- April 26, 2024
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The Flagler Palm Coast boys lacrosse team has advanced to the state playoffs for the first time since 2012. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC boys lacrosse players practice ahead of their playoff game April 23 at Ponte Vedra. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The one position Logan Johnson had never played in his four years with Flagler Palm Coast's boys lacrosse team was goalie. On senior night, he got to check that off his bucket list.
"I got to hop in the cage with the boys," he said. "It was so much fun."
The Bulldogs have had a lot of fun this season. They've won 11 of 16 games. They've scored 19 or more goals five times and held their opponents to five or fewer goals seven times.
And they've made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. They will travel to perennial power Ponte Vedra for a regional quarterfinal on Saturday, April 23.
The team has come a long way since Johnson and his fellow seniors were freshmen.
"We won one game our freshmen year," the middie said. "It's pretty interesting to go from (1-13-1) to qualify for the playoffs our senior year."
FPC has already met its preseason goal of reaching the district championship game for the first time since 2012, fourth-year coach Tom Morgello said. The Bulldogs lost to Creekside for the second time in the district final, 18-6. The Knights won 13-5 in the first contest this season, and they are the only team to beat FPC by more than one goal this season.
But while Creekside is ranked sixth in the state in Class 2A, Ponte Vedra is on another level, the Bulldogs say. The Sharks (15-3) won the state championship in 2019. They are currently ranked second in Class 2A and defeated Creekside 16-6 last month.
"Their culture is different. They breed lacrosse players," said junior attacker Daniel Zsizsek, who leads the Bulldogs in points (goals plus assists). "They're a really disciplined team. If they mess up, they're on the ball right away. If we mess up, they'll capitalize, so we know it's really important we don't make mistakes."
"Their culture is different. They breed lacrosse players. They're a really disciplined team."
DANIEL ZSIZSEK
Some of the Bulldogs, including Johnson, have played club lacrosse with the Ponte Vedra players.
"They're basically a college team in high school," said FPC junior defender Kevin Wolfe. "They're all freak athletes. They're quite the team. They're very fast and know what to do."
Wolfe knows a lot about them because he plays with the Sharks' club team every summer.
"I've ventured out to other teams, but it's just not the same," Wolfe said. "They're very structured. It's good to play against the best."
Last season, the Bulldogs played Ponte Vedra in the regular season and trailed 4-0 at the half before losing 13-1.
"We have to come out with intensity and energy and have the mindset that we can play with them," Morgello said. "We have to stay out of the penalty box. Against Creekside we went from being behind 4-2 to 7-2 in a matter of minutes when we were a man down."
Morgello said the players just have to have fun out there and not be overly concerned with not making a mistake.
The Bulldogs will lose five seniors this year. Two of them — Gordon Beck (Savannah College of Art and Design) and Jesse Sustaita (Post University in Connecticut) — will play lacrosse in college. FPC has 14 juniors on the squad.
"The heart of the team is our 2023 class," Wolfe said.
Whatever happens in the playoffs this year, the Bulldogs expect to be back.
