Lacrosse fever has spread to another school. I’d estimate at least 300 in the stands last night in Plantation as the other American Heritage takes its’ place on stage. And when the 3rd period ended with St. Thomas Aquinas leading 6-3 due to the energetic efforts of two very solid defenses and a stand on his head performance by AH-P’s Joseph Weisberg (18 saves by my count) there was a stir in the stands that something special might be afoot.    You wouldn’t know it based on the raw statistics . . . through three periods STA had taken 30 shots to AH-P’s 16 and shots on goal were STA 19-4 as AH-P’s shooting was stifled at the point of attack.  Throw in 14 AH-P turnovers, many on an ineffective clearing game and you had to wonder how this was a 6-3 game. In many instances a game like this can turn on a dime as the underdog, having held on in the face of such play, catches fire late and pulls out the stunning victory.  If AH-P had scored the first goal in the fourth to pull within two who knows what would happened, but instead STA showed their pedigree in the fourth and outscored AH-P 6-2 to win going away.  Louie Yovino was able to get some space and his hands free and that’s a lethal combination, as his early fourth quarter laser set the tone for the pull away.  Sam Khalil worked off ball twice in that run and the STA long poles were able to stay patient and make AH-P work hard to get their looks, as their star players Jarett Alfero, Matt Kirchmier and Jacob Couvertier had to break through punishing double teams to get their goals.  Kudos to STA’s long poles Brody Speno, Alex Martinez, Matt McCawley and St. John Proulx as they kept Michael Adler’s shot totals down.  AH-P was only able to get 8 shots on goal all game on 21 attempts and that makes a goalie struggle to find a rhythm. But kudos to AH-P’s defenders too as I was very impressed by the Eugene brothers, Walter and Stanley, Blake Wooden and Dawson Fisher, among others as they showed a very solid man-to-man approach with quick slides that they played very well.  This is a team and a program on the rise and when the district playoff rolls around for this rematch it will certainly be one to look forward to.   The game started perfectly for AH-P as in the first minute they were able to take advantage of a bad clear by STA and Couvertier took a lengthy feed, finding himself all alone with only Adler near him and after dodging Adler’s lunge, finished into the open net just 40 seconds into the game.  Kevin Crowley got that back at 5:35 unassisted on a right alley dodge, finishing between the legs to make it 1-1 after the first. The game went back and forth defensively and with about 4 minutes left in the half AH-P missed a golden chance to take the lead from in front and after the resulting change of possession (not backed up on the shot, something they were guilt of a number of times in the first half) Yovino was able to drift in from the top right wing and his left hand found the middle right side of the cage for 2-1 at 3:02.  Just 25 seconds later it was 3-1 as Joey Guglielmo started down the left wing and fired a perfectly placed shot from 15 yards into the top far corner to end the half. The defenses again held sway for much of the third until Ethan Martin put STA up three at 5:41 as he worked the lower left wing before getting off a right-hand shot to the top far corner.  Alfero got that one back at 4:13 as he pulled away on a fast break off a defensive zone turnover and he went right down the middle before finishing between Adler’s legs.  But the killer response just nine seconds later restored the lead at three.  The faceoff was popped forward and Martin was able to find jimmy Harrington on the left crease from the left wing and Harrington was able to freeze Weisberg before potting the easy tally.  Yovino then stretched it to 6-2 at 2:04 as he cut across the middle to the left side and created enough space to hit the short side from distance.  Alfero made it 3 with only 3 seconds left on the clock as he bulled his way through 3 defenders before spinning inside and going to the low left corner and we went to the fourth at 6-3. The teams traded goals in the first minute of the fourth as Yovino and Matt Kirchmier traded individual efforts.  Yovino with another right wing rocket from distance and Kirchmeier working down low and getting off the low shot.  Then another killer for AH-P as Khalil took Guglielmo’s right alley feed all alone in the middle after drawing the double at 10:26 for 8-4.  Less than a minute later Khalil cut in from the right side and Martin’s left GLE feed found him in stride for the 5-goal lead.  AH-P made one final stand 8 seconds later when STA’s faceoff win went all the way back to their box, where Couverteir won the ground ball and found Kirchmeier all alone on the left to make it 9-5 but STA dashed all hopes as they scored three more to make it 12-5 at the end.  Nick Borodiak got on the board off Khalil’s feed, Crowley found Guglielmo up top and Yovino added his fourth off Guglielmo’s feed. A very entertaining night in beautiful weather in front off a large crowd.  Thy name is High School Lacrosse. And in April we likely get to see it all over again . . . it won’t be a waste of time. Both teams are back in action on Friday with AH-P hosting Cardinal Gibbons while STA travels Alligator alley for a rematch with Barron Collier from last year’s Final 8 game.   Team Statistics Faceoffs:  STA 14-7 Shots:  STA 44-21 Shots on Goal:  STA 30-8 Turnovers: AH-P 19-9 Penalties: STA 6-3   Individual Statistics   STA Louie Yovino  4G Joey Guglielmo  2G/2A Sam Khalil  2G/1A Ethan Martin  1G/2A Kevin Crowley  1G/1A Jimmy Harrington and Nick Borodiak  1G each Michael Adler made 3 saves   AH-P Jarett Alfero and Matt Kirchmier  2G each Jacob Couvertier  1G/1A Joseph Weisberg made 18 saves   Thanks to Coach Crowley and Coach Moore for talking to be before and after the game.