The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s varsity lacrosse team played against the Boca Raton Community High School Bobcats on Thursday, April 25 at Cumber Stadium. This was the first game of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 2A tournament.
Following a 16-6 victory over the Bobcats in the FHSAA 2A District 14 Championship, the Eagles earned the number one seed in the regional tournament. Additionally, they also claimed home field for the duration of the tournament.
The game began with the Eagles attacking the Bobcats when attacker Kaitlyn Irwin (3) scored her first and the team’s first goal of the game, giving the Eagles an early 1-0 lead within the first minute of the game.
“I think the best thing we had today was the possession and how we were able to transition the ball a lot and do a lot of fast breaks and run it down the field and score,” Irwin said.
After MSD opened up the game with the goal, attacker Taylor McGovern (4) scored her first goal of the game. The Bobcats responded just minutes later to make it a one point game again. However, the Eagles quickly broke the tie and scored six straight goals to end the quarter. These goals were scored by McGovern, Irwin and three midfielder Chloe Resnik (27), giving the Eagles a 7-1 lead.
“I think just preparation has been one thing we’ve been working on all season,” Head Coach Scott Iardella said. “They came in and executed the game plan today so it worked out perfectly.”
Following the 5-0 run to end the first quarter, the Eagles offense continued where they left off by scoring straight goals in the second quarter. This stretch included a series of three goals scored by Irwin and McGovern. The other two goals were scored by Resnik and attacker Stephanie Bilsky (25). After taking an 11-point lead, the Bobcats bounced back with two goals, making it a 12-3 game at halftime.
The second half continued to go in the favor of the Eagles as they dominated the third quarter. During this twelve minute period, the Eagles scored all four goals that were scored. McGovern scored two goals during this stretch, with Irwin also scoring one and attacker Caroline Lam (21) putting up her first points of the game. The Eagles entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 17-3 lead over the Bobcats.
“I think we all did well at spreading the ball out,” McGovern said. “I think I did pretty good with feeding and getting the ball down low and setting up plays.”
After the third quarter being all Eagles, the Bobcats opened up the final twelve minutes with a goal. This ended up being the fourth and final goal of the game for the Bobcats. With three more goals being scored by the Eagles, they defeated the Bobcats with a final score of 20-4.
“I think we’re going to have a big task ahead of us,” Iardella said. “So I think there’s always nuances offensively and defensively, kind of fine tuning. Execution is one thing again we’ve been working on all season and I’d say the same thing is going to be important for the next game.”
Following the 20-4 victory over the Bobcats in the regional quarterfinals, the Eagles will take on Jupiter High School at home on Tuesday, April 30, in their semi-final matchup.
