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St. Thomas Aquinas Wins Its First Lacrosse Title

Sharon BlockSFHSSports: Twitter | Facebook

It was the perfect ending to a perfect season for the St. Thomas Aquinas boys' lacrosse team.

The Raiders captured their first state championship with a 13-11 victory over Ponte Vedra in the battle of unbeatens Saturday night at Jupiter High School.

St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 1 in the state, finished the season 19-0. Since 1977, the Raiders' athletic program has won 102 state championships in 19 different sports. Ponte Vedra finished 23-1.

The victory avenged last year's two-point loss to Orlando Lake Highland in the state final. The Raiders are the first team other than Boca Raton St. Andrew's and Lake Highland to win a state title in boys' lacrosse, putting St. Thomas Aquinas on the map in the sport.

"This is the best team I have coached," Raiders coach Terry Crowley said. "One hundred percent, no doubt in my mind, this is the best team I have ever had. They worked hard for this."

The Raiders' journey to the state final included four big wins on the road in less than three weeks: Douglas, Oxbridge Academy in overtime, Gulliver Prep on a stifling hot day and Benjamin in triple overtime.

"This state title is about the alumni, too," Crowley said. "They set the table, they built the foundation that led to this."

The Raiders jumped on Ponte Vedra early at 10:27 with a goal from Kevin Crowley set up by Joey Guglielmo. The Raiders had the momentum and 4-2 lead after the first quarter.

With three-time All-American senior midfielder Louie Yovino cramping up, senior midfield Brennan Harhart took up the slack and scored three goals in the first half for a 7-5 lead midway through the second quarter and 8-7 advantage at halftime.

Coming into the game, Harhart had just six goals for the entire season.

"That's why we talk about the next man up," Crowley said. "Three goals in the first half, where did that come from? Brennan stepping up to the plate like that was huge for us. The stars were just aligned."

Ponte Vedra tied the game at 10-10 at the 1:10 mark in the third quarter. The Raiders quickly regained their composure and retook the lead, 11-10, with 11 seconds left in the quarter on Jimmy Harrington's score. The Raiders never trailed after that.

"They were on our heels the whole time," Crowley said. "Getting control of the tempo and never trailing gave us confidence. We have great athletes."

St. Thomas Aquinas led in shots, 51-36, and shots on goal, 29-26.

Kevin Crowley finished with a team-high four goals and one assist. Harhart finished with three goals. Harrington and Yovino each had two goals. Sam Khalil and Nick Borodiak each had one goal. Guglielmo and Khalil each had two assists. Brock Gonzales had one assist.

Goalie Mikey Adler had 14 saves, including three in the fourth quarter, during which he gave up only one goal.

Going into the final, the big question was whether the Raiders would recover in time after their thrilling emotionally-charged 11-10 triple overtime win over Benjamin in the semifinal where Guglielmo scored the decisive goal.

"Three overtimes were crazy," Crowley said. "Against Benjamin I don't think our shooting was where we needed it to be. We were lucky. Mikey Adler is the best goalie I have ever seen in my life. He made stops that were insane. He wouldn't let Benjamin score."

It was the second time in three years the teams had met in the state semifinals.

"We knew Ponte Vedra would be tired, too, since they played the game before us," Crowley said. "After the triple overtime game, we went back to St. Thomas with the trainers and put all the kids in the cold tub."

Since the FHSAA sanctioned the sport in 2008, it has increased in popularity at the high school level especially at St. Thomas Aquinas.

"Hopefully, the kids will want to come here," said Crowley, who loses 12 seniors to graduation. "We are a program now and not just a team. There is a lot of work involved. The 2016 team is the perfect example of where the bar is set now. They worked during the fall and summer. The kids are in the weight room and have their own strength and conditioning coach. I don't know many programs that can say that."

"The kids coming up from jayvee are ready to prove themselves. The structure of the program is there and hopefully with the kids coming up, it will take us back to state."

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