The FHSAA state tournament is here for boys and girls lacrosse.
Teams will look to get through their respective regions before vying for a Final Four at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples from May 7-9. South Florida and the Orlando area have reigned supreme for quite some time, dominating the state. Can Southwest Florida break through this year?
Here’s a quick breakdown of both regions. Teams in bold denote district champions. Teams in italics denote local squads.
Boys Lacrosse
Class 1A-Region 3
(8) Barron Collier at (1) Community School
(5) Berkeley Prep at (4) Cardinal Mooney
(7) Bishop Verot at (2) Canterbury
(6) Cypress Lake at (3) Aubrey Rogers
Analysis: This region features three matchups featuring squads that will be playing for the third time this year. Don’t expect any upsets, as CSN, Canterbury, and Aubrey Rogers have beaten Barron Collier, Bishop Verot, and Cypress Lake in those six games by a combined score of 101-15. The Seahawks have been mainstays in the Final Four in recent years, but Canterbury took them to overtime on the road, falling 11-10. They pose the biggest threat to CSN in the region, considering the Cougars handled Aubrey Rogers 15-6 in the District 1A-11 title game earlier this week. Expect it to be Seahawks vs. Cougars for the regional title, where anything could happen.
Alex’s pick to win: Community School
Class 2A-Region 3
(8) Wellington at (1) Jupiter
(4) Martin County at (5) Boca Raton
(7) Gulf Coast at (2) St. Thomas Aquinas
(6) West Boca Raton at (3) Columbus
Analysis: This region is comprised of South Florida across the board and Gulf Coast. The Sharks were district champs in Class 2A-District 13, beating Fort Myers 11-9. They’ll match up against a familiar opponent in St. Thomas Aquinas, which beat Gulf Coast 22-1 in the regional quarters a season ago. Jupiter owns the No. 1 seed in the region, however, beating the Raiders on the road in overtime during the regular season, 10-9. The Warriors are the only team St. Thomas has lost to in state this year, also losing to Boys Latin (Md.) 5-4 and The Woodlands (Texas) 14-6. Outside of Jupiter and St. Thomas, no one else has much of a shot.
Alex’s pick to win: St. Thomas Aquinas
Girls Lacrosse
Class 1A-Region 3
(8) Clearwater Central Catholic at (1) Community School
(5) Naples at (4) Calvary Christian
(2) Bradenton Christian at (7) Canterbury
(6) Gulf Coast at (3) Cardinal Mooney
Analysis: The Seahawks can thank Cardinal Mooney for securing home-field advantage, as the Cougars beat Bradenton Christian 10-9 in the Class 1A-District 10 title game. That results in the Panthers traveling to seventh-seeded Canterbury to take on the Cougars, which beat Bishop Verot in their district title bout. A pair of Collier County public schools in Naples and Gulf Coast will trek northward to take on Calvary Christian and Cardinal Mooney, and will both be underdogs in hopes of trying to make it to the regional semifinals. CSN should roll in their first round game before facing either the Golden Eagles or the Warriors. Brent Queener’s team just beat Naples 15-5 for the district title, while Naples beat Gulf Coast in the semifinal round. Don’t be shocked if CSN makes it out of this region with minimal drama.
Alex’s pick to win: Community School
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: amartin@usatodayco.com. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FHSAA boys, girls lacrosse regions feature plenty of SWFL squads
Reporting by Alex Martin, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
