The chance to escape the winter weather, and play a nationally ranked team brought two girls high school lacrosse teams to Vero Beach from Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Head Coach Amy Orcutt’s Conestoga High School team from Berwyn PA came to Tampa two years ago and played the Vero Beach lacrosse team. “We really enjoyed playing Vero Beach and when Coach Dean invited us down we jumped at the chance.” She said the girls are enjoying the chance to play outside after a snowy and cold Pennsylvania winter. Coach Orcutt said while upper 60s, sunny and windy might make Floridians shiver “it’s heaven for us.”
Coach Orcutt’s teams have been coming to Florida for six years and each year the Florida teams, and specifically Vero Beach High School, are getting better. Travel and youth leagues in Florida are now on par with northern schools. Playing year round is a big plus too, according to Coach Orcutt.
Brian Puhlic’s West Springfield High School from West Springfield VA has travelled to Florida on 10 occasions in 19 years. Brian chose to come to Vero this year after an invitation from Coach Dean. His team saw it as a chance to “Play the Best” in great weather.
The West Springfield High School team stated coming to Florida in 1999, but never considered playing a Florida team at that time. Over the past 7 to 10 years Florida teams have caught up, especially in terms of stick handling skills. High school lacrosse teams in Florida now attract top tier athletes. Brian sees results in terms of the number of college scholarships going to players on Florida teams such as Vero Beach High School.
Vero Beach High School Coach Shanon Dean said it was good to play West Springfield on Saturday, March 28, after playing Agnes Irwin from Philadelphia earlier in the week. Agnes Irwin defeated VBHS 8 to 7 by coming out strong and sticking to their game plan.
In the Saturday March 28 game versus West Springfield, won by VBHS 13-3, the Indians were able to control the draw, play solid defense and play their style of game. Two goals each were scored by Megan Gorman, Abby Shields and Gabby Sposato, with single goals by Hannah Palau, Abby Shields, Ashley Macintyre, Meredith Moore, Maddie Ellis, Lauren London, and Anna Elise Bieber. Single assists came from Malinda Robinson, Abby Shields and Sydney Bracken along with two assists from Zan Biedenharn.
Vero Beach played Conestoga High School on Monday, WINNING/LOSING 9-8 Will fill in on Monday after game. Coach Dean said the game was a challenge as the Conestoga team’s skill level is on par with that of the Agnes Irwin team.
The VBHS girls lacrosse team first played a northern school in 2003, defeating a team from Pennington New Jersey. Coach Dean agreed with the coaches that Florida schools are attracting great talent and colleges are certainly noticing.
The Vero Beach Class of 2015 graduates and the school they will be attending on lacrosse scholarships are: Zan Biedenharn (Virginia Tech) Abby Shields (Furman), Malinda Robinson (St. Leo), Hannah Palau (UMass), Allison McDonough (Detroit Mercy), Airea Williams (Gardner Webb), Kris Hall (Army), Ashley MacIntyre (High Point), Lilie Shipley (Undecided). Sydney Murphy will attend University of Florida and Anna Elisa Bieber will attend FSU but they will not be playing college lacrosse.
