Hagerty, Lake Highland reach region finals
Ellie Wilkins tied her seasonhigh with 7 goals and the Hagerty Huskies used their edge in experience to rout Windermere 16-1 in a Class 2A Region 2 girls lacrosse semifinal on Tuesday night.
“When you get this deep in the playoffs, it’s execution,” said Hagerty coach Mitch Whittington. “‘Did I execute what I’m supposed to do properly and make the proper decisions?’ We did a lot of that tonight very well.”
The Huskies (17-6) get a rematch against eight-time state champion Vero Beach (15-3) on Friday. The Indians will host the match as the region’s top seed despite their 7-6 regular season loss to Hagerty.
Vero Beach crushed Viera 20-2 on Tuesday.
Hagerty is the lone Orlando-area team still alive in the 2A bracket. Bartram Trail routed Oviedo 22-3 and Ponte Vedra beat Lake Brantley 16-7 to set up an all-St. Johns County Region 1 final.
Wilkins had a hat trick inside the first 10 minutes as Hagerty made short work of Windermere (13-6), which earned the first regional appearance in the school’s five-year history.
“Our goal was to look for the one extra [pass] and really be confident in our passes and see the openings,” Wilkins said. “We work on fast ball movement and watching back doors and getting open.”
Wilkins, who also scored 7 goals on April 12 against Timber Creek, was one of seven Huskies to score a goal. Hannah Thomas added 3 goals and an assist in the win.
Carly Bitner added 2 goals and an assist, while Julia McCunney, Melina Lange, Haley Thomas and Edie Wilkins also scored goals.
“Instead of it being one player scoring all the goals, it’s all of us working together to get to where we need to be,” Thomas said.
The margin of victory might have been bigger had Windermere junior goalkeeper Eva Dubasek not made 11 saves.
Senior Amelia Sewell scored the Wolverines’ only goal off a late second-half assist from senior Sophie Paige.
“We’ve had a successful season up to now,” said Wolverines coach Ann Bomleny. “Hagerty has a great team. They’re well-coached. They’ve a great program, they’ve a great feeder program. These kids have played together for years. That’s something we’re looking to build on at Windermere and implement as well. We hope to be back next year and give them a better fight.”
Hagerty has won 11 of its past 12 games. That started after an 0-4 streak that included losses against MaxPreps’ national No. 1 Delray Beach American Heritage, Bartram Trail and Lake Mary.
Hagerty’s defense sharpened after the skid. The Huskies posted two shutouts in the win streak and are 11-0 when allowing 8 goals or fewer.
Edie Wilkins, a sophomore, said team unity grew after the losing streak.
“We started working together,” she said. “It was a lot of little things, like people not paying attention. Now we’re all on the same page. Everyone shows up ready to play.”
Senior Isabella Ruiz said the team turned things around after developing a bond.
“As the season went on, we got to know each other in and out of lacrosse,” she said. “That improved our chemistry. Now we play better as a unit.”
Highlanders advance: No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (15-2) defeated No. 5 Bishop Moore (11-9), 15-8. Jacqueline Jaskiewicz scored 4 goals for the Highlanders. Alex Horn added 3 goals and 1 assist and Kylie Kearon contributed 2 goals and 2 assists.
The Highlanders will be home again on Friday night in a region final against Merritt Island Edgewood (13-4), which beat the region’s second seed, Satellite (17-3), on Tuesday.
Boys region semifinals were played Wednesday night, setting up Saturday finals.
The boys and girls state tournaments will be played May 5-7 at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples.
Girls region semifinals
Class 2A Region 1
No. 1 seed Bartram Trail (19-3) def. No. 5 Oviedo (17-5), 22-3.
No. 3 Ponte Vedra (15-5) def. No. 7 Lake Brantley (11-9), 16-7.
Class 2A Region 2
No. 2 Hagerty (16-6) def. No. 6 Windermere High (13-6), 16-1. Class 1A Region 2
No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (15-2) def. No. 5 Bishop Moore (11-9), 15-8.