically are Nicole Blystone with 58 goals and 34 assists and Abby Spalding with 57 goals and 32 assists.