via FLN Correspondent Tom Congdon

It’s playoff time and the game between the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets (18-6) and the Lake Mary Rams (15-3), ranked 11^th in the state, turned out to be a night to remember in Yellow Jacket school history.

At 10:05 in the first quarter, St. Augustine (18-6) was the first to strike.  Senior Jevan Wasson teamed up with freshman Sammy Edwards (#20), who scores his first of two goals in the game. Edwards, who generally wears No. 19, was awarded the #20 jersey to honor fellow teammate, Caleb Farrell, who tragically succumbed to brain cancer. Farrell would have been an senior defensemen for the Yellow Jackets this season.

At 6:04, St. Augustine went ahead 2-0 off a fast break goal.  Wingate University commit, Stefan Caray (#7), scored his first of the game.  Evan Price (#99) assisting.  The fast break situation was created by a great defensive play by senior midfielder Nik Lawlor (#3).

Lake Mary commits a penalty at 5:50 but St. Augustine cannot capitalize.  At 3:10, Lake Mary finds itself in an extra man situation, but the Yellow Jackets defend. The MVP of the game, senior Goalie Mitch Caban (#8), makes one of his first big save of the night.

At 2:44, Jacob Jones (#2) takes a pass from the right of the top of the box and swings down the middle for an unassisted score. St. Augustine ahead 3-0.  Lake Mary commits a late penalty in the 1^st quarter and St. Augustine is in an extra man situation with 11 seconds left in the quarter. They hold onto the ball to keep possession starting the second.

First quarter ends with St. Augustine up 3-0.  At this point Lake Mary has but one quality shot on goal. St. Augustine’s defense is playing well and Jacob Jones (#2) is helping the team maintain possession of the ball by winning face-offs.

The second quarter starts with St. Augustine in an extra man situation, but Jones (#2) loses the ball on stick check dodging toward Lake Mary’s goal.  At 9:22, Lake Mary gets on the board with a goal by Braeden Mckercher (#8).  A minute later, senior Jacob Donovan (#9) picks up a rebound and scores for the Rams.  St. Augustine’s leads by one (3-2).  At the five-minute mark, Lake Mary blasts a shot, but it hits the post. St. Augustine recovers and marches down the field.  This time senior attackman Evan Price (#99) fires and hits the post.  Not to be deterred, at 2:42, Price (#99) dodges the alley, passes to Lawlor (#3), who finds Jones (#2) on the left crease for a goal.  St. Augustine jumps back to a two-goal lead.  At 1:35, Jacob Panaccione (#9) shakes off a defender at the top of the box and fires a right-handed side arm shot for a score.  Lake Mary still behind 4-3.  At the end of the quarter, Lake Mary commits another penalty and St. Augustine goes up an extra man with 24 seconds left in the half.  The half ends and St. Augustine walks into the locker room with a 4-3.

For the first two quarters of the game, St. Augustine outperformed Lake Mary on face-offs, winning 6 out of 8.  Lake Mary committed three penalties to St. Augustine’s one.  St. Augustine did a fine job defensively and possessed the ball well on offense throughout the half.  On the other side, Lake Mary’s offense seemed a bit guarded and did not have many quality shots on goal.

At 10:30 in the third quarter, St. Augustine’s Goalie Mitch Caban (#8) makes a nice save on a shot by Carson Miller (#3).  At 6:59, Lake Mary ties the game at four with a goal by Vaughn Mauer (#14).  At 4:24, Nick Lawlor (#3) wins a ground ball and passes to Seth Ulrickson (#18) sitting on the right crease.  Ulrickson fakes, shoots, and scores. St. Augustine pulls ahead 5-4.

At 2:44, Sammy Edwards (#20) dodges the right alley and finds Evan Price (#99) on the left crease for a score.  St. Augustine leads by two (6-4).  At 1:34, in a man down situation, St. Augustine survives two shots on goal; however, the third finds its way past Caban (he’s human after all).  With 43 seconds left in the quarter, Seth Ulrickson (#18) dodges through the middle of the Ram’s defense, fires, and scores.  St. Augustine back up by two (7-5).  St. Augustine wins another face-off and marches down the field.  Nik Lawlor (#3) dodges down the right alley and side-arms a shot for a score.  St. Augustine takes a three-goal lead into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, Caban (#8) makes another great save, this time stopping a shot by Mckercher.  St. Augustine goes up an extra man and Sammy Edwards (#20) scores again, stretching the Yellow Jackets lead to four.  St. Augustine takes advantage of another Lake Mary penalty. Working behind the goal, Lawlor (#3) passes to Price (#99) on the right crease for a goal.  St. Augustine increases their lead by five (10-5).  At 5:37, Lake Mary goes up an extra man.  St. Augustine’s defense holds but cannot successfully clear the ball.  Lake Mary threatens, but Caban (#8) makes a save on a blast by Mauer (#14) from atop of the box.

About the four-minute mark, Lake Mary has no time to waste, they start to pressure St. Augustine, mostly by double-teaming the ball.  At 3:16, the pressure pays off.  Kolten Mortimer (#6) for Lake Mary scores (assist by Mckercher).  At 2:14, Mortimer scores again, bringing the Rams within three goals (10-7).  At 1:44, Mckercher adds another (10-8).  Coach Ott’s hair is greying by the second. On the ensuing faceoff, there’s a mad scramble for the ball.  A determined Jacob Jones (#2) fights for a ground ball near the far sideline. Trying to keep from going out of bounds, Jones dances along the sidelines, but is eventually ruled out of bounds by the official. Despite being called out, this play alone runs significant time off the clock and essentially quashes any hopes for Lake Mary to draw any closer.  St. Augustine holds onto beat Lake Mary.

Speaking with Coach David Ott after the game, he said his team entered unchartered territory tonight as this turned out to be St. Augustine’s first-ever playoff win.  A big smile broke out on his face when he announced to the team that practice would be held on Monday. Knowing that the season would continue, the team broke out in cheers.

Their season MVP, Goalie Mitch Caban, was presented the game ball, the first time Coach Ott ever remembers having done that.  The coach did not have enough words to express how well the defense played, including the stellar play by senior defenseman Jordan King (#13), who is committed to play for Wingate University next season.

St. Augustine earned this win tonight.  They hustled after ground balls and both Jacob Jones (#2) and Clay Shaw (#0) demonstrated the importance of winning face-offs. By my account, St. Augustine won 15 out of 19 face-offs.