TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 4/30/16

Reid Smith had three goals and an assist and Clay Welch tallied three goals while Wyatt Schupler posted 16 saves Friday night as Ponte Vedra defeated three-time defending Florida state champion Lake Highland Prep, 16-11, in the state semifinals at Jupiter High.

Ponte Vedra (23-0, No. 3 in TopLaxRecruits Southern Rankings) advances to its first FHSAA final and will face No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (18-0) at 7:05 tonight at Jupiter.

St. Thomas Aquinas advanced in style as Joey Guglielmo scored in triple overtime to give his team an 11-10 thriller over Benjamin School.

Ben Buchanan added two goals and an assist and Matt Keeler and Andrew O’Dare each scored twice for the Sharks, whow ere eliminated by Lake Highland Prep in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The Highlanders (12-9) led, 6-4, late in the first half, but Buchanan’s first goal of the game with 5.5 seconds remaining in the second period cut the deficit to 6-5. Ponte Vedra took a 9-8 lead and Keeler’s second goal with 56 seconds left in the third made it 10-8. O’Dare then scored himself off the the next faceoff and then Buchanan found Welch with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give Ponte Vedra a 12-8 lead.

For Lake Highland Prep, Jackson Colling had three goals and an assist and Christian Cisneros added two goals and three assists while Lukas Kott and James Stine each had two goals,