St. Andrew’s boys moving on to states
FORT LAUDERDALE — Precise movements can lead to goals. Or several goals in the case of the St. Andrew’s boys water polo team.
St. Andrew’s combined precision and strength led to 10 unanswered goals in a17-2 win over Westminster Academy on Saturday in the regional finals at Westminster Academy. It is the first time the Scots (21-6) have reached the state tournament since 2013.
“It has come from a lot of hard work,” said St. Andrew’s Tristan O’Connell, who scored five goals. “We run. We do a little technique work. We work how to get the ball and control the ball. Also, on defense we work on getting in the passing lanes so they cannot get the pass off. It is something we’ve been working hard at.”
O’Connell, a center, and wing Ricardo Martinez combined to have the biggest imprint on the match. They scored 11 goals and did it in a variety of ways.
Scots goalie Marco Ivanovic, after making a rare save, threw a pass to Martinez, who delivered a quick assist to O’Connell for a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Lions senior Andrew Boynton was about to pass until O’Connell came from behind and poached the would-be setup. His theft led to a goal from Martinez for a 5-0 lead early in the frame.
The two goals the Scots surrendered came in the third from Lions (15-6) senior Jason Woodburn. His first goal came off a deflection, while his second was the product of a spin move.
Lions coach Victoria Miklausich said losing by a large margin will be a learning lesson for a team that has 17 of its 27 players between sixth and 10th grades.
“I think there are two calibers: There’s a caliber that plays club and swims all year-round and there are teams and players who don’t,” Miklausich said. “I think when you put the two against each other, the best thing you can take from a game like this is they learn from being played on like that.”
Before the boys match, the St. Andrew’s girls water polo team overcame a threegoal deficit to win, 6-5, over Westminster Academy.
The Scots got goals from Kate Cassidy and Chelsea Scuderi.
“Our losses have come to Ransom [Everglades] and Lake Nona twice,” Scots coach Kurt Predmore said. “Those are the only three losses we have. We played Ransom last time and lost by three. We played Lake Nona last time and we lost by three. So we’re right there.”