FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island’s Jillian LaBelle scored 11 goals to lead the host Golden Eagles to the first district playoff win in program history on April 10, an 18-5 beatdown of Beachside in a District 3-1A quarterfinal.

“I am so proud of the girls,” gushed Fleming Island head coach Brian Seech after the game. “I do not think they could have anticipated this at the beginning of the season.”

Expectations were low because at the beginning of the season, the Golden Eagles’ 21-player roster featured seven freshmen and only three seniors, and Seech had never been a head coach and had never coached girls lacrosse at any level. Yet, largely due to the heroics of LaBelle, who continues to etch her name in the Fleming Island record book while helping Seech devise practice plans, the Golden Eagles now stand at 9-5 on the season.

Seech was especially pleased that the Golden Eagles were able to execute their offense despite sloppy conditions caused by a light rain that fell throughout the game. Nine of the 18 Golden Eagles goals came off of assists.

“We were on our game tonight,” he said. “Somebody, usually Sophie [Roberts], started with the ball at X [behind the goal]. Then Sophie passing to Katie [Logan], who fed Jilly. It was like tic-tac-toe.”

If there was a turning point, it came at the 17 minute mark of the first half when the Barracudas missed on two opportunities to narrow a 3-1 deficit to a single goal. First, Golden Eagles freshman goalie Esther Fernandes raised her stick to save a high shot attempt by Beachside’s Emma Carrigan. Less than 30 seconds later, the Barracudas’ Ava Wilkerson shot over the goal on a penalty shot. The loose ball was scooped up by Golden Eagles senior Baylee Jennings, who initiated a fast break that ended with Chloe Perry converting a bounce shot from the left wing. LaBelle found the back of the net twice in the next minute and 15 seconds, giving Fleming Island a comfortable 6-1 lead.

LaBelle scored eight of her goals during a dominant first half. At 5’9”, the senior makes an inviting target when she cuts to the goal, and scored seven of her goals after catching passes in traffic at the edge of the crease. Her most impressive goal was a left-handed drive from the eight meter line while running away from the goal, showing off a skill she has been working on in practice.

“I know that in the future, teams will try hard to take away my right hand,” said LaBelle, who is headed to Anderson University in South Carolina on a lacrosse scholarship next fall. “So it’s good to be comfortable with both.”

The 11 goals set Fleming Island’s single-game mark for most goals, breaking the record of 10 that LaBelle had set versus Flagler Palm Coast on April 5.

Katie Logan scored three goals, Roberts tallied two and Perry and Cailli Christenson had one apiece for Fleming Island. Roberts and Perry each had two assists, while Perry led all players with 10 ground balls.

The Golden Eagles traveled to Ponte Vedra to take on the top-seeded Sharks in the district semifinal on April 11. Results of that contest were not complete at press time.