Prep lacrosse | Saint Stephen's girls' second-half flurry secures state playoff win against Estero
BRADENTON -- Saint Stephen's was ready to put Estero away in the second half and secure the latest win that could qualify as the biggest in program history.
Then, less than two minutes into the final period, the Wildcats scored to slice the Falcons' lead to three goals.
Saint Stephen's had gone back and forth with Estero for most of the first 10 minutes before a late push gave the Falcons a four-goal halftime lead in the first round of state play-in games at Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Fields.
"I told my teammates that we needed to get really far ahead of them to win," sophomore attack Baylee Barker said, recalling the Falcons' halftime discussion. "Right there, I knew that we needed it open."
In the final period, Barker responded to Estero's goal with one of her own less than a minute-and-a-half later and again 31 seconds after that. Barker's goals were part of four-goal run in a 2:29 span that stretched the lead to seven, allowing Saint Stephen's best season to continue with an 18-10 win.
The Falcons, who won their first district title this season, will play host to Naples Barron Collier in the second round Tuesday.
The second-half flurry that sealed the Falcons' victory reminded head coach LeeAnn Fronckowiak why she anticipated this could be a historic season for the Falcons. When she took over three years ago, Saint Stephen's (10-4) was young and inexperienced. When the Falcons succeeded, it was typically in bursts like the one they used to put away Estero on Friday.
"They've been doing that pretty much all season," Frockowiak said. "We've seen that before, but not to the extent that we're seeing it this year. It's been there. That's what I saw the first year, but now they're really running with it.
Barker finished with a game-high six goals. Grace Moore and junior attack Emily Hiebner each added three goals, and freshman Kendall Miller recorded two goals and an assist. Moore capped her hat trick at the final whistle.
Saint Stephen's trailed for just more than two minutes after midfielder Arianna Endelman opened the scoring for the Wildcats 2:07 into the game. Although Estero scored first, Saint Stephen's controlled the pace. The Falcons won the opening draw and recorded five of the first six shot attempts before Moore scored the early equalizer in the fifth minute.
"It was mostly just get the draw. That was our main thing because if we don't get the draw we usually start a little bit flat, so we needed to get that first draw," Barker said. "When we get the draw we just exploded."
Fronckowiak wanted to see a wire-to-wire performance from Saint Stephen's after an uneven district championship win against Cardinal Mooney a week earlier. On the biggest stage they've ever played on, the Falcons delivered a gem.
"We played much better than we did Friday," Fronckowiak said. "Friday we were sloppy. We were in our heads. It was a rough first half. We got better in the second half, but you could feel whatever it was -- the pressure, whatever, the flow of the game -- it wasn't there. Today they were much better."
David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @dbwilson2
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 12:12 AM with the headline "Prep lacrosse | Saint Stephen's girls' second-half flurry secures state playoff win against Estero ."