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ATS – Wells’ Sun-Sentinel Coverage of the Great STA – American Heritage Girls Quarterfinal!

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
photo by Michael Laughlin of the Sun Sentinel   Remember fans . . . send them in . . . Boys and Girls . . . any level   St. Thomas stuns Heritage-Delray in OT to reach final four   Excerpt: With her team tied in overtime with powerhouse American Heritage-Delray, St. Thomas Aquinas coach Samantha MacCurdy gave her trainer a high-five. Facing a Stallions team that defeated them by 13 goals earlier in the season, the Raiders had a shot at vengeance. With 2:26 left, the referees whistled Heritage for a penalty in front of the net, awarding Jada Preston with an eight-meter shot for the win. “There was no hesitation in my mind she was going to score,” MacCurdy said. The junior attacker delivered, scoring the winning goal to stun previously unbeaten American Heritage-Delray 10-9 and send the Raiders to the state semifinals for the first time in school history. The finish set off a frenzy of celebration as players threw their sticks in the air and the home crowd at Brian Piccolo Stadium erupted. “My adrenaline was going and I was waiting for them to blow the whistle,” Preston said, recalling the shot. “I thought it was going [in] and I was freaking out.” The Raiders will open state semifinal play at Jupiter High School next Friday against Barron Collier. The Naples-area team upset Vero Beach 9-7 on Friday. St. Thomas overcame a three-goal second-half deficit to triumph over the Stallions (19-1) and avenge their 19-6 loss from Feb. 14. “That 13-point loss was the best thing that could have happened to our season,” said MacCurdy. “From there, they came to the field and said, ‘No. Not again.’ We fixed every problem we had, obviously, and we did it just in time.”   Read the rest HERE