The Ponte Vedra boys’ lacrosse team played as if they had something to prove last week, and perhaps they did. By continuing their assault on three non-district Florida teams, the Sharks showed they could well be one of the teams playing for the state title later this month in Jupiter, Florida.
Ponte Vedra, at 16-1 overall and 4-0 in the district, is ranked second in the state of Florida to St. Andrews of Boca Raton and fifth in the nation.
The Sharks took on Matanzas, Maclay and Oak Hall in games last week and posted decisive wins in all three games. On March 28, Matanzas fell to the Sharks 16-5. Clay Welch led the Sharks with four goals, Matt Keeler chipped in three, Reid Smith and Jack Burke added two while CD James and Dylan Hess each scored once.
The following day, Maclay of Tallahassee was the next to fall to the Sharks juggernaut. This time, Smith and Burke led the Sharks with four goals apiece, while Keeler, Welch and Hess added two. James, Jack Woeste, Tony Rossi, Walker Azzaro and Justin Prince rounded out the scoring with single goals.
The game of the week was Senior Night March 31 against the Eagles of Oak Hall. The visitors came to the Shark Tank with a record of 14-1, but left after suffering a stinging 13-7 defeat at the hands of the Sharks. Freshman Hess along with senior Welch scored three times, Smith and Keeler twice Burke and James and Andrew O’Dare one each.
O’Dare, a senior commit to Towson, again proved his value as the Sharks face-off master by winning a large majority of the critically important statistic against the Eagles.
While the Sharks offense continues to dominate teams, the play of the Sharks long sticks, especially freshman Tommy Zitiello and senior Jacob Reeves, was impressive against Oak Hall.
