State lacrosse: Heritage-Delray girls riding solo to final with win over Naples
NAPLES — American Heritage-Delray lacrosse is still No. 1 in Florida and the nation with a 20-8 semifinal defeat of the home team, Naples High, as Palm Beach County’s last ladies standing in the state tournament.
The Stallions are set to compete in the Class 1A state tournament versus Lake Highland Prep on Saturday at noon, the matchup a repeat of Heritage’s two existing championship wins.
2018 featured Heritage’s first title, a 10-7 victory, while last year’s was a bit closer, defeating Lake Highland by just two goals.
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The double-digit final was the Stallions’ fourth straight, but again, Heritage found itself in another matchup where the scoreboard doesn’t tell the entire story.
Naples hangs on at half
With so much success on such a massive scale, complacency has been Heritage’s biggest weakness of late, and after Pine Crest, head coach John McClain thought the Stallions had found the fire that would spark their speedy offense into high-scoring affairs at the state tourney.
Heritage did find its groove for a characteristic final score. However, the girls’ journey faced some unforeseen detours beyond the sweltering heat on their regular route to the win — specifically a five-point lead at the half, which is meager compared with the great margins the Stallions have forced in the past.
”The first half, we didn't bring the energy,” McClain said.
“We were a little chaotic on the offensive side of the ball. We did some stupid checking, and then all of a sudden, midway through — maybe 20 minutes left in the game — we got three yellow cards.”
McClain found his squad malfunctioning at the idea of being a man down for the remainder of the game should Heritage be dealt a fourth yellow card.
In the second half, the Stallions burned the clock for about eight minutes to prevent yet another unfamiliar scenario on top of an unexpected challenge for draw dominator Alex Dorr from Naples’ Lane Calkins.
The Golden Eagles’ team effort was commanded by the Princeton commit, whose hat trick helped her, unofficially, become the first female in Collier County history to score more than 100 goals in a season.
“We never faced this team before. We didn't know how good Lane was on the draw,” McClain said.
Goldstein grinds in postseason
Heritage’s scoring efforts were headlined by five goals from Ohio State commit Casey Roberts and hat trick games from future Northwestern attack Carli Fleisher and sophomore Brooke Goldstein.
”I’m so excited. I can’t wait for states tomorrow,” Goldstein said, happy to have the opportunity to take the field having battled a stress fracture in her lower back early in the season.
“It was very stressful for me. I did a lot of P.T. and a lot of recovery — and now I’m back.”
The attack has charged the young core of Stallions since her return for the postseason, tallying six goals, three ground balls and an assist against South Fork and Pine Crest.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: State lacrosse: Heritage-Delray girls riding solo to final with win over Naples
