Aquinas lacrosse tops Gulliver, reaches states

Getting off to a fast start in an important game is always a good thing, and the St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ lacrosse team managed to do just that on Friday afternoon.

The Raiders scored five goals in the first six minutes, led 7-0 after the first quarter and coasted from there, defeating host Gulliver Prep 10-3 in a regional final. The game was halted at the end of the third quarter and went into a 90-minute weather delay before the game was declared final.

St. Thomas advances to the state final four where the Raiders will take on either Tampa Jesuit or Orlando Bishop Moore in a state semifinal at Boca Raton High School on May 10 at 6 p.m.

“Even on the top end this, not actually finishing the game is not really the way you want things to end in a regional final with so much at stake,” said Aquinas coach Terry Crowley, whose team will be looking for its third state title in four years next week. “But it is what it is, we’ll take the result and are happy to be moving on.”

Crowley can mainly thank two players for his team’s fast start. Faceoff man Jared Chenoy and Brock Gonzalez, the team’s leading scorer.

Thanks to Chenoy winning the first five faceoffs and Gonzalez scoring three of the team’s first four goals on those opening possessions, Gulliver found itself in a 5-0 hole before it ever even had possession and was able to cross midfield.

Even though Gulliver (12-6) made the defensive adjustment and neutralized Gonzalez at the start of the second quarter allowing the game to level off, the damage had been done as St. Thomas protected its seven-goal lead before the lightning detector went off with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.

AQUINAS COACH WITH TEAM USA

USA Baseball announced on Friday the coaching staff for the 15U National Team that will compete in the 2019 COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Troy Cameron was named the head coach.

Cameron will serve as a national team manager for the first time in 2019, but he is no stranger to working with USA Baseball. Most recently, he served as the field coordinator for the 2018 14U NTDP and as a coach at the 2018 15U National Team Trials.

Cameron is in his seventh season as the head coach at Aquinas where he has led the Raiders to five consecutive district championships and the Class 8A state title last year.

FIVE IN A ROW FOR SPRINGS SOFTBALL

Members of the Miami Springs girls softball team proudly held up five fingers when they posed for cameras on Friday night.

That following the team’s 12-2 victory over Goleman in the District 16-6A championship game at Virginia Gardens Field as it marked the program’s fifth consecutive district title, all coming at the expense of the Gators.

The Golden Hawks struck for four runs in the top of the second inning and took a 6-2 lead to the seventh before scoring six times to put the game away.

Springs (17-6) will host Archbishop McCarthy in a regional quarterfinal on May 8 at 7 p.m. at VG Field.

BOYS’ TENNIS

Miami Country Day senior Louis Siegler defeated Boca Raton St. Andrews sophomore Jacob Lowen 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to win the Class 1A individual singles title.

BASEBALL

Riviera Prep 9, Doctors Charter 3: WP – DJ Flowers 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K’s; Eric Fernandez 2-4, R; Luis Angarita 2-5 3B, Flowers 2-4, 2B; Marc Quarrie 2B, 2 RBI. RP: 12-8.

SOFTBALL

District 15-9A final: Ferguson 11,

Braddock 2

District 8-2A final: Colonial Christian 15, Westwood Christian 0: WP – Ariana Long (6-2) 9Ks, 3B; Gwyn VanMunster, 2B, 3B, RBI; Morgan Wells 2B, 3 RBI; CC: 13-5

FLAG FOOTBALL (REGIONAL SEMIFINALS)

Cooper City 19, Krop 6

Miami High 45, Ferguson 0 Western 27, Coral Springs 7 Dillard 21, Monsignor Pace 13