Lacrosse continues to grow in Lakewood Ranch

On Feb. 20, 2018, I attended the first-ever Lakewood Ranch High boys lacrosse game. 

The Mustangs got walloped 15-4 by Riverview High. The score didn't matter much, though. That night was not about that game, but the future. Mustangs Head Coach Jason Morales wanted to first create a public program for lacrosse players to go once they finished middle school club sports, then worry about winning, in that order. 

Well, its three years later, Lakewood Ranch has certainly accomplished the former. The Mustangs have grown in size to the point where they are now able to field a full junior varsity program, something that will help tremendously with talent development, as well as will allow more kids to play the sport. Morales is proud of that accomplishment. 

Now, the Mustangs can concentrate on winning. Morales said he thought last season would be the one when everything clicked. Unfortunately, the Mustangs played just six games before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season. And then Lakewood Ranch lost the majority of its production from a year ago.

Morales was expecting the 2021 season to be a bit of a rebuild. Instead, it's closer to a reload. 

"We've been working on perfecting the little things," Morales said. "The kids are starting to buy in. That makes a huge difference. We're getting better every game." 

Morales said the team (3-2) has had several freshmen, including attacker Lucas Anthony, step into key roles. Also new, though not as young, is junior goaltender Dylan Katchen, who transferred from Cardinal Mooney High. On the few occasions it appeared Saint Stephen's was making a run, Katchen responded and shut it down.  

Morales said Anthony and the majority of the team's other core players are on the smaller side, which has forced the team to play different than they have in the past, using less physicality, more finesse. So far, it's been working. 

The Mustangs' losses are to Riverview (4-0) and H.B. Plant High (6-1-1), both tough, established programs. Losses to teams like those shouldn't discourage Lakewood Ranch or its fans. In fact, after watching the Mustangs against Saint Stephen's, I'm more confident in them than ever.

They controlled the game from start to finish. They decided the pace. They chose when they wanted to push and attack — and often succeeded. I don't know how good the Falcons are this year — they're just 1-1 — but it was an impressive display no matter the answer. If the Mustangs continue to have that control against other teams, they'll win a bunch of games. 

The Lakewood Ranch girls, too, are having a strong season. They're 5-2 with one of the losses being 13-12 to Cardinal Mooney High, one of the longest-running programs in the area. Led by senior Meghan Llamas, who has 19 goals in seven games, the Mustangs look to be a legitimate threat. 

Since the Mustangs established their programs, other Bradenton-Sarasota area schools, like Sarasota High, have followed suit. As someone who grew up in Maryland, one of lacrosse's biggest hubs, it thrills me to see the sport catching on here. Hopefully in the years to come, the area will be known as the sport's Florida hotbed.