St. Thomas, Benjamin meet again in semifinals

The hotbed of Florida high school lacrosse, Palm Beach County will play host again this year as the FHSAA championships kick off today at Jupiter High School.

For for the second straight season, Benjamin will represent PBC as it faces defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas in a rematch of last year’s thrilling semifinal. The Raiders won that contest, 11-10, in triple overtime on Joey Guglielmo’s gamewinner.

After a tight 8-7 district title win over rival Jupiter, Benjamin has cruised through its three regional playoff games, topping Vero Beach St. Edward’s, Merritt Island and Naples Barron Collier. Junior midfielder Will Nicklaus, a University of North Carolina commit, has given the Bucs a major boost after missing the entire regular season to injury.

Much like Benjamin, St. Thomas had no difficulty returning to the state tournament. The Raiders have won their playoff games by at least eight goals, including an 8-0 shutout against Oxbridge Academy.

St. Thomas girls to debut

At 24 years old, Samantha MacCurdy has led St. Thomas’ girls squad (17-1) to back-to-back district titles in two seasons as coach. Last year’s Raiders were knocked out in the regional final, but this season’s team was determined not to go home so early.

InsideLacrosse.com’s 24th-ranked team in the nation, the Raiders last week refused to bow in the Region 4 title game to the only team that beat them in the regular season — No. 20 American Heritage-Delray. Standout junior Jada Preston netted the deciding goal in overtime as St. Thomas advanced to the final four for the first time on a 10-9 victory.

In Friday’s semifinals, Aquinas will face Naples Barron Collier (17-1).

State lacrosse series schedule

Semifinal matches will be webcast via NFHS Network (no-cost sign-up required); championship games will air on Spectrum Sports, which also will offer pay-per-view webcasts.