The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 27 - April 29, 2015

sports

Island Falcons help strengthen Saint Stephen’s LAX team

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

SUZANNE GOEDERS | SUBMITTED

From left, Saint Stephen's Falcons Varsity Lacrosse Team
Represented by Jake Ross, Luke Valadie, Andrew Ross
and Tommy Price.

With sticks in hand, four Anna Maria Island teens aided in the success of the Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School’s varsity lacrosse team this spring.

Playing a stick and ball sport indigenous to Native Americans, Tommy Pierce, Andrew and Jake Ross, and Luke Valadie proudly wore Falcon green and gold as the team went up against some of the area's independent schools.

The Rosses and Valadie are alumni of Anna Maria Elementary School and attended King Middle School before starting their high school academics at Saint Stephen’s.

The sport of lacrosse, or LAX as it is known, is one of the oldest sports known to be played in North America and dates back to the 17th century. For Saint Stephen’s, founded in 1970, lacrosse is a relatively new sport; and some would say the Falcons' lacrosse program is still in its developmental stages, but improving each season.

Coming off a hard 2014 season, the Falcons were led by a new head coach and many new players who had never touched a stick before the start of the 2015 season. Valadie and the Ross brothers discovered lacrosse this year. Despite having never played before, they were keys to the team’s success, scoring five and six goals this season, respectively.; and Pierce held his position on the field and assisted his teammates each time he was called to play. Jake Ross joined the lacrosse squad late in the season after a strong first season of wrestling for the Falcons.

With a 2-10 record, the 2014 season was difficult for Saint Stephen’s, but hard work and a strong team effort led the Falcons to an improved regular season record of 5-6.

Going into their first district playoff game, the team hoped to finally defeat the rival Out-of-Door Academy (ODA), from Sarasota.

Founded in 1924, ODA has had a lacrosse program for quite some time and is known for its strong program. Despite previous blowouts by ODA's varsity team, the Falcons remained optimistic as they headed into the playoffs.

On April 7, in what would be their final game of the season, the Falcons could not defend against two quick and early goals scored by ODA, but the Falcons quickly came back with goals scored by Ali Sammour and Samson Yang. Sammour fired back with his second goal of the night bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of the Falcons. Before the end of the half, ODA scored two more goals to close out the first two quarters leading 4-3. Despite a strong first half, the Falcons could not hold on against the more experienced ODA team and lost the semi-final game 14-3.

The 2015 season came to a close with players, coaches, family and friends looking forward to next season with a squad that is young and developing into a cohesive team.

The Ross brothers and Valadie are freshmen, and joined by Pierce, a sophomore, and the other returning Falcons, 2016 is sure to be an even more successful season.

 

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