FHSAA High School Lacrosse State Championships
Over 4,000 attendees fill the stands for lacrosse in Paradise!
The energy was through the roof for the boys and girl’s lacrosse state championships this past weekend at Paradise Coast Sports Complex. The action-packed three-day event featured teams from all across Florida, from the 1A boy’s bracket The Bolles School traveled from Jacksonville, while Benjamin and top ranked St. Andrews High School came from Southeast Florida, and just down the street Community School of Naples served as the lone representation of Naples in the 1A lacrosse State Championships.
In the 2A boys tournament, Lake Mary High school claimed the #1 seed, Plant High School had representation from both girl’s and boys in the championships coming from South Tampa, high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas traveled from the east coast, while Winter Park High School hit the road from Orlando.
The girl’s 1A bracket consisted of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Lake Highland Prep from Orlando, Saint Stephens Episcopal School coming out of Bradenton, and American Heritage across the coast from Plantation.
For the girl’s 2A tournament, Plant High School made the commute to Paradise from South Tampa, Vero Beach and Stoneman Douglas High School traveled from the east coast, and Bartram Trail High School made their way from St. Johns.
Sixteen Teams. Four State Championship titles.
Girls 1A FHSAA Lacrosse Tournament
The intensity ramped up as the stadium started to fill out with fans from their respective schools. The first round of the 1A tournament, featured some heavy hitters on both sides, starting with the girls reigning 2023 State Champions #1 seed American Heritage, matching up with #4 Episcopal School of Jacksonville. #1 seed American Heritage went on to win with a final score of 17-3 to advance to the next round. Followed by 2023 state runners-up Lake Highland Prep versus Saint Stephen’s Episcopal, a game that Lake Highland controlled from start to finish with a final score of 16-4. Ultimately, giving the fans a long-anticipated treat as the 2023 state finalists match up for the second year in a row!
In a low scoring back and forth defensive battle, American Heritage girl’s lacrosse went on to win their second state championship in a row finishing the game 5-4 over Lake Highland Prep. American Heritage finished the season with an impressive record of 22-1.
Boys 1A FHSAA Lacrosse Tournament
For the boys 1A tournament, #2 seed Benjamin High School faced off against #3 Bolles High School. Bolles High School couldn’t keep up with Benjamin High Schools offensive arsenal as they kept racking up goals through four quarters and ended the game with the score 19-7, signaling another Benjamin High School state championship appearance since 2022.
However, the game that followed will be a Naples story told forever. Located just 6.2 miles away from Paradise Coast Sports Complex, Community School of Naples was labeled as a huge underdog against the reigning State Champions St. Andrews High School in the first round. Everyone counted them out and gave them no chance to win against the lacrosse powerhouse St. Andrews. Fans filled out the whole stadium and the student section for Community School of Naples (CSN) provided much needed energy and confidence into their lacrosse team.
St. Andrews fanbase crowded their respective side and were just as loud. The atmosphere was filled with anxiety and excitement leading up to the game. The game did not disappoint.
In a back-and-forth battle featuring great defense and timely offensive attacks, the game was never in control by one team for more than 5 minutes. St. Andrews started off hot going up by 3 goals, but CSN stormed back and fed off the student section’s energy and quickly regained the lead. In an intense battle, both teams ended the fourth quarter with 10 goals each and looked ahead to sudden-death overtime. Both teams had multiple possessions in overtime with chances to score, but it was the underdogs who came out on top. CSN upset the reigning champions with a score of 10-11 in overtime, in a FHSAA all-time classic. Fans couldn’t contain their excitement and rushed the field for what was a tough, but much deserved victory for the hometown school.
The 1A State Championship stage was set with #2 Benjamin High School matching up against #4 Community School of Naples. This game was another nail-biter as it came down to the very end and stayed within 1 goal leads by either team throughout the whole game. #2 ranked Benjamin ended up coming out on top to reclaim the throne and were crowned FHSAA 1A State Champions finishing the game 11-10 over CSN. Although a disappointing ending, CSN has made Naples proud and had an incredible season. They should be back to the playoffs next year as they retain nearly their entire lineup.
Girls 2A FHSAA Lacrosse Tournament
The girls 2A tournament featured some familiar faces from last year’s FHSAA state championship, now back-to-back champions Bartram Trail High School boasted the #3 seed and faced off against #2 seed Vero Beach, in a low scoring affair the reigning champions knocked off Vero Beach with a score of 6-5. #1 seed Plant High School went up against #4 Stoneman Douglas High School and cruised their way to victory with a score of 16-5, ensuring Plant advances to the championship against Bartram seeking redemption from last year’s contest.
History repeats itself, and Bartram Trail went onto control the game from start to finish with a final score of 10-8. With the win Bartram Trail has won their 3rd consecutive FHSAA State Championship.
Boys 2A FHSAA Lacrosse Tournament
The boys 2A bracket, for the second consecutive year Lake Mary High School claims the #1 seed and looked to defend their 2023 State Championship against #4 St. Thomas Aquinas. From beginning to end, it seemed that St. Thomas Aquinas was able to keep up with the reigning champs but Lake Mary’s experience gave them the edge as they finished off the Raiders 11-10. Advancing to their second straight Championship game. #2 Plant faced off with #3 Winter Park, who managed to pull of a solid, defensive win with a score 7-2.
The 2A FHSAA Lacrosse State Championship featured #1 Lake Mary versus #2 Plant and it didn’t go the way many would have expected. It was a masterful game plan by Lake Mary that resulted in a dominant win over Plant High School. The Lake Mary Rams went on to win their second consecutive championship with the final 15-4.
