- May 16, 2024
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Cardinal Mooney High boys lacrosse Head Coach Derek Wagner thought for a second, then shrugged.
"We advanced," Wagner said. "Against an opponent that you should beat by a decent margin, you want to make sure you do that. We did that. We advanced. Let's get a win and move on."
It was not the joyful response one might expect from a coach following his team's 15-4 win over Barron Collier High in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A regional quarterfinals on April 24. So it goes when the Cougars are 14-5 and secured the No. 1 seed in its region for the first time in program history. Until the state tournament, all teams will have to go through Mooney at home, where the team has yet to lose a game this season.
Wagner has high expectations for his group. He knows that the Cougars will play tougher opponents down the line, and the team must prepare for that level of play now. It's why he was apathetic about the 11-goal margin of victory against Barron Collier. In Wagner's mind, that was the bare minimum the team could have done. In the future, when the pressure rises, more will be needed.
"We made a lot of mistakes defensively," Wagner said. "We let in four goals. On clears, I would say we were 60%, 70%. Against a team like this, you should be able to execute at a high level, and if you don't, there's room to hold your kids accountable."
Anything less than perfection at this time of year, Wagner said, can get you eliminated. If the team isn't getting better every day, it's getting worse, because other teams are improving.
If that sounds serious, it's because it is. Wagner and Cardinal Mooney have had success before, but faltered come the middle rounds of the postseason. The program will not be content with the same fate in 2024. These Cougars have state tournament potential and will not be content until that potential is fulfilled.
Against Barron Collier — despite Wagner's criticisms — the team's offense showed why it is so difficult to defend: Every player on the offensive side of the field can be a playmaker if given the opportunity. Senior Gio Zanoni, junior Jamison McCusker and junior Logan Alexander all had hat tricks (three goals). Seniors Hunter Sheffield and Carter Westendorf had two goals each. Having that many scoring threats makes the Cougars difficult to defend, as opposing teams cannot key on one or two players.
On April 16, Zanoni said the team's biggest strength is its lacrosse IQ, and that IQ showed itself against Barron Collier. Mooney routinely made the right pass, or series of passes, to put players in open shooting positions, giving the opposing goaltender little chance. The Cougars could have scored even more on Baron Collier, but the team's lead triggered a running clock prior to the fourth quarter, at which point, Wagner started substituting some bench players to get them experience.
"Any time you can create that kind of depth and have that support (it's a positive)," Wagner said. "One guy isn't having a good game, someone else can pick it up for him. We have some guys who are stepping up when we need them to step up here. That's all we can ask for, is everyone giving 100% no matter what."
The Cougars' path to glory will not be easy.
If the team survives a May 1 game against Calvary Christian (14-1) in the regional semifinals, it will play either the Community School of Naples (16-4) or Tampa Jesuit High (14-4) in the regional finals on May 4.
Earlier in the season, Mooney beat Jesuit 11-10 in overtime but lost 9-8 to CSN. Both games were on the road. This time, the game would be at home, which is an advantage the team will take full advantage of.
While it does not make the games themselves any easier, Wagner said, it does allow the team to get a bit more rest and allows the coaches to focus solely on the games instead of travel and other logistics. It also gives the team the support of a raucous home crowd.
"It is not a thing we take for granted," Wagner said. "This is what we work for all season. This is why we had the schedule we had. To put us in this position. We expected to be here. It's just a matter of executing. You don't want to squander this."
