Prep boys lacrosse: Gulf Coast wins District 19 title over gutsy Immokalee team
Balanced scoring effort and dominant first quarter key Sharks' 17-9 win
Prep boys lacrosse: Gulf Coast wins District 19 title over gutsy Immokalee team Balanced scoring effort and dominant first quarter key Sharks' 17-9 win Check out this story on naplesnews.com: http://nplsne.ws/2o8uB1C
Andrew Sodergren, andy.sodergren@naplesnews.com, 239-263-4731 Published 10:25 p.m. ET April 6, 2017 | Updated 10:33 p.m. ET April 6, 2017
Gulf Coast High School(Photo: Submitted)
It certainly wasn't easy, but the Gulf Coast High School boys lacrosse team will take it.
The Sharks used a burst of six straight goals, bridging the first and second quarters, to defeat a rapidly improving Immokalee program 17-9 in the District 19 championship game Thursday night at Gary Bates Stadium. Gulf Coast advances to play at Barron Collier on Thursday for a first-round state play-in game.
The skilled Sharks (15-4) held the possession advantage and received a balanced scoring effort. Jesse Ball led the way with four goals, while Luke Curran added three. Ryan Carroll scored two goals and recorded four assists, with his dynamic speed and ball-control skills setting his teammates up for scoring opportunities. Christian Holland, Nate Elgin and Chase Schroeder also had two goals apiece for the Sharks.
"(Immokalee) is a talented team. They're aggressive, but we figured whoever won the ground balls was going to win the game," Carroll said. "They were playing at a very high intensity level, so we had to match that or go higher than that, and I thought we were able to do it."
The Indians, under fourth-year head coach Scott Rickard, have experienced a remarkable turnaround from the early days of the program. During his second year with the team in 2015, the Indians won eight games, which was more than the first five seasons combined. Immokalee had its first winning season last year at 12-8, and again broke the school record for wins in a season by finishing 13-7.
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"He's doing a tremendous job over there with that program," Gulf Coast coach Brett Queener said. "At no point in the game tonight did we think we had control. Give Immokalee credit. They fought us hard the whole way. When you look at it, that stretch at the end of the first quarter where we scored (six) in a row to go up by six, that was the difference in the game."
Immokalee's Marc Galindo finished his brilliant high school career with five goals, extending his school record for goals in a season to 94. Fellow senior Bryan Reyes and junior Ariel Perez each scored two for the Indians. Senior goaltender Ray Perez, the all-time state leader in saves, made a number of tough stops to keep Immokalee within striking distance.
"They played their (butts) off tonight," Rickard said. "My seniors showed up to play tonight. That's a great team over there. It's the closest we've ever played them, so the guys should be proud of that. But it's tough right now. We want to get our program into position to not only play for district championships, but win them. These seniors, they set the standard for the program. They laid the groundwork for future teams at Immokalee."
Queener, who plays professional lacrosse for the Florida Launch of Major League Lacrosse, was extremely complimentary of the way the Indians played the game.
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"I play professionally, and to be honest, the game isn't played the right way anymore," he said. "But tonight, these two teams played the game the right way. It was a great game to be a part of, because that coach and that team represents everything the sport should be about. Immokalee hustled for every ground ball and believed they could win. We played a really good game, too, though."
Now the Sharks shift their focus to a rematch with the Cougars, a 13-10 winner over Gulf Coast on March 9.
"We didn't start off very well in that one, and it always seems like we have to come from behind," Carroll said. "We need to start off strong and hold that lead. We really need to win the ground balls and stop transition goals."
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