St. Thomas Aquinas cruises past Pine Crest in lacrosse

If St. Thomas Aquinas was any bit nervous about playing at Sun Life Stadium in the 2013 Orange Bowl Lacrosse Classic, they surely did not show it.

R.J. Curtin scored seven goals and Kyle Mamane added six goals as St. Thomas routed Pine Crest 21-10.

Curtin also notched five assists in the game and was named the game’s MVP.

“We said before the game, ‘This is like any other field,’ ” St. Thomas coach Terry Crowley said. “Just focus on the 100 yards.”

Throughout the majority of the game, St. Thomas (4-0) held the advantage in ball possession.

Curtin scored his first goal on a diving shot in front of the goal to give St. Thomas a 1-0 lead. After Curtin scored his second goal inside the box off of a Pine Crest turnover, Mamane scored seven seconds later and the Raiders led 3-0.

Curtin and Mamane were effective in cutting to the net and receiving passes for easy shots on goal.

“We have been playing for a long time together,” Curtin said. “They were putting two guys on me, and Kyle was doing a good job getting open on the back.”

Pine Crest was able to sustain some level of possession about midway in the second quarter. The Panthers got on the scoreboard when Garrett Levine received a pass about five yards in front of the goalkeeper to end the shutout.

Pine Crest (3-1) scored three consecutive goals by Harris Stolzenberg, David Tescher and Sam Talkow to cut the deficit to 12-6 with 5:30 to play in the third quarter. Mamane scored two consecutive goals in the final 90 seconds in the third quarter for a 14-6 lead.

St. Thomas focused its defense to limit scoring opportunities for Stolzenberg. He finished with three goals in the game. The Raiders believe that the win will be a launching point. “We are coming up on some other big games,” Curtin said. “This will give us a lot of confidence.”

BASEBALL

ST THOMAS AQUINAS 9, PINES CHARTER 6

PC	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	—	6	5	3
STA	1	4	0	3	1	0	x	—	9	8	3

WP: Frank Rubio (2-1). Top performers: Ross Thibeault 3-3, triple. Christian Demby 2-3, double.

SOFTBALL

DORAL 6, FLANAGAN 0

FLA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	3	1
DOR	2	0	1	1	0	2	x	—	6	8	0

WP: Jenny Acevedo 7IP 3K. Top performers: Dayra Pla 2-3, run, RBI. Sam Lageyre 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs. Grethell Santos 2-2, triple, RBI

COOPER CITY 8, NOVA 3

CC	1	2	0	3	1	0	1	—	8	11	2
NOV	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	—	3	5	2

WP: Hedbing. Top performer: Cardona 4-4, 3 singles, double. CC 4-2

ARCHBISHOP CURLEY 14, KEYS GATE 4 (5)

KG	0	2	0	0	2	x	x	—	4	5	4
AC	5	4	3	2	x	x	x	—	14	5	3

WP: Megan Romanik 5K (2-2). Top performers: Megan Romanik 4 runs, double, RBI. Alyssa Lambert 1-3, 4 runs, RBI. Tiffany Ospin 3 runs. Jensen Rayburn 2 runs, 4 RBI. AC 3-4

LATE THURSDAY — UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 9, HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN 2

HC	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	—	2	4	5
US	1	0	2	3	0	3	0	—	9	11	4

WP: Linette Flores. LP: Abi Valdes(6-1). Top performers: Gabi Martinez 3-4, HR, RBI

BOYS’ WATER POLO

• Westminster Academy 7, Western 6 (2 OT): Jason Woodburn 4 goals. Nicolas Shyne 2 goals. Jared Bees 2 goals. WA 1-4

GIRLS’ WATER POLO

• Westminster Academy 21, Western 6: Caroline Israels 10 goals. Mary Elizabeth Mahoney 3 goals. Tatiana Giraldo 2 goals. WA 5-0

BOYS’ TENNIS

• Miami Country Day 4, Sagemont 3: Shaun Berman won singles 8-1. Max Cohan won singles 8-2. Jacob Strouse won singles 8-0.

• Late Thursday — Palmer Trinity 5, Marathon 2: Waleed Mneimneh won No. 1 singles 8-0. Alex Block won No. 2 singles 8-1. Beekman Schaeffer won No. 3 singles 8-1

GIRLS’ TENNIS

• Late Thursday — Palmer Trinity 5, Marathon 1: Kelly Blary won No. 1 singles 8-5. Emily Himes won No. 2 singles 8-6. Hallie Parten won No. 3 singles 8-1.

MORE BOYS’ LACROSSE

• Late Thursday — Western 17, Flanagan 2: Cornelia 5 goals, 2 assists. Jankowski 4 goals, assist. Rodriguez 2 goals, 3 assists.

STATISTICS

Coaches can begin submitting baseball and softball statistics to The Miami Herald by emailing them to dadepreps@MiamiHerald.com in Miami-Dade County and hssports@miamiherald.com in Broward. The totals need to be submitted by Sunday for inclusion in our leaderboard. Coaches can call 305-376-3700 to confirm receipt of statistics Sunday between 3 and 6 p.m. and weeknights and Saturdays between 6 and 10 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

BASEBALL

West Broward at Western, 7

TRACK AND FIELD

Sam Burley Invitational at Miami Southridge: 9 a.m.

SOCCER

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Dade-Broward All-Star Classic at Lockhart - Girls: 5; Boys: 7:30

BOYS’ LACROSSE

Orange Bowl Classic at Sun Life Stadium: Coral Shores vs. University School, 10:30 a.m.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Orange Bowl Classic at Sun Life Stadium: Cardinal Gibbons vs. St. Thomas Aquinas, 1:30