- November 5, 2024
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Forty-eight minutes of regulation passed on Wednesday night in the District 6 boys lacrosse semifinals, and Matanzas didn’t lead for one second. But it only took the Pirates 37 seconds into the four-minute overtime period to capture the only lead that mattered.
Pirates attackman Gunner Parson rifled home the game-winning goal, capping off his hat trick performance and catapulting Matanzas into Friday’s championship game with a 7-6 win over Pedro Menendez.
“In the first half, we were not very aggressive, and we were doing a lot of standing around and watching,” Matanzas coach Jeff Goren said after the game, as he shivered from his Gatorade bath. “We weren’t moving at all on offense. But at halftime, we were able to make some adjustments — more movement on the offensive end, and that opened up some good looks for us and we finished them when we needed to.”
Menendez led 4-1 and 5-2 late into the second half, but a resilient Matanzas side was able to chip away at the lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Falcons, 3-1, over the final 12 minutes before overtime.
With about 2:51 to go in the game, Matanzas’ Colten Buxman brought his team within one goal when he made it 6-5 on a great individual effort.
Perhaps the biggest momentum shift came just 30 seconds later, with about 2:30 on the clock.
Menendez was flagged for two penalties and then was issued a third for having too many players on the field. With a three-man advantage, Parson buried the equalizer to set up a frantic final two minutes.
“When we got three men up, to score right away, that was huge,” Goren said, noting that the win was the biggest of his young coaching career. “They ran the play, they moved the ball, and when they had the open look, they finished it.”
At halftime, the seniors said it wasn’t going to be their last halftime. Perhaps that was the difference-maker.
“This wasn’t going to be our last game,” Matanzas senior defenseman Ivan Tsabak said. “We said we’ll see each other at practice at 2:30 (on Thursday).”
Goren said he will use his one day of practice to work on the offense.
“We’ll continue to work on the movement and try to get some good looks for our shooters,” Goren said.
Jake Cohill scored two goals for the Pirates, and Pablo Torres added one.
Matt Gutierrez notched 14 saves.
Tsabak, who hopes to have a few more halftimes and practices before his career is over, said the team needs to maintain its cool against St. Augustine.
“We have a lot of bad blood, so we don’t want to get out of control,” Tsabak said. “We need to stay disciplined and play like we just finished this game.”
Matanzas and St. Augustine will play at 7 p.m. Friday in the District 6 boys lacrosse championship.
St. Augustine clips FPC in heartbreaker
In a back-and-forth dogfight, St. Augustine knocked off Flagler Palm Coast, 9-8, in a District 6 semifinal thriller on Wednesday.
FPC led took an early 3-1 lead before St. Augustine went on a four-goal run to take a 5-3 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs led 7-6 with about 8:43 to go in the game, but St. Augustine scored three straight goals to take a 9-7 lead. FPC scored with less than a minute to go but couldn’t net the equalizer.
The loss ended a tough Bulldogs season. FPC won the district championship last season.
Michael Forte, Adison Felton and Alec Noble each scored two goals for the Bulldogs.
“It’s very disappointing,” FPC coach Ryan Andrews said after the game. “I feel like every game was exactly the same: We couldn’t put it together for all four quarters, and that’s really the negative.”
As many as 15 juniors who contribute a lot of minutes on the field are expected to return next season.
“I have a lot of promise (in next year’s team), and I think (the players) now understand what’s expected of them,” Andrew said.
