FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island lacrosse midfielder Will Krupsky scored six goals and had four assists as the Golden Eagles won a District 3-2A quarterfinal, 15-7 over Gainesville Buchholz on April 10.

Krupsky, who is headed to Jacksonville University on a lacrosse scholarship next fall, was the best payer on the field. When guarded by a single defender, the 6’2” senior either dodged him or shot over him, shooting right- or left-handed. When double-teamed, he found open teammates for easy putaways.

“He dominated,” Fleming Island head coach John Hawley said of Krupsky. “Ninety-nine percent of the time he is going to beat his man and draw a slide. So that opens up off-ball opportunities.”

After the Bobcats’ Reid Wagner scored the game’s first goal, Krupsky seized control for Fleming Island. He scored the next three goals, faking out his assigned defender outside of the box and setting his sights on the upper corners of the goal.

With their season on the line, Buchholz did not go away easily, staying within two goals until midway through the second quarter. The momentum shifted for good thanks to some sticky defense and good goaltending by Fleming Island’s Paul Walter. With Buchholz in possession and trailing 7-3, the Golden Eagles were called for a two minute penalty for cross checking. Before there was a stoppage of play, the Bobcats fired two shots at Walter, who blocked the first and then caught the second. Once the man-up opportunity began, Walter made two more saves before Jace Van Lierop knocked the ball out of the stick of Bobcats attack Blake Tomlinson, scooped it up and raced all the way into the Buchholz box with it. The Fleming Island offense was able to kill the remaining penalty time, preserving the four-goal lead.

“Paul sees the ball beautifully from the cage,” said Hawley. “A big save like that, and stopping them on a penalty, that is a morale killer for the other team.”

Fleming Island led 8-3 at the intermission, thanks to a bounce shot by Ty Teschner that splashed into the back of the net off of a feed from Krupsky with 1:15 remaining in the half.

The Golden Eagles improved to 8-9 and traveled to St. Augustine for a Class 2A District 3 semifinal against the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, April 11. Fleming Island lost 10-9 in overtime to St. Augustine on March 8, so the rematch should have been closely contested.