Aquinas boys’ lacrosse ‘ran into a buzz saw’ in state title loss to Ponte Vedra

The St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ lacrosse team spent too much time fighting an uphill battle.

It would eventually cost them a shot at earning a third state title in school history.

Ponte Vedra, taking advantage of early first- and second-half scoring blitzes, defeated Aquinas 19-7 for the state lacrosse title at Boca Raton High on Saturday.

It was the most goals the Raiders had allowed in their five state tournament appearances.

“Fatigue was a factor, but I have to tip my cap to them because they were hungry for a state championship,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Terry Crowley. “We ran into a buzz saw. They played a great game, beat us on the ground and that is usually the tale of the tape.”

Dylan Hess led the Sharks with five goals and two assists to avenge their 13-11 loss to Aquinas in the 2016 championship final, which was the first of two titles for the Raiders.

The Sharks (24-1) opened the second half with four goals in the first 4:10 to close the door on any Aquinas comeback hopes. They scored eight unanswered goals in the third quarter.

In all, Ponte Verda were dominant with seven goals on eight shots before producing its first turnover in the second half.

Just as they did in Friday’s 12-11 overtime semifinal victory over Bishop Moore, Aquinas trailed 6-2 after the opening quarter.

This time, the Raiders couldn’t muster enough grit for another comeback.

An indication of how fast the Sharks jumped on the Aquinas defense was a goal from Tommy Zitello only 11 seconds into the match. Within the first 2:40, Ponte Vedra owned a 4-0 advantage.

St. Thomas kept fighting and was able to cut into the deficit at 7-5 after a Brock Gonzalez goal with 5:39 left in the second quarter.

Gonzalez ended the night scoring five of the Raiders seven goals.

“I think they figured out what were doing,” Crowley said regarding the Sharks’ eight goals to start the second half. “Honestly their offense was clicking on all cylinders and we just didn’t have an answer tonight.”

The Sharks added a Freddie Amato goal to take a 8-5 lead at the halftime break before the rook fell in to start the second half.

This story was originally published May 12, 2019 at 12:09 AM.