- December 25, 2024
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Matanzas senior Jenna Payavis tries to dislodge the ball from FPC senior defender Kairi Harris. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Kairi Harris carries the ball as the Pirates' Victoria Wilcox (10) chases. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC freshman Carly Griffin runs with the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Updated 3 p.m. March 29
Matanzas senior Emilia Kern had never played girls lacrosse — had never even watched a game — when she signed up for the high school team nearly four years ago.
“They needed girls, and I tried it out. And I'm glad I did,” Kern said.
Some people measure a team's success by wins and losses. That's how Matanzas does it. You just won't find many of those victories on the scoreboard.
The Pirates have 10 seniors among the 20 players on their roster. Kern and four others have been playing together since they were freshmen. They haven't won a game since their sophomore year, she said, and they fell to 0-3 this season on March 25 with a 13-3 home loss to Flagler Palm Coast.
“We're able to appreciate the little victories,” she said. “Winning a draw, playing great defense. Stuff like that, we can cherish.”
None of the Pirates are likely to play lacrosse in college. Most are involved in other extracurricular activities and other sports. In the game against FPC, Matanzas coach Jeff Goren was all alone on the sideline, as some of the players had other commitments on this night.
“I have the best group of girls,” Goren said. “Their all getting academic scholarships.”
Kern, the president of the Cambridge AICE Diploma Program advisory committee, says she and her teammates love the game and love playing with each other.
“We're able to appreciate the little victories. Winning a draw, playing great defense. Stuff like that, we can cherish.”
EMILIA KERN, Matanzas senior
“This is the first year I've felt like the team is playing together very well,” she said. “Every single game we improve. We're super supportive of each other, which is why we keep coming out.”
The FPC sideline was not as lonely on this night. There were several reserves standing behind coach Katie Kastner. The Bulldogs have just three seniors, but like the Pirates, the players are super supportive of each other.
“We have more players (new to the sport) than we've had in the past,” Kastner said. “They stay late with the older girls. They go to the park and meet on weekends sometimes. Even in games, the older girls will say on the sideline, ‘I want you to do this, cut this way, I'll get you the ball.’”
The Bulldogs improved to 3-5. But their next game was going to be tougher. On March 29, they were scheduled to play at district opponent Bartram Trail, the state's third-ranked team in Class 2A.
“On games that are less competitive, we we work on things,” said FPC senior Kylie Terrell, who scored eight goals and had two assists against the Pirates. “We worked on our high-pressure defense and our off-ball picks on attack tonight. Our defense worked. Our off-ball picks, we still have to work on. We know we're going to be on defense on lot more (against Bartram Trail). The ball is going to be on that side a lot, so we worked on defense.”
The Bulldogs are in a killer district with Bartram and eighth-ranked Creekside in addition to Ocala Forest and Gainesville Buchholz, two teams that beat them to open the season.
“We play tough teams, so we have to build on stuff,” Kastner said.
Meanwhile, the Pirates were were happy to get a chance to play during a season where rain postponements and not having enough officials to play two games have played havoc with the schedule.
“It's a high school sport, and we're all having fun out here,” Kern said. “Of course, we want to win, but we're all glad to come out and play.”
