Junior Elizabeth Hales scored seven goals, assisted on five more and senior Katherine Breese scored six goals to go with three assists as Women’s Lacrosse doubled up host Edgewater, 20-10, to finish undefeated in conference play and claimed the program’s first Metro West Conference title and Dr. Phillips High School’s 150th conference championship since its opening in 1987. Cymber Larkin netted three goals, three assists and picked up four interceptions while goalkeeper Mia Emmerson grabbed 12 saves in goal. Ravene Moore picked up two goals, solo goals were added by Asahi Hirano and Sarah Hamp while Michaela Decker’s defense stood out with four interceptions. DP (12-2) is riding an eight-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s District Tournament Semifinal against Freedom (at Lake Nona, 5:30 pm). JV Lacrosse saw Jimena Davila score twice and Daniela Davila a solo goal but the Panthers fell to host Edgewater, 5-3, in their final game of the season. DP closed out with a outstanding record of 8-3.
The best way to gauge the strength of your program is to face equal or better competition. Dr. Phillips Flag Football, ranked # 1 in the state of Florida, knocked out # 13 Tallahassee Chiles, 35-0, and came back from a 13-0 deficit to defeat # 2 Seminole Ridge, 14-13, in the nightcap. Against Chiles, Hannah Schaible accounted for all five scores, completing 23 of 40 passes with four touchdowns, two to Jade Cheek, and ran for a score as well. Ashley Vevera and Shya Garrett hauled in touchdown passes as the Panthers jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way. While the first game was a blowout, the second provided the most excitement in program history, even topping last year’s State Championship. DP (9-0) found themselves down, 13-0, but came back in the fourth quarter to score two touchdowns and stopped Seminole Ridge near the goal line as time expired. Late in the fourth, Schaible found Shya Garrett, who made a circus catch at midfield, two defenders collided, and Garrett raced 50 yards for the touchdown to cut the deficit to 13-7. Seminole Ridge drove the length of the field and was in position to ice the game with a score but Hannah Schaible made a diving interception off a deflected pass to give the Panthers the football near midfield. With five minutes to go, Schaible, who completed 23 of 33 passes, hit on multiple short passes to Shya Garrett to get the Panthers down inside the 20. Jade Cheek pulled down a pass inside the five yard line and on fourth and goal, Shya Garrett caught the game-tying touchdown pass. With everyone on their feet for the extra point attempt, Schaible fired a bullet into the end zone and sophomore Malia Harrison pulled it out of the air for the eventual game-winning conversion. Seminole Ridge had one last life, however, and the DP defense came up with one of the biggest stops in team history. With 1:05 remaining, Seminole Ridge drove down inside the DP 20 but on fourth and goal their quarterback scrambled towards the end zone and at the two yard line, the Panthers came up with the flag pull to seal the victory. Shya Garrett set the school record with ten receptions, including both scores, and Daija Phillips registered ten flag pulls on defense. DP has now won 27 of their last 28 games and carries a 19-game winning streak into Wednesday’s home game with Olympia.
Still riding a wave of confidence after a Metro West championship, Women’s Water Polo traveled down to Miami for day one of the Ransom Invitational and took care of business with victories over Miami Coral Reef (15-0) and Boca Raton St. Andrews (6-4). Shannon MacNeil paced DP (14-5) with three goals against Coral Reef, including the first two to open the game. With 4:22 left in the quarter, Heather MacNeil jumped on board with a shot into the upper left corner and just 24 seconds later, Rachel Dytrych scored the first of her two goals on a three-on-none breakaway that culminated with a shot into the top left corner for a 4-0 lead. Breakaway goals started to come often and at the 3:10 mark, Allie Magrino buried one into the upper right 90 to make it 5-0. Shannon MacNeil completed her hat trick less than a minute later and Rachel Dytrych capped the quarter with the goal of the day…after a feed inside, the senior looked right and popped the rock into the left corner for a 7-0 lead at the quarter break. Lauren Dowd opened the second quarter with a turnaround toss into the corner off a rebound and freshman Jacqueline James followed with a pair of goals, going top shelf at 5:28 and beating the shot clock on a power play goal for a 10-0 lead into the half. As the second half came to life, so, too, did the realization that this freshmen class is, frankly, pretty darn good. Rikki Price punched in a goal from the right side at 5:10 and secured her second score just 28 seconds later off a pass from Shannon MacNeil as the lead grew to 12-0 heading into the fourth. Freshman Jillian Goulden hit the back of the net from the right point with 4:45 to go and later took a feed pass from Allie Magrino down the middle for another goal. Magrino closed out the scoring frenzy with 54 seconds left off an assist from Jacqueline James as the Panthers picked up their fifth victory in six games. Junior Marisa Goodrum recorded five saves in goal. Game two vs. St. Andrew’s started off slowly for DP but the Panthers battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game on goals by Rachel Dytrych and Shannon MacNeil. After the Scots took a one-goal lead in the second quarter, Meredith Canty continued her sensational play with a tying goal into the top right corner at 4:34 and DP finally broke free for good when Shannon MacNeil blasted one into the left side of the cage to take a 4-3 lead into the half. Rachel Dytrych put some distance between the teams with a perfect shot into the right corner for a 5-3 lead and Allie Magrino doubled up the Scots with a breakaway goal into the left side with 3:41 left. St. Andrew’s would add a goal to close the gap to 6-4 but it wasn’t enough as DP picked up their 14th victory. Mary Campbell had another tremendous day in goal, registering 14 of her 16 saves in the second game.
Senior Charlie Barnett scored a career-high four goals as Men’s Water Polo (17-2) crushed MAST Academy in the opening game of the Ransom Invitational. Jack Orchard posted four goals as well with Ryan Staton and Ian Supra hitting for three as the Panthers scored ten consecutive goals to win going away. In the first quarter, David James’ breakaway goal put DP on the board just 18 seconds into the game. After Barnett took a pass from Ryan Staton and pushed in his first score to double the lead, Staton made the goaltender pay for coming out of the net too far with a fall-away goal for a 3-0 lead at the 4:17 mark. Charlie Barnett scored from the point with a man advantage and Staton picked up his second goal, a skip shot into the left corner, for a 5-1 lead as the quarter came to a close. Back-to-back goals by Jack Orchard off a penalty shot and a spectacular sidearm across his body into the top left corner pushed the lead to 7-2. Ian Supra found the net on a tap-in off a feed from Evan Staton with a man advantage and Staton capitalized on a perfect pass from his brother Ryan for a one-timer with 59 seconds left. With a 9-3 lead at the half, DP poured it on in the third quarter with six unanswered goals, led off by Ryan Staton’s one-timer off a crossbar shot from Jack Orchard. Orchard followed up with a laser into the left side of the cage for an 11-3 lead before Barnett deposited the next two into the upper right 90 to make it 13-3 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. Evan Staton netted DP’s 14th goal on a power play and Orchard closed out the third by scooping a shot over the keeper’s head to make it 15-3. In the fourth quarter, Ian Supra rocketed a penalty shot into the back of the net and spiked in a perfect lob from Ian Perkins for a 17-3 lead. Eduardo Macias closed out the barrage with a goal at :30 and Collin Brandt picked up seven saves for the 18-3 final. In the second game, DP had a much tougher task with St. Andrews. After battling back to tie the game twice, 2-2 in the first quarter and 7-7 in the third, the Panthers surrendered four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter in an 11-7 loss to the Scots. Jack Orchard scored three goals, Evan Staton added two and Ryan Staton scored twice as well. Collin Brandt tallied 11 saves, including three that stuffed potential breakaway goals in the third quarter that kept the Panthers in the game.
Baseball picked up their fifth victory in six games with an 8-4 victory over host Ocoee Friday. Senior catcher Walker Haymaker highlighted the victory with a three-run home run and Robbie Barrett picked up the victory on this hill, going four scoreless innings, while scattering three hits and striking out one to pick up the victory. Nick Strasser went 2-2 with an RBI and a run scored, Billy Underwood was 2-4 and scored twice and Ryan Larson tripled in a run and scored as well. Other offensive notables included Dan Autiello (1-1, two RBIs), Ronnie Mitchell (single, run), Zach Holbrook (double) and Jalen Phillips (single, stolen base). The Panthers improved to 11-12 and will host West Orange Tuesday on Senior Day.
