SARASOTA — One thing was certain heading into Tuesday night’s high school boys lacrosse Region 3 semifinal matchup between Barron Collier and Sarasota-Cardinal Mooney: a Cougars squad would eventually be playing for a regional championship.

Cardinal Mooney — ranked no. 4 in the state of Florida — would be that Cougars squad that would be the one advancing. Mooney capitalized on some BC mistakes near the end of the first half and rolled on to a 15-5 win on a picturesque night at Austin Smithers Stadium.

Both Cougars squads traded goals in the early moments of the game. With Mooney up 2-1 with a little over a minute left in the first quarter a diving Yates Miller fired a shot by Mooney keeper Nick Petruccelli for what appeared to be the tying goal.