It’s Time to Take A Look at the Upcoming Season This article is part of a series.  Please check out Part 2. This is the third year of our district by district previews.  Over the next couple of week’s we’ll be  breaking down each district and taking a look at the guys to watch, who the new coaches are, and which teams look ready to break out and make some noise this season. This year, the district-by-district preview is brought to you by RipNet. RipNet is a new goal scoring app and social network for players that is available for free on iPhone, Android and online at www.rip.net.  The apps help you become a better player, follow your friends’ game, and stay connected with all things lacrosse. This video will show you how RipNet Performance Technology works and what you can do with the app. watch video. You studs will be the first to let it rip, which makes RipNet even more fired up to help you put more balls in the back of the net and share your success on the field with players across the state and country.  Good luck this season. Now get out there and start scoring! District 1

Maclay Maclay’s goal for 2013 is to repeat as District 1 champion while elevating their stance playing several “out of district” games v Ponte Vedra, Creekside and Bartram Trail.  Conditioning will be a focus as 4 of their 5 loss’s in 2012 were in the 4^th quarter.  States are on the horizon. Maclay will be led by new Coach Mike Jones and 11 seniors including Trip Transou (Duke) and Tucker Scwartz (Merrimack).  Sophomore attackman Stephen Chase and defenseman Teddy Transou (Duke) will play a big part of the team’s success.  In addition, juniors to watch Andrew Killinger, Jack Berg and Andres Masferrer.  Look for sophomore Javi Masferrer to have an impact at midfield too. Lincoln Lincoln graduated 13 players last year and will look to a youth infusion to help them.  Of the 13 seniors lost, 8 were starters.  Look for Lincoln to mature through the season as the confidence builds and they compete for the district title. Lincoln will be led Coach Williams and Seniors Martin Chavez and Pierce Harbin.  Juniors to step up are Jacob Gehres and Wyatt Schmookle.  Sophomores that expect to develop and have an impact are Zach Sespico and Ryan Thomas. Chiles Coach Sparazza has specific goals for Chiles to achieve going into the 2013 season.  Developing a more efficient man-up, reduce unforced turnovers and to play strong team defense. An impact player to watch is senior defenseman Braxton Frizell.  Braxton has good size and speed along with much improved stick skills.  Other starting seniors are attackman Nick Olsen, midfielders Eric Olsen and Andy Hough along with defenseman Sean Gunter.  Look for Chiles to develop during the season and be ready for districts. Leon After graduating 9 seniors from last year’s team, Coach Rice is depending on their few seniors and the incoming junior class to continue the winning tradition at Leon High School.  This year’s team will rally and focus on “team philosophy”.  Playing in a stronger district and scheduling out of district games with Winter Park, Bolles, Ponte Vedra, and Creekside, their success will depend a lot on the leadership of the team members.  Some of the players to watch this year are: William Wright, Cale Cummings, Tim Holt, and Preston Wilson.    District 2 Episcopal From ESJ.Org – Coach Patrick Harnett leads the Episcopal Eagles into his sophomore season as Head Coach coming off an impressive 13-6 debut. In 2012 the Eagles captured a District Title advancing to a Regional Final where they were fell just one win short of a FHSAA State Championship Final Four appearance. The Eagles played in their season ending loss to the without stand-out goalie Beau Courtney who suffered a season ending knee injury late in the 14-9 playoff win against rival Bolles. Episcopal’s attack is led by the duo of Scott Powell and Matt Stiefel who both were recognized as 1st Team All North Florida in our pre-season player rankings. The two seniors have developed into a dangerous scoring tandem throughout their high school careers with their two-man game abilities, dodging skills and their ability to get to the front of the goal and finish strong. At the midfield position, senior John Grube brings his experience as a strong clearer of the ball and his shooting accuracy to provide balance to the middle of the field which prevents opponents from focusing too strongly on Powell and Stiefel. F/O expert and two way middie RJ Raymond has the intensity and drive to develop into another leader for this Eagle squad. Returning after a strong sophomore campaign is D-man Zach Gerry. Big and athletic, Gerry’s improvement was easily recognized by those who followed him during the 2012 season and throughout the summer. LSM Robert Dozier will be another strong contributor bringing stability to the defensive half of the field. In 2013 the Eagles will face the toughest schedule in program history. Building on an already competitive schedule, the Eagles have added top caliber Preparatory Programs such as St. Andrews, The Benjamin School, and Pine Crest to their 2013 campaign. As always expectations are high for ESJ based on their program’s longevity and their track record for success. The Eagles begin their 2013 season by hosting the Benjamin School at Everbank Stadium on Monday, February 18th. Stanton Stanton Prep HS, one of two academic magnet public HSs in Duval county enters its 9th year fielding a boys varsity Lax team, the oldest public Boys HS lax program in Duval.  The past two seasons Stanton boys lax has gotten off to fast starts only to struggle in the late season, a trend head coach Eric Hughes (4th season) hopes to correct in 2013.  Returning on the defensive side of the field are 2012 All-FSHAA District-2 players Jake Patel (G) and Dustin Johns (D-LSM) both Seniors. We think Jake Patel may be the most underrated goalie in North Florida. Juniors Jack Story and Griffin Van and Sophomores Nathan Kirk and Jarrod Darrow round out the defense, which should be a strong point for Stanton in 2013.  On the offensive side of the field, returning senior attackman Tejas Jain and Bryan Burchard along with newcomer Alex Story should provide plenty of firepower.  Returning senior middies Bobby Dawson (FO) and Carrison Hager will anchor the 1st line along with freshman JC Boers, while senior Brandon Koutz (FO) and juniors Jacob Goodpasture and Charlie Vancini while comprise the 2nd mid-field.  Midfield depth and scoring is the key area (along with injuries) which will determine Stanton’s success in 2013. Paxon and Lee round out this district.  Lee’s struggling program would be helped significantly if Duval County would move the portables off of the athletic fields that Duval taxpayers paid for. District 3 Providence Coach Harry Nurse will welcome the addition of a JV team in 2013 to the defending District 3 Championship program.  Although 19 “first timers” will participate the 15 returners have solid experience.   Although young, look for this team to be very athletic and “get up and down” the field. Led by 7 seniors, look for attackman Brett Gabel, midfielder Zach Price (Captain) and defenseman Joe Bon Thron to balance the team. Key games for the 2013 season will be against Maclay, Ponte Vedra and Bartram Trail. Fletcher Fletcher comes off of a 10-3 season that ended in an upset loss for the District 3 Championship.  They should be in the hunt once again. The key loss for Fletcher will be Jesse Godard who scored 41 goals last season.  They are returning attackman Cole Miller (sr) who scored 30 goals last year. Sandlewood Coach Mike Monlezun is looking forward to a hard working 2013 team.  Sandelwood welcomes several new players with great summer experience that will help the process.  The lack of a JV team does hamper the process, but they continue to build and look for improvement over last season. Senior Doug Stone will lead the attack.  Doug led the team in scoring last year and is looking to be more aggressive this year while anchoring the offense.  Senior goalie Antonio Collins will play for the second year.  His enthusiasm and energy will be welcome on the defensive end of the field along with defenseman Erik Nilsen.  The midfield will be lead by speedy senior Dante Consolacion along with sophomores Will Monlzun and Michael Webb.  Look for Will to be tenacious on defense while transitioning to offense quickly. Atlantic Coast Atlantic Coast is a relatively new, inexperienced program but one the do have a senior defensive captain named Christian Fisher who could be a player to keep an eye on.  District 4 Bolles Bolles welcomes the addition of Coach Brian Duncan.  Coach “Dunc” brings his experience from Jacksonville University and will have an immediate impact.  Duncan believes Bolles can return as one of the best teams in North Florida. Senior leadership will come from midfielders’ Miek Hauesien, Adam Stenson and Greg Rogowski. Juniors to watch are attackman Harrison Davie, defenseman Nick Reinschmidt and goalie Chris Ware.  Sophmores that will contribute are middies Ryan Kirchoff, Dexter Carter and Alexander Mostovych.  Although LSM is a new position for him, Josh Parker should make an impact. Mandarin Mandarin had another benchmark season last year, earning their first FHSAA District Runner-Up trophy as well as ending in first place in Duval County (unofficially). While Coach Brand would like to improve on 2013 and win the district this year she knows that getting past Bolles is going to be a tall order. “Our record last year was 10-6 in the regular season. Based on our 2013 schedule the goal is to end with 12 regular season wins and advance to the district final game again. The goal for the district finals game is to play a more controlled game and keep the score close. Also, we will repeat our success in Duval County and win every game against a Duval County team.” Coach Brand also looks to improve the team shooting percentage and goals saved percentage by 8% from last season and improve team face-off percentage and all fielding stats by 3%.  I addition to on the field goals Mandarin has set an off the field service goal which they are already working toward.  “We selected a team philanthropy, Breast Cancer Awareness (Susan G. Komen),” Coach Brand explained. “My players are responsible for developing ways the team can support this cause once a month during the season & then 3 times in the off-season.” On the field watch for Blake Weil, FO Mid, to have a big senior season.  He is Mandarin’s top unsigned senior and received a few offers at the D2 and D3 levels.  We expect a decision from him soon. He has competed for the Jacksonville lacrosse Club the last two years and was selected to the North Florida Elite team this past spring/summer. He was on first team All-District for District 4 last year. He looks to improve upon his success at the X where last season he had a regular season face-off percentage of 72.5 %. Some juniors to watch at Mandarin include Johnny Dister, attack.  Johnny may be doing double duty at middie this year.   He was named second team All-District in District 4 last year. Last season he scored 36 goals (2 per game) and had 11 assists. He also had 44 GBs (2.6 per game) and 15 take-aways. He is equally strong on the right and left hand and is one of the two most aggressive attack men on the team. A solid talent with a high lacrosse IQ.  Also keep an eye on Justin Curtis at defense.  Justin is not the defense man who is going to put up huge stats but is the most consistent and the smartest defensive player on the team. He was named Honorable Mention All-district last year. Fleming Island Fleming Island has its most experienced roster ever as Coach Andersen returns 17 players from the 2012 team that posted a 6-8 record.  Key games for the 2013 season include Flagler Palm Coast, Bolles and Bartram Trail. First team all district senior goalie Cody Worhty (Florida State) returns to the cage after posting a 60% save mark last season.  In his last season as a Golden Eagle, defenseman Conner Hughes who was also a first team all district will play a big role.  Sophomore attackman Hayden La Vangie rounds out the all district group and looks to anchor the offense.  As a freshman Hayen was the team’s offensive MVP. District 5 Ponte Vedra Coach Tom West graduated several All-Americans and several players that went Division 1.  This year’s senior class has a lot to prove in 2013.  Dalton LeMaster (Ohio Wesleyan), Nick Zebouni (LIU CW POST), Reece Andrews (Ohio Wesleyan) and Nick Demasi (FSU) must lead the midfield and have to step up and lead this young team.  PV will lean on a strong, tested senior defense led by goalie Ryan Applegate (Catawba), Fischer Anderson (University of Tampa), Nick Buckley (St. Leos), Alex Filip (St. Leos), and Parker Eastland (JR) and LSMs Evan Weiner (JR) and Nick Nehrling (JR)  The attack, led by four year varsity attack Scott “Dragar” Applegate (undecided) and Junior Cody Legeza will need to replace lots of goals from Francis (US Naval Academy) and Anthony Pradella (Reinhardt), PV’s Goals and Points leader.  PV’s strong feeder program and success at the JV level, will allow sophomore Attack Miles Silva, defensemen John Harding and Mids Logan Taucher, Ryan Wiele and Rick Applegate to get some serious minutes at the varsity level. Impact Players:  Junior MID RJ Garcia and Jason Randolph had strong fall ball seasons.  Sr. Att/Mid Nicly Carnicelli is back from injury.  Garrett Boyle led the JV offense and is ready to take the next step. Creekside After a 16-2 2012 season coach Rob Jennis looks forward to 2013.  With a strong senior class and juniors that have had plenty of game experience look for Creekside to be a state contender this year. The attack will be led by seniors Ryan Jennings (Florida Tech) and Nic Eccher (Holy Cross).  Sophmore Anothony Teixeira will fill in the third position. Senior middies Kevin MacKernan (Florida Tech), Gian Noto (Manhattan College), Robert Foster, Chandler Long and Chandler long offer depth.  Juniors to join them will be Gabe Torres and Matt Tidball.  Filling out the deep midfield will be Julian Bonilla a freshman.  Defense will be strong again with seniors Mark Trummel, Alex Lary, David Trummel and Matt Garcia.  Junior Connor Harless will join them.  Goalie is strong with returning senior Matt Jorgrnsen and junior transfer frm Long Island Kyle Tumbarello. Nease Coach Neil Rodden is optimistic about this year’s team.  Senior and junior heavy Nease will have a challenge within the district as well as out of district games against Maclay and Lincoln.  This will be a very physical team. The attack is big and fast and will be led by senior Brian Meehan (Florida State) junior Mathew Wrobel and sophomore Stephen Hemmingway.  The midfield will be anchored by senior Tim Tenoeyr and junior Justin Frisch.  Look for impact to also some from Justin Lee and freshman Mike Cotter.  A physical defense will include senior Daniel Hutton and juniors Sean Gowdy and Alec Mazzuco. Sophmore Kent Norris will get the nod in goal. Bartram Trail Bartram Trail has some solid talent returning to help new Head Coach Matthew Demetrio get his tenure started off right.  Chase Hancock (Furman) ,  Tyler Sellers (Catawba), Brennen Asplen IV (Wingate), and Preston Pena (Saint Leo) are all very experienced and talented players. Bartram Trail started off strong winning seven of their first nine games.  But then things turned south as they dropped eight straight to finish the season.  They have a tough district schedule playing top tier teams like PV and Creekside.  But they don’t lighten things up outside the district either playing Lake Highland, Winter Park, and Maclay. Please check out Part 2 in which we cover districts 6-10.