The Key West Conchs boys lacrosse team hit the road for a pair of games in St. Augustine last week, playing St. Augustine High on March 3 and Menendez High the following day. Key West lost both games, bringing them to 0-7 on the season. With a little more than half the season ahead of them, the Conchs still have plenty of time to smooth things out and find their winning ways again.
Coral Shores improved to 2-3 last week after a Feb. 28 win against LaSalle. The Hurricanes outscored the Royal Lions 16-3, with 5 goals coming from Nick Petrusha. Sully McDonough added 3; Andrew Kumar, Luas Carballo and Dominic Gonzalez each netted 2; and Alex Sebben and Matthew Patterson each scored 1 in the win. Chuck Jacobsen was good for 10 ground balls and was 12-15 on faceoffs. Reece Jahn and Brock Bynum combined for 9 saves in goal.
In girls lacrosse, Key West and Coral Shores faced off on Feb. 28 in Key West, giving both teams a chance to play in-county. The game was intense, but at the final whistle there were no hard feelings.
“While we may be Keys rivals, we are also each other’s allies as the only two public schools in our district and being in the Keys. We enjoy playing Coral Shores,” said Conchs coach Marisa Giacopuzzi.
The Conchs won the game 15-6 with scores from Maria Chaney (5), Ella Baxter (3), Ada Van Loon (2), Bella Marchiano (2), Sophia Felini (2) and Katie Collins (1). Coral Shores did its homework prior to game time, putting extra pressure on Key West’s go-to scorer, Marchiano, who was held to an unusual 2 goals. The extra pressure on Marchiano opened up scoring opportunities for the rest of Key West’s talented roster to get the ball in the net.
Giacopuzzi had nothing but praise for the ’Canes, particularly Coral Shores goalkeeper Emily Murphy.
“Their goalie was on fire, denying shots right after another. I tallied around 19 saves,” she said.
Key West is off to an impressive 6-1 start after defeating Coral Shores, Ransom and Westminster last week. Their only blemish was a 15-6 loss to American Heritage midweek. The Conchs will get a break in action until March 14 when they play Archbishop McCarthy at home.
After their loss to Key West, the Lady ’Canes dropped one more game last week, falling to Archbishop McCarthy at home. The losses bring Coral Shores to a 3-3 record at just about the halfway point of the regular season.
