Author’s Note:  Given the pace of receiving our preseason Questionnaires it’s not likely we can go in order of the Districts so I am going to go ‘off the board’ a little and publish them as they come in.  District 9 is the first to fully send their questionnaires back so I will start with them.  As we go through that should give all the teams time to return theirs.  As I’ve mentioned before, check with the District list (I’ll update it Sunday morning so you’ll be able to see if you need to prod your team’s coaching staff!).  I am targeting Sunday night for the release of the Top 20 Preseason Poll, which this year will have a name sponsor . . . the Florida Lacrosse Showdown!

  District 9 Hagerty was truly one of the surprise teams of 2017, running the table after a loss to Lake Mary in their first game, until finally succumbing to Lake Highland in the FHSAA first round on the road in a game they were leading late into the fourth quarter.  Losing Carter Parlette to transfer will certainly hurt but the team showed a remarkable consistency in scoring and defense throughout the season and that signals it wasn’t a one-man team.  One thing that could help the program is to bump the schedule up some as it was a little light of top teams last year. Winter Park comfortably finished second in the district but their only good loss was to Bishop Moore and there wasn’t a quality win to hang their hat on.  Defense against the better programs needs to improve but the offense was pretty solid all season. Lake Howell only won one game against a team with a winning record and Trinity Prep needs improvement all across the board. The gap between Hagerty and Winter Park should narrow but Hagerty still looks like the team to beat.     District Playoff: Hagerty 17 – Lake Howell 0  and Winter Park 14 – Oviedo 11 Hagerty 13 – Winter Park 7   Team Name: Hagerty Huskies Head Coach’s Name: Kyle Hofstaedter Who are your leading returning players?   As a whole, we only lost 2 starters from last years team (One on offense and one on defense). Senior, Connor Purcell (pictured above) is our top defender who is committed to Mercer University (D1). He was All-Conference (Seminole Athletic Conference) first team as a junior with 3 goals, 71 GBs last season. Also on defense, we return our starting senior goalie, Isaac Gallant. He was second-team all-conference with a 6.72 GAA and a 17-2 overall record. Lastly on defense, we return our junior LSM, Kyle Croteau. Kyle led the team in GBs with 95 and had 1 goal. On offense, we return senior, Jarrett Prachel, who is committed to Belmont Abbey (D2). He was third on our team in scoring with 32 goals, 14 assists and 31 GBs. Senior midfielder, Dominic Madlang, who was second team all-conference returns. He is committed to the University of Mount Olive (D2) had 23 goals, 13 assists and 23 ground balls. We also return junior, Landon Spangenberg on attack. He was second team all-conference with 33 goals, 12 assists and 32 GBs. Are there any underclassmen that you expect to step up and contribute right away? We have a really talented sophomore attackman named Christian Hofer. He was Honorable Mention All-Conference last year. He has really stepped up his game for us. He led the team last year in shots with 102 and was second in scoring with 36 goals, 10 assists and 28 GBs. We also have two freshmen who I believe will contribute offensively. Kevin Croteau on attack and Ben Ditmyer at the midfield.  

  What are your realistic goals for the season? We have really high expectations this year. Not only do we return all, but two starters from last year squad, we add 2 dynamic freshmen as well as Cole Bitner to the midfield. I think we have the most talented group we have ever had here at Hagerty. We obviously want to win District 9 for the 3^rd straight year, but we want to get deep into State Playoffs. We think we can be the team that comes out of the Central Florida region and really compete in the Final Four. What game or two do you point to as something special, like a long-lasting rivalry? Well, we open our schedule against Ponte Vedra. They are such a great team and I hope we can turn that into a competitive rivalry going forward. The other game would be Winter Park since a lot of our players play together in club ball and recently we have been competing for the District Championship. What 3 players in your District that don’t play for your school are the ‘players to watch’? Parker Junod from Winter Park who is committed to Mercer University (D1), Lukas Kott from Winter Park who is committed to Salisbury University (D3) and Jack Streeter from Oviedo   Team Name: Winter Park Wildcats Head Coach’s Name: Ryan Healey  Who are your leading returning players?  Parker Junod -2019 – Mercer Commit (All County) 40g, 44 a, Captain Will DelValle -2018- FSU (All County) 44g, 21 a Added: Lukas Kott from LHP – 2018 – Salisbury Commit  

  Are there any underclassmen that you expect to step up and contribute right away? John Workman 2020, 16 g, 2 a – Captain as a freshman What are your realistic goals for the season? District and Metro Conference Champions  

  What game or two do you point to as something special, like a long-lasting rivalry? Hagerty and Boone, as well as Rival Lake Brantley (original 4) and Bishop Moore What 3 players in your District that don’t play for your school are the ‘players to watch’? Connor Purcell, Landon Spanenburg and Dominic Madlang (Hagerty)   Team Name: Oviedo Lions Head Coach’s Name: William Kellis Who are your leading returning players?   This year, Oviedo has thirteen returning seniors. The Captains of the group, Jack Streeter, Delaney Way and Jareb Kotar, are all very talented lacrosse players. Jack Streeter, a senior attackman, finished on last years second team all conference team with 43 goals and 18 assists. Delaney Way, a senior midfielder, also finished with second-team all conference credentials after finishing the 2017 season with 17 goals and 13 assists. Jared Kotar, a junior defenseman, leads our defense, despite being younger than our other starters. He has great field presence Are there any underclassmen that you expect to step up and contribute right away? Oviedo has multiple underclassman that will contribute this year. Cole Gehring, Freshman FOGO, is incredibly good at winning faceoffs and will generate a lot of offense for us this year. Another Freshman Defenseman, Julian Vandeventer, has really showed a lot of potential to run LSM as well as close defense. Additionally, Sophomores Tanner Sims (A), Tristin Wilson (LSM), and Nolan Emel(D), add some incredible depth to our senior-heavy roster.  

  What are your realistic goals for the season? We plan on competing for a District Championship. My staff and I are changing the culture of Oviedo lacrosse. The blueprint revolves around the motto “Be the Best”. It’s not about being better than other teams but rather being OUR best. Each day we focus on self-improvement: getting better at one thing individually so we can contribute to a team much larger than ourselves. Coming off a 5-8 season last year, I think we’re really going to surprise some people this season. We play in a tough district and understand that there are some really good teams we have to beat, but we plan on earning some respect this year as a team that’s going to out-hustle, out-scrap, and play with more discipline than some teams that have more individual talent. What game or two do you point to as something special, like a long-lasting rivalry? We don’t want to over-hype any game this year, because we don’t want to distract our players from the blueprint of self-improvement we are installing. Certainly our players have a few dates circled on the calendar, but at the end of the season the only games that are going to matter is the District Semi- and Championship games.   Team Name: Lake Howell High School Head Coach’s Name: Mark Ayad Who are your leading returning players? Midfielder Derek Isaac (11): Has been a three year varsity player, looking to build off strong Sophomore campaign. Attackman Cameron McGee (12): Leading Score in 2017, made switch from midfield last year and has gotten even stronger at X. Attackman Aaron Gerber (11): Lefty Attack is another 3 year varsity player primed to make the jump to lead the team after a strong finish to 2017.  

  Are there any underclassmen that you expect to step up and contribute right away? Ethan Gerber (9): The freshman Attackman Joins both aforementioned attack, one being his older brother to solidify the a very strong attack unit in 2018. What are your realistic goals for the season? Year three of taking over my alma mater to rebuild the program. Should be the year we make a big jump. A solid schedule with almost the entire offense from 2017 returning can help us be a at least a ten win team. The question mark will be how we fare defensively early on. We graduated the entire defense in 2017, however players like Dylan Hood, Graham Spaulding, and Aiden Callahan have drastically improved the athleticism of our defense. If we can play strong offensively while the defense continues to improve, we can make a statement in a very tough district.  

  What game or two do you point to as something special, like a long-lasting rivalry? Our rivalry game against Winter Springs is always entertaining and this year is scheduled during the first week of the season (2/23). People always make a big deal about our Hagerty game because I started the program there, but that game (3/14) and Winter Park (4/6) will be huge test for us to see if we are ready to make that big jump and compete in our district. Both games are at home this year, and we have not played well against either team the previous two seasons, and for us to get out of the District we have to come to play. What 3 players in your District that don’t play for your school are the ‘players to watch’? Lukas Kott: Winter Park, Christian Hofer: Hagerty and Landon Spangenberg: Hagerty   Team Name: Trinity Prep Head Coach’s Name: Marty Schriefer Who are your leading returning players (please include a relevant statistic for them if possible)?  Are any of them returning All Americans or All District/County or however your area judges them? Chris Goggin – M – senior returning from a junior season lost to injury Will Magargee & Henry Jacobs – D – Upperclassmen who will anchor the defense These are the players that we’ll count on to set the tone on both sides of the ball. Are there any underclassmen that you expect to step up and contribute right away? Kendrick Laguardia – LSM/D – sophomore Jake Gobel – M/FO – freshman Both players have been on the varsity team since 8^th grade, will be taking increased roles on the field as we rely on them on defense and face-offs. What are your realistic goals for the season? Become more competitive in the district, come out with a winning record, and continue towards building a strong program. What game or two do you point to as something special, like a long-lasting rivalry? Winter Park and Lake Howell. Besides being district opponents, many Trinity and WP players know each other and have played with each other before, which adds to their competitiveness on the field. Lake Howell is only 5 minutes away from Trinity and close contests in the past have helped to fuel an already competitive district game. What 3 players in your District that don’t play for your school are the ‘players to watch’? Connor Purcell – D – Hagerty (Mercer commit), Lukas Kott – M – Winter Park (Salisbury commit & LHP transfer) and Parker Junod – M – Winter Park (Mercer commit)