Ponte Vedra Pulls Away in 4th Quarter to Beat Oak Hall 11-9 and Advance to State Semifinal

In Region 1 on Friday night, Ponte Vedra Sharks (18-5-1) traveled to Gainesville to take on the Oak Hall Eagles (16-3) to determine which of the four teams would advance to the State Semifinals in Boca Raton next Friday. Ponte Vedra had beaten Oak Hall earlier in the season 13-7.

The game opened with a fury.  On the first faceoff, junior attackman Ryan O’Leary (#5) makes his presence known with a big hit on the far sideline.  At 9:37, Walker Azzaro (#12) scores for the Ponte Vedra. Assisted by Carter Parlette (#22 – Syracuse commit).  At 8:32, Brad Vincent (#4) dodges down the left alley and finds Jaxson Lamb (#1) for an Eagles score. On the ensuing faceoff, FOGO specialist Jimmy Burns (#8) wins the faceoff runs down the right alley, fires, and scores.  Ponte Vedra reclaims the lead 2-1.

Around 3 minute mark, Ponte Vedra patiently works the ball on offense.  They seem to be testing the interior of Oak Halls’ defense with dodges down the middle.  At 2:50, the Sharks strike again.  At 1:41, midfielder Carter Parlette (#22) scores on a nice dodge against his defender. Ponte Vedra leads 4-1.  With 56 seconds left in the first quarter, a side-arm bullet by Jack Dowd (#1) increases Ponte Vedra’s lead by four (5-1).