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Eagles headed for lacrosse playoffs

By Mike Zima Correspondent
Posted 4/6/23

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High lacrosse midfielder Will Krupsky scored seven goals as the host Golden Eagles celebrated Senior Night with a 14-3 victory over Sandalwood in boys lacrosse on …

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Eagles headed for lacrosse playoffs


Posted

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High lacrosse midfielder Will Krupsky scored seven goals as the host Golden Eagles celebrated Senior Night with a 14-3 victory over Sandalwood in boys lacrosse on April 3.

The Golden Eagles end the regular season with a 7-9 ledger and will host their opening playoff game, a Class 2A District 3 quarterfinal, on Saturday, April 8. Their opponent was unknown at press time, as the seedings will be determined by the schools Florida state ranking on MaxPreps.com after all of the district teams have completed their seasons.

Head coach John Hawley had warned his Golden Eagles not to overlook the Saints despite their 5-8 record entering the game. Sandalwood was riding a two-game winning streak and had won five of their last seven.

The Golden Eagles responded with intensity, outshooting the visitors 13-1 in the opening quarter while opening up a 5-0 lead. Krupsky got the party started two minutes into the game, scoring in transition on a bounce shot from the left wing. The 6’2” senior added two more goals in the first quarter, one on a laser to the upper right corner of the goal after a dodge and the other from point blank range off a feed from sophomore attack Daniel Haw ley.

“Will is a physical, bruising dodger, and he is proficient with both his right and left hands,” said John Hawley. “At least half of his goals tonight were shot left-handed.”

In the third quarter, Krupsky faked a shot, ducked inside a defender and tallied a mid-range goal at the 3:39 mark. The Jacksonville University signee ripped two more lasers from distance past Saints goalie Aaron Back before sitting out the fourth.

Hawley, Nate LeStrange and Ty Teschner scored goals in the second quarter as Fleming Island took a 9-2 lead into the intermission.

Junior Brady Goldblatt scored twice in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 14-2, triggering a running clock for the final period.

Seniors Jace Van Wierop and goaltender Paul Walter anchored a Golden Eagles defense that allowed only eight shots on goal. Van Wierop, a long stick midfielder whom Hawley called Fleming Island’s top on-ball defender, held Nikko Paulite, Sandalwood’s leading scorer, scoreless, and scooped three ground balls. He has verbally committed to play for Lynn University next year.

Walter made five saves, two during a minute-long two-men down penalty in the third quarter.

“All year long he has been great in the cage,” Hawley said of Walter, who earned a spot with the Spanish national team in the off-season and will go to Valencia for practices this summer. He is eligible to play for Spain because his mother was born and raised theren, and will play with either Spain’s U-20 team or the men’s national team in European and world tournaments between this summer and 2026.

“Paul is kind of the quarterback on defense, calling out the cutters and the slides,” said Hawley. “It is so important to have his leadership out there.”

A bit of strategy kept Fleming Island in possession of the ball against highly touted Saints faceoff specialist Alan Basic, who will play for Weber University next season. The Golden Eagles essentially conceded the draw, but had their midfielders closely guard the Sandalwood wings and had their defense stick to the Saints attack men. Basic won 13 of 18 faceoffs, but the Saints rarely moved the ball to within range of the goal because he had no outlets.

“We knew coming in that he was good at faceoffs,” explained Hawley. “So we locked down the wings and locked down the attack so he [Basic] had nowhere to go with the ball. And then [Fleming Island faceoff specialist] Cameron [Eldridge] did a good job of pressuring him.”

Overall, the Golden Eagles outshot the Saints 38-13 and enjoyed a 26-15 advantage in ground balls.

Hawley is pleased that the Golden Eagles will have an opportunity to practice for four days in a row prior to the playoffs, a luxury they did not enjoy during the regular season.

“We will watch some film, try to find our opponents top three offensive threats and make a plan to stop them,” said Hawley.

Midfielder Damien Krech had two goals while Back had 14 saves for Sandalwood, which had two more regular season games before playing in the District 2-2A playoffs.