When you think of the sport of lacrosse, you usually think of the Northeast and not South Florida.

Lacrosse, which is the oldest team sport played in North America, was for years a regional sport, with areas such as New England, upstate New York and the Mid-Atlantic states claiming some of the best lacrosse action in America.

Recently, with growing professional lacrosse, college and high school leagues the sport has begun to expand across the country.

''In the last five years, you've seen a major explosion,'' Gulliver Prep coach Gary Robinson said.

``There are youth leagues popping up all over the state.''

In Florida, lacrosse has been played at the high school level for more than 25 years, but it was not recognized by the Florida High School Sports Athletic Association until last season.

In Miami-Dade, four private schools have boys' varsity squads that help make up the more than 150 boys' varsity and girls' varsity teams in the state.

BROWARD LEADS DADE

Broward has more teams than Miami-Dade with five girls' varsity teams and six boys' varsity teams.

High school lacrosse is split into two leagues: club and varsity. Schools that have varsity programs play for an FHSAA state title and do not compete against schools who have club teams. Columbus, Killian and Palmetto are among a handful of the large school club teams.

Gulliver was named the best team in Miami-Dade in the inaugural FHSAA-recognized season. The Raiders were able to break out of District 12 and earned themselves a spot in the post season.

In their first round of the state tournament, the Raiders were sent home early by the eventual state champion, St. Andrew's School in Boca Raton.

STRONG COMEBACK

This season, Gulliver returns with a strong core of players and is ready to take another shot at a district title.

''We returned everyone from last year,'' Robinson said. ``We have a good group. We have high expectations.''

The Raiders are led by four-year starter and team captain Justin Mills. The midfielder is one of the best all-around players in the county and has started to attract the attention of Notre Dame, Penn State and Sacred Heart.

Justin isn't the only Gulliver player expected to have a big season. Senior offensive specialist Peter Roth scored 53 goals and 14 assists last season.

One team that could be standing in the way of Gulliver is Ransom Everglades.

Ransom, which lost to Gulliver in the district championship, is led by senior Michael Lloret and goalkeeper Max Rappaport.

Michael, who was first team All-Dade last season, lead his team with 40 goals and 13 assists.

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