Heatin' up: Benjamin boys, girls lacrosse roll to district championships

VERO BEACH — Retribution was on the minds of Benjamin after a defeat at the hands of St. Edward's in last year's District 8-1A final and the Bucs coming up just short in a regular season matchup this season.

On Thursday, Benjamin put together one of their best performances of the season getting four goals from Brady Quinn and three from Trey Parker to defeat St. Edward’s 16-6 to earn the District 8-1A title.

A critical injury to the Pirates with star senior goalkeeper Liam Murphy late in the regular season was a big loss for St. Edward's in a crucial game and the Bucs took advantage by generating a huge surge to start the game.

Leading 4-1 after the first quarter, Benjamin built their lead up to 9-2 at halftime and never looked back. They will now look ahead to the postseason where it is probable the two teams could see each other again with the stakes even higher.

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Here's a look at the keys to the game and what looms for both state playoff bound teams.

Bucs' Furshman sets tone in the circle

With a game between two excellent offenses, draw controls were a critical area that could give either team life and Benjamin got a stellar performance from freshman Dylan Furshman.

Boasting size and strength over St. Edward's in the circle, Furshman gave his team a huge lift to control the game in the first half and himself winning two draws and rushing upfield to score goals.

"He's done that for us all season, he's been spectacular and it changes the dynamic of the game when you have a guy getting those possessions and he does it consistently," Bucs head coach Peter Cordrey said.

Having the edge in possession with Benjamin winning 17 of the 21 faceoffs for the game allowed multiple Bucs to get involved offensively and on the night, Caden Hayes, Luke Pisani and Jack Regnery each scored two goals to give the team six players with multi-goal nights.

Full steam ahead for Benjamin

With three losses on the season to last year's 1A state champion Saint Andrews, the 1A runner-up St. Ed's and IMG Academy, Benjamin's tough schedule to prepare them for the long road seems to have paid off.

Running off wins in 11 of their last 12 games, the Bucs are a confident team entering the state playoffs seeking their first state championship.

Cordrey is hopeful his kids don't get too ahead of themselves knowing how talented his group is if they stay composed and stick to the task directly ahead of them starting with the regional quarterfinals on Wednesday, Apr. 20.

"It's one game at a time for us, I think there's a big temptation to think ahead and even with St. Ed's who I think we'll play again, we have to win Wednesday first to even look at that," Cordrey said. "We've got to take it one day at a time, one game at a time and I'll talk to them about patience and just getting better in practice."

Void in the back end hurts Pirates

For St. Edward's goalkeeper Kieran Colgan, filling in for Murphy, one of the top goalies in the state, was going to be a challenge and despite performing admirably, Benjamin's offense got into gear and the Pirates could do little about it in the first half.

The only stretch of the game the Pirates looked themselves offensively was the opening 70 seconds of the second half as Eli Barin and Riker Pratt netted back-to-back goals to cut their deficit to 9-4.

Two quick Benjamin goals pushed the lead right back to where it was at halftime and it was too little too late for St. Edward's, who got three goals on the night from Pratt.

Can St. Ed's right the ship in the playoffs?

There was a noticeable difference in the intensity from Benjamin to that of St. Edward's from the start of the game and Murphy's absence did not help the Pirates.

With an offense plenty capable enough of spurring St. Edward's to a postseason run, the Pirates have to regroup and going on the road to extend their season next Wednesday may be what the team needs to respond.

Postseason brackets will be released later in the week and with their stout resume, St. Edward's will surely earn an at-large and see who they'll have to contend with in the regional quarterfinals.

District 8-1A Girls

Benjamin 14, South Fork 6

The Bucs controlled the first half and scored the first five goals of the second half to pull away to a 14-6 victory over South Fork to earn the District 8-1A championship.

Entering the game ranked No. 4 in Region 4-1A, the Bulldogs figure to earn an at-large berth to the state playoffs but will have to wait until later in the week when the postseason brackets are finalized.

Palm Beach County Lacrosse District Championships

BOYS LACROSSE

District 13-2A Championship

Jupiter 15, Wellington 3

District 14-2A Championship

Boca Raton 9, Spanish River 8

District 13-1A Championship

Oxbridge Academy 11, St. John Paul II 4

District 14-1A Championship

St. Andrew's 10, Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest 6

Recent: Star-studded American Heritage girls lacrosse reinforces supremacy with Boca Raton rout

GIRLS LACROSSE

District 13-2A Championship

Palm Beach Central 18, Jupiter 7

Amidst a list of high expectations for the 2022 season, Palm Beach Central girls lacrosse accomplished a very important goal on Thursday night.

The Broncos won their second straight district title, defeating Jupiter by a 18-7 margin.

"What an incredible journey this year has been," head coach Mike Skonieczki said. "You saw at the Benjamin game. That was our tuning moment. Ever since then, we put Sophia Scichilone playing X, and our team dynamic has totally changed. The girls are playing at full cylinders."

Chiara Scichilone led the Broncos with nine goals and 13 draw controls against the visiting Warriors, while Sophia added four goals and nine assists, breaking Central's all-time record for points in the process.

-Contributed by Alex Peterman.

District 14-2A Championship

Boca Raton 13, Parkland-Douglas 10

District 13-1A Championship

Benjamin 14, Stuart-South Fork 6

District 14-1A Championship

American Heritage 19, King's Academy 0

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Benjamin boys, girls lacrosse victorious in district championships