Speedy Saint Andrew's lacrosse stalls Benjamin early in state championship rematch
PALM BEACH GARDENS − Meeting for the first time since last May's state final, Benjamin and Saint Andrew's hit the turf at Theofilos Field for a primetime Saturday matchup to see which top-ranked program would deal the other its second loss of the season.
A speedy first period of offense propelled the back-to-back Class 1A champion Scots to a 15-13 win despite a valiant effort from the Bucs (6-2) to send the game to overtime.
Dating back to 2012, Benjamin has yet to beat the six-time state title winners.
Had the Scots (8-1) not barreled north from Boca Raton fueled by a rare loss, downed 12-10 by St. Edward's (6-3) on Friday, the curse may have been broken.
Enter Air Force attack commit Jack Schulte, who gave a statement performance that simply said, "Not today."
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Schulte saves the day
Supported by a hat trick performance by fellow senior Caleb Fox, Schulte netted five goals to charge a 12-5 lead over Benjamin at halftime.
"I think it's all about maintaining momentum and not being satisfied with the score until the game is over," Schulte said.
With 4:58 to go in the first quarter, a goal from senior Eric Stiefel saw the Scots to a 6-point advantage. Meanwhile on defense, Saint Andrew's refused to let the Bucs get inside early.
State championship scenes resurface
"The great thing about lacrosse is that anything can happen. And despite [St. Andrew's] coming out hot in the first quarter, Benjamin made a solid effort to put themselves back in the game," Schulte said.
In turn, four goals for sophomore Alex Ponchock and three by star senior Brady Quinn came a little too late, even with the Bucs allowing the Scots just three second-half goals.
Before his third goal of the night − the last of the game − sophomore transfer Jayden Vega scored on a power play, seemingly giving Benjamin the surge needed to tie things up. Alas, with less than a minute to the horn, the Bucs were shaken into a late timeout on the next drive after Quinn fell injured, later hobbling off the field with the help of coaches.
It was a similar scene to that of last spring's battle of Palm Beach County, when Caden Hayes scored late back-to-back goals to help the Bucs go from trailing 7-3 to just two goals down in the fourth quarter.
"We knew coming into this game that Benjamin still wanted revenge from last year," Schulte said, reminding that although the Bucs lost a host of senior talent, "they are still a very talented team."
In a similar position to Quinn, helping lead a relatively young core of talent, Schulte thanked the senior captains that "took the time to help" him develop and grow his game since his first start at St. Andrew's as a freshman.
Culture breeds success at Saint Andrew's
"This culture that our team has is what I credit a lot of my success to and is what makes my senior year so different from the past three years on this team," Schulte said. "I feel that it's my responsibility to pass down the great leadership that I had from the previous senior classes to our already very talented underclassmen."
As a junior, Schulte contributed 60 goals and 53 assists.
Coming off of a four-goal appearance against Oxbridge, Schulte's efforts have seen the Scots continue to enjoy the program's well-deserved flowers.
USA Lacrosse Magazine recently ranked St. Andrew’s first in the year's inaugural South Region Boys’ Top 10.
The first National Top 25 rankings are set to drop on March 28.
Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jack Schulte sparks Saint Andrew's lacrosse victory in state title rematch
