MacCurdy out as St. Thomas coach

Three months after leading St. Thomas Aquinas to its first girls lacrosse state final, Samantha MacCurdy is out as head coach.

MacCurdy, 24, spent two seasons with the Raiders, accumulating a 32-6 overall record. St. Thomas finished this past season as state runner-up, falling to Orlando Bishop Moore 13-12 in the title game.

MacCurdy said she was stunned by the school’s decision not to bring her back.

“I was told it was a lack of communication with the athletic director,” said MacCurdy, who earned Sun Sentinel Coach of the Year honors twice. “I was trying to get a clear reasoning behind the firing and that’s what I was told.”

“It was a hard pill to swallow.”

St. Thomas Athletic Director George Smith said there was “nothing wrong or anything nasty,” but that the school needed to make a change.

“She was a good coach, but we had to go in a different direction,” Smith said. “It was do.”

In two seasons, MacCurdy took the St. Thomas girls lacrosse program to new heights. In her first season, MacCurdy led the Raiders to a 14-4 record and an appearance in the regional finals.

This past year, St. Thomas took another major step forward. After a 12-1 regular season, which included a win over national power Milton (Ga.), the Raiders won their next four games to set up a playoff rematch with American HeritageDelray, who defeated Aquinas by 13 goals earlier in the year.

In a battle between nationally ranked teams, St. Thomas avenged its defeat, beating the Stallions 10-9 in overtime to advance to states for the first time in school history.

After topping Naples Barron Collier in the semifinals, the Raiders dropped a heartbreaker to Bishop Moore in double overtime. very hard for me to

wdusenbury@ sun-sentinel.com; On Twitter @dusereport