Stallions girls roll to Class 1A state lacrosse title
Junior attacker Victoria Tomonto scored three goals, while junior Chiara Scichilone and senior Payton Bezjak each scored twice as seven different Stallions’ players scored as American Heritage-Delray topped Lake Highland Prep, 11-4, to capture the third Class 1A state championship in school history.
There was little doubt that the nation’s top-ranked Stallions were going to win the championship at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples. Also scoring were junior Brooke Goldstein, senior Dakota Riggio, sophomore Emma Hrzich and senior Alexandra Dorr.
American Heritage didn’t allow Lake Highland the opportunity to cross midfield and jumped out to an 8-1 halftime lead. After a rain and lightning delay, the Stallions opened the second half and ran off the first 13 minutes without even attempting a shot.
“We all worked so hard to get here,” said Tomonto, a Penn State commit. “The coaches were a big part of this, and I got to win it with my teammates and friends. I think we took the loss to them last year and used that as motivation. We worked even harder this year.”
American Heritage-Delray (22-1) also captured titles in 2018 and 2021. Lake Highland Prep (20-4), the nation’s No. 4 ranked team that won state championships in 2019 and last year, was making its fifth-straight trip to the state championship game, while the Stallions reached their fifth consecutive trip to the final four and third-straight final.
The Stallions (22-1) began the season 7-0 before he lost junior attacker Caroline Byrd to a torn ACL right before the team’s lone loss of the season against Cardinal Gibbons. American Heritage-Delray coach John McClain said the lone loss, which prevented them from finishing with a perfect season, helped the team with their focus.
The Stallions led 11-7 at halftime against Cardinal Gibbons (North Carolina) before falling 14-13 at home. They finished the season on a 15-game winning streak.
“It made us be a little grittier and realized we are not the dominant force,” said McClain, who started the program at American Heritage-Delray eight years ago. “We knew we had to work really hard in the off hours and at practice. We had to play with a competitive spirit for that next month and absolutely believe that we were going to be state champions.”
Bezjak, who missed last season with a torn ACL, said she wanted to finish her senior year with a state title.
“It’s my last year and I wanted to win states,” said Bezjak, who signed with Virginia Tech. “I mean, pushing through rehab and everything was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. People don’t realize it because of the injury, but last summer I had so much grit to get back, and now I am back and couldn’t be more grateful.”
There was some anxiety to get over in her first game back after sustaining contact in the game.
“It was pretty scary,” she said. “I had a fall the first time and it kind of got in my head a little bit. I was pretty shaken up, but after that, I knew I had such a great doctor and there was no way that my knee could possibly be worse than before. I started dodging more and I feel like myself again. Winning a state title in my senior year was great.”
Dorr said there was an urgency to win a state championship, especially in her senior year.
“I like pressure,” said Dorr, who is headed to the University of Denver. “It made me want to work harder.”
When junior starting attacker Caroline Byrd went down with an injury, Dorr said the rest of the team needed to bear down and make up for the loss of 45 goals and 32 assists that she had in her sophomore campaign. They also had two other players out with injuries.
“We just had to practice harder and get more reps,” Dorr said. “We needed to get more stick skills, work more off hours, and work as a team. When we had three players down (at one point of the season) we just said, ‘Don’t let that get you down.’”