STA On A Mission – STA 17 – CC 4
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
For the first 12 minutes this was a heck of a game. Although St. Thomas Aquinas finished the first quarter up 5-2 it was solely because Columbus Catholic managed to not capitalize on 3 separate clean breakaways on transition rushes. Watching that first 12 minutes was so similar to the regular season game. STA and CC running up and down, with STA capitalizing and CC missing. I have to say that watching CC’s breakout game is so interesting. Most schools, including STA, tend to fast break with a ball carrier breaking down defenders, maybe a quick pass and then the break leads to a scoring chance. Watching CC’s early transition is like watching an NFL West Coast offense, with 5 receivers going out for passes. The transition found space behind STA’s midfield and then it was off to the races. But after misfiring on the shot the first few times STA started to catch on that they had to fall back quicker and the CC offense wasn’t able to duplicate their looks later.
Then the roof fell in on Columbus Catholic’s season.
A snowball rolling down the hill, gathering speed and size as it goes.
After Michael Bulnes pulled CC within 4-2 with a little more than a minute to go in the first Columbus Catholic went more than 25 minutes until they scored again, early in the fourth quarter. In that span they took 16 shots at goal, and only TWO of those 16 hit the net. Combined with the 1st quarter frustrations and you can say that this wasn’t going to be CC’s day.
Not that STA didn’t have something to do with it. Their defense played a very solid game and in the third quarter really stepped up the pressure and CC’s offense just stopped functioning. Either STA’s defense caused a poor decision or CC’s offense just shot themselves in the foot with dropped passes and forced looks.
Meanwhile, pretty much nothing was going wrong for the St. Thomas offense. A major difference between last year’s playoff game and this year’s is that STA was able to get ahead early and keep extending the lead, even though the offensive shooting statistics were similar to last year’s loss. STA shot an incredible 56 times, hitting the net 25 times (not exactly a great percentage), but last year a lot of those shots were in transition and STA lost possession because they weren’t in backup position. This game they gave up very few possessions that way and the shooting didn’t hurt them. That showed clearly in the first quarter as STA only hit the net on 7 of 18 shots, but 5 of those 7 hit the net as STA took advantage of open looks.
The game started at a fast clip but STA was missing the net early, until Revin Koss opened the scoring at 7:59 unassisted. Koss cut in from the left wing towards the middle and turned it up to the cage and placed it in the upper left hand corner with the right hand. Less than a minute later Alex Tuminello took Koss’ feed from up top and fired a bullet from the left wing, hitting the high, short-side for 2-0. Dillon LaGamma stretched the lead out to 3-0 with 3:56 left, as he took Koss’ cross-crease feed at left goal line extended and cut out in front before finishing low. At 2:54 the lead went to 4-0 on Tuminello’s unassisted goal as he dodged from the left wing to the right side and then spun back to the middle, drilling a left-hand, low short side shot. CC responded with 2 goals within 35 seconds as Bulnes scored twice. The first came at 1:51, taking a Nicky Quintairos left GLE pass in the middle of the defense, finishing low, and following that up at 1:16 off an Alec Carreras feed to the right crease, and it looked like CC was settling down. But just 22 seconds later RJ Curtin scored unassisted on a curl from behind the left side of the net to stem any momentum that CC might have gathered.
The second quarter might as well be edited out of the game tapes for both teams. STA – 10 shots at goal, 4 on net, two goals. CC – 10 shots on net, not one on goal. At 6:32 LaGamma scored his second, taking advantage of a quick restart from behind the net and beating his defender up the left side and made his way to the crease before finishing with a bounce shot. Then with just 1:09 left in the half Tuminello scored his third unassisted as he dodged down the right alley and found the upper right hand corner to send the teams to the second half with STA leading 7-2.
Any thoughts that CC had of a second half comeback were dashed early as Alec Cumella took control of the faceoff, carried behind the net, rubbing his defender off a pick and coming out the right side of the crease and beating the goalie for 8-2. The run continued at 9:48 as Curtin scored unassisted on a solo effort off the left wing and LaGamma scored at 8:25 from a Cumella feed and the game was effectively over. At 6:10 Louie Yovino, who played a quiet game, added his own unassisted goal, going hard from the right sideline to the alley before finishing left-handed in the far corner and then Tuminello scored off a turnover, going all the way around the net before beating his defender back out the left side before finishing out front with a low shot at 3:10. Then at 2:39 LaGamma took another Cumella feed all alone on the left crease and it was 13-2 after three. STA got off 22 shots in the third to CC’s 5 and we entered the fourth in extended garbage time.
STA outscored CC 4-2 in the fourth as much of it was played under running time as the teams did not fall into the trap of letting their emotions get the best of them, a credit to how disciplined they both played this year. Credit to both coaching staffs for that. Danny Rancano scored early in the quarter on a nice swim move on the left wing. Curtin responded with a left wing shot and Kevin Crowley got into the act as he dodged down the middle. Lagamma then finished off his game before Jimmy Perry scored after winning a faceoff before Crowley ended the scoring on a right-hand shot while falling down and the game ended at 17-4.
STA is playing as well as anyone in the state right now. The offense is fast, flowing well, cutting off ball and able to finish inside or out. The upcoming game with Barron Collier is as close to a chess match on the field as you will get this season. A lot of times lacrosse games are decided on a match of styles and which team can force the other to play their way. Tuesday’s game against Barron Collier, in a rematch of the regular season played when STA was short-handed, is one of the most intriguing games in the playoffs this state has seen in a long time. We look forward to seeing who comes out of that game with the right to go to Bradenton on the line!
As with all of our recaps, we wish the seniors of Columbus Catholic all the best as they go on to their next stage in life and good luck in everything you do in life. Last year your team made history as the first Miami-based program to get to the regional final with many of you making a big contribution to that effort. Your program is in great hands with Coach DeLang and we look forward to your program continuing to grow.
For Coach Crowley, we wish you good luck on Tuesday. Your team kept it together when short-handed and has turned it around at the right time. Given how many times STA has had a great team only to be stymied by having to get through the Saint Andrew’s dynasty just maybe the lacrosse Gods are ready to give them a helping hand. Barron Collier will have a lot to say about that too.
Too bad the FHSAA can’t learn to stagger the days of the games a little; I would really like to see this one.
Team Statistics
Faceoffs: 12 each, although at least half were awarded via violation
Shots: STA 56 – CC 32
Shots on Goal: STA 25 – CC 14
Turnovers: STA 15 – CC 18
Penalties: STA 3 – CC 1
Individual Statistics:
STA
Dillon LaGamma 5G
Alex Tuminello 4G
RJ Curtin 3G
Revin Koss and Alec Cumella 1G/2A each
Kevin Crowley 2G
Louie Yovino 1G
CC
Michael Bulnes 2G
Danny Rancano and Jimmy Perry 1G each
Nicky Quintairos and Alec Carreras 1A each
Thanks to Coaches Crowley and DeLang for talking to me before and after the game.