Jupiter High School jumped out to an early 3-1 lead and maintained at least a two-goal lead throughout in capturing the FHSAA Class 2A boys lacrosse state championship with a 12-8 win over previously undefeated Winter Park on Saturday night.
A portion of the Warriors team almost did not make the game as four players — including two team captains — were trapped in a hotel elevator about three hours before the game. They were rescued about 25 minutes later by a hotel maintenance man.
“It was funny because I didn’t even hear about it until 15 minutes before the game,” Jupiter coach Nick O’Hara said. “I guess a couple of our seniors were coming back from the hotel and got stuck.”
After solving the elevator issue, Jupiter (18-1) had mostly ups and few downs in the game.
The Warriors got back-to-back goals from Max Silver and Max Sanderson in the opening three minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Winter Park did not answer until the 7:16 mark of the first period on a Davis Campbell goal. But in what would become a theme for the night, Tyler Douglass would counter less than 40 seconds later, driving to the front of the net and putting a hard shot over Wildcats goalie Paul Pilgrim’s right shoulder.
“Not much to say; we just could not get any momentum going against them,” Winter Park coach Ryan Healey said. “It seems like every time we would score a goal, they would answer immediately. Hats off to them, though, they are an incredibly talented, deep and well-coached team.”
Winter Park made the deepest FHSAA playoff run in program history and finished 19-1.
Jupiter junior Trace Hogan added a pair of goals to make it 6-2 before Winter Park teammates Bronson Dowdell and Ryan Roberts scored back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to 6-4 with 1:33 remaining in the half. But Sanderson would tally another goal right before the break to make it 7-4 at intermission.
The Warriors stepped up the pressure on Winter Park in the third period. With the score at 7-5, Douglass spun past a defender and buried a shot to up the Jupiter lead to 8-5. Immediately after a Winter Park goal, the Warriors went back on the attack. While Pilgrim made two back-to-back outstanding saves, Michael Smith picked up a rebound off the second try and slammed it home for a 9-6 lead at the 3:44 mark of the third period.
Winter Park would not get any closer. A Jackson Bashaw goal pushed the lead to four and after Campbell scored to cut that margin to three, Jupiter answered 34 seconds later with Sanderson’s third goal of the night.
“We knew Winter Park was a team capable of scoring in bunches,” Jupiter coach Nick O’Hara said. “Because of that we knew we had to control the draws, be patient and limit their possessions. We were able to execute that game plan.”
Healey agreed.
“The guy taking their draws [Smith] was sensational and they did a great job of controlling possession,” Healey said.
“This was without question the best group of seniors we have had since I’ve been here,” Healey added. “But we also have a lot of talented juniors and seniors coming back, including our Pilly [Pilgrim] who is only a sophomore and had a sensational season for us.”
Winter Park (18-0) vs. Lake Mary (18-1) Class 2A boys lacrosse state semifinal game at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee, on Friday, May 7, 2021.
At the end of the third period, Winter Park was ahead, 9-8.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
This story was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings contributed to this report. He can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
