Sharks prove to be kings of Leon in boys lacrosse

All season long, the Ponte Vedra boys lacrosse team has satisfied one round of expectations after the other.

Now, thanks to a tougher than planned 13-9 win over Tallahassee Leon in a second-round play-in playoff game, the Sharks have a chance to do the unthinkable.

Ponte Vedra (19-1) joined Nease as the only county teams to reach the final four on Friday. The Panthers made it twice, in 2008 and 2009, losing both times. If Ponte Vedra plans to secure a spot in history all to itself, it will have to shatter the goals of a team that's so good it doesn't even need to set them.

"We're the underdogs, no question about it," Ponte Vedra coach Tom West. "We have nothing to lose."

The Sharks will face St. Andrews on Friday in the state semifinals. To understand how dominant St. Andrews really is, you need to go all the way back to 1985. That was the first time they won a state title.

Since then, they've won 18. If you're counting, that's every season but eight, including a five-year drought that started in 1990.

The FHSAA officially sanctioned lacrosse in the 2007-08 season and St. Andrews has won all three times.

Naturally, West knows what's at stake.

"We just have to work really hard," he said. "What can you really say? We know how good they are. We can't allow ourselves to play St. Andrews lacrosse. We have to play Ponte Vedra lacrosse, which means grinding it out and winning low-scoring games."

The Sharks had to do just that against Leon (10-8), which may not have been as expected.

It seems almost cliché to call a close game back-and-forth, but there was no other way to describe this one.

The two teams exchanged goals until Anthony Pradella gave Ponte Vedra a 6-4 lead in the second quarter. The Sharks appeared to be pulling away, scoring four of the next five, but Leon wouldn't pack it in.

Trailing 12-6 heading into the fourth quarter, Leon scored three unanswered against a shaky Ponte Vedra defense on a night laden with penalties and three technical fouls.

"We played bad and they played great," West said. "That's just how it goes sometimes. We needed the challenge heading into next week. We're going to use this to work harder."

Ponte Vedra struggled defensively from the start, which was surprising. The Sharks have lived on that side of the field all season, allowing five or fewer goals 16 times.

Leon's Nathan Granger had six himself, many of which were untouched runs at the goal. Steady goalkeeper Conor Peaks really didn't have a chance on a lot of the shots. He finished with six saves.

"That was probably our worst game of the season on defense," West said. "That's not who we are."

Luckily, Ponte Vedra's overwhelming talent carried it when it needed to.

All-Americans Mike Power and Brendan Francis didn't have their best nights offensively, combining for just four goals. Anthony Pradella picked up the slack, scoring four. George de Roziere and David Dunlap each added two and Matthew Jones tallied one.

"We have a lot of depth," Pradella said. "As a team, we know how to pick each other up."