NAPLES — It’s well known that St. Thomas Aquinas is a buzzsaw in boys lacrosse.
Manatee hadn’t gotten to experience it yet in the program’s 14 year history. That changed Thursday afternoon , May 7, at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in the Class 2A state semifinals.
The Hurricanes were overwhelmed by the Raiders, falling 15-2 with the running clock being triggered at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter. St. Thomas advances to take on either Ponte Vedra or Winter Park on Saturday, May 9.
“Obviously, they’re a really good team,” Manatee coach Derek Wagner said. “My guys put up a good fight. They were just outmatched, so we didn’t bring our best game today. A day like today against a good opponent, that just gets magnified if you’re not ready to go and can’t capitalize on things. My boys, they put up a hell of a fight this season, and they still had a great season overall. It’s something to build on.”
Manatee’s best chance to set the tone was early on, with Easton Miller moving around behind the St. Thomas goal. A cutting Zach Fiekama came down the middle, but St. Thomas goalie Luciano Chiabra made the save at point-blank range.
After that, a barrage of St. Thomas Aquinas goals followed, with Jack Lancelot, Diego Salazar, and James Finch all putting together looks that found their way to the back of the net. A five-goal second quarter ensued, with Nate Combs, Matthew Walker, Mason Leech and Salazar all scoring at least once. Salazar bodied his defender before uncorking a shot past sophomore goalkeeper Cooper Kolbe.
Kolbe was busy in the loss, but saved 17 of 32 shots that came his way. With Manatee’s inability to maintain possession offensively, the Hurricanes were essentially kneecapped into defending for longer periods than they’re used to.
“Cooper’s phenomenal,” Wagner said. “Really, our defense played phenomenal. It was just that we had such a small possession time that any little mistake we made on offense got magnified because we couldn’t get the ball back. When the possession time is that lopsided, you sit back on defense, and you’re never going to have any chance to score any goals. Overall, the defense did phenomenal.”
The second half was more of the same, but Manatee did score five seconds in from Miller, before getting another one late from Brydon Cox, but the running clock was triggered way before that, with James Finch’s shot at the 4:56 mark of the third.
Despite the loss, the Hurricanes (20-3) changed the narrative, shifting the power of Class 2A-Region 3 boys lacrosse away from Hillsborough County, where it’s lived at Tampa Plant since 2021. The program returns 23 of their 30 players from this year’s group, setting a strong foundation for next season months in advance.
“It puts that taste in their mouth,” Wagner said. “It lets them understand the magnitude of this and the caliber of teams that play here. It’s going to make them want to play better teams next year and get better. But they have that taste now. They know what this day was like. They want to get back here and have it again because this was an anomaly and they can have a better show than what they put on here today. It’s going to give some fuel and drive for them.
“I’m pretty good at motivation, and I think we’re gonna turn this and use this to our advantage, and hopefully we’ll be right back here next year and make another run at this.”
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 Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee lacrosse’s state title run ends vs. St. Thomas Aquinas in 2A semis
Reporting by Alex Martin, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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