- November 25, 2024
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Matanzas coach Anna Adair stared into the lights high above Pirates Field. Her team had just captured its second straight District 4 girls lacrosse championship, and she couldn’t quite put it into words.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be that easy,” Adair said, after a few seconds of silence. “(FPC) wasn’t going to go down that easy.”
She was right. It wasn’t easy, even as her team held a 5-1 lead with 13:35 to go in the game.
Matanzas was forced to hold off an offensive onslaught by FPC with less than two minutes to go to capture back-to-back district championships, defeating the Lady Bulldogs, 6-5.
Flagler Palm Coast (7-9) scored three goals in the final two minutes to close the gap thanks to several Matanzas fouls that stopped the clock. But in the end, the Lady Pirates prevailed.
“That’s the game of lacrosse,” Adair said. “The strategy in the timeout (late in the game) was to not foul. But it’s harder to do than it is for us to say.”
FPC jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Kelly Kastner just 1 minute, 30 seconds into the game. But from there, it was all Matanzas. Until the final two minutes.
Alex Normandin got Matanzas on the board when she scored with 2:38 to go in the first half. Danica Leili gave Matanzas a 2-1 lead going into halftime when she scored with less than two minutes to go in the half.
Matanzas (13-5) opened to second half with goals by Stephanie Giminez, Sara Komanowski and Leili to take a 5-1 lead.
Courtney Walton gave the Lady Bulldogs a bit of life when she netted her first goal with 11:53 remaining.
Giminez scored her second goal of the night with 3:46 to go, and with a 6-2 lead, it appeared as if it was over.
However, Kastner, Walton and Nicole Madalena all scored with less than two minutes to go to cut the lead to 6-5. FPC had one final chance, but Matanzas goalie Stephanie Stuart plucked the ball out of the air to seal the win.
Stuart, who is known as the Crease Monster, lived up to her name, tallying 13 saves in another brilliant performance.
“It’s my job, that’s why I’m goalie,” Stuart said. “I stop it, they score it. That’s how it works.”
As far as celebrating, Stuart knew exactly what was on tap: “Tears, laughs, smiles. Maybe a little food. Probably a lot of food.”
FPC’s season ends once again at the hands of its crosstown rival. Lady Bulldogs coach James Hackett applauded his team’s effort, calling them tough.
“I’m happy with my girls,” he said. “They don’t give up, they played hard. I’d take them any day of the week.”
Matanzas moves on to the state playoffs and will host Ponte Vedra 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the first round play-in game.
“The program has come a long way from three years ago when I coached at FPC and coached against Matanzas and did nothing but roll over them,” Adair said.
For more pictures and coverage, see Saturday's edition of the Palm Coast Observer.
