Gulliver’s Cartelle and Palmetto’s Martino-DiFede are Dade Lacrosse Coaches of the Year
Erik Cartelle oversaw a return to the postseason by one of Miami-Dade County’s top boys’ lacrosse programs.
And at Palmetto, Jenna Martino-DiFede continues to maintain a standard of success for her girls’ team, which remains among the county’s best as well.
Both coaches led their respective teams to the regional playoffs this season as well as a couple of the best records in Dade.
As a result, Cartelle and Martino-DiFede are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Lacrosse Coaches of the Year.
A year after going 10-10 and not making it past the district round, Cartelle led the Raiders to a 18-3 record and they advanced to the Class 1A regional semifinals before losing to Boca Raton St. John Paul II.
Led by junior attacks Sebastian Schnur, the Herald’s Boys Player of the Year, and Hoban Noyes, the Raiders figure to build off this season’s success as they hope to challenge some of the top competition in the state going forward.
Something similar can be said for the Palmetto girls, a relatively young program which continues to hold its own among the area’s best.
Martino-DiFede guided the Panthers to a 12-3 season during which it beat several of the top contenders in South Florida and advanced to the Class 2A regional quarterfinals before losing, 9-6, to Jupiter High.
Reloading for next season will be a bit of a challenge for Palmetto as it loses a talented trio in senior attack Emma Behar as well as senior defenders Amy-Grace Shapiro and Angelina Cutino.
Sophomore Alexis Moore will look to lead the Panthers’ returning core on a deeper postseason run.
