MIA Lacrosse Takes Down Village School

The Manta Rays reigned over the Village School Knights on Thursday, February 15th with a final score of 16-2. 

Sophomore captain Nick Sadler led the charge with six goals. Following him was Lincoln LaButte with five, Gavin Pascale with three, and Wyatt Bailey with two. Collin Grensing dominated the face off game, winning all 17 he participated in. 

Anyone looking across at the benches of the two schools could clearly observe how MIA outnumbered the Knights in every way. With a stacked roster and wide array of coaching staff, the Rays seem to be a force to be reckoned with. Village School was missing a multitude of their players for this game, which hurt them greatly. At one point, three of their players were penalized and had to sit out momentarily, forcing their teammates to play with a significant hole in their lineup. The Manta Rays were no stranger to penalties in this game either. Many heated scuffles between players lit up the field and it was clear that every player was playing with high intensity and determination.

“The Rays are off to a great start,” said Doug Hill, Ray’s Head Coach. “We’ve implemented a new offense that enabled us to make a whopping 63 shots against VSN. The squad is 26 strong and improving with each practice.”

The Manta Rays had a 6-point lead over the Knights going into halftime. Despite the continuous efforts from Village School, they were unable to pull together any more points. Marco player Ivan Harrison had four saves at goal and was even able to run through all the players to attempt a shot on goal. Hill reported that, “Captain Ivan Harrison has an incredible 75% stop rate, placing in the top 1% of the nation.”

Coaches from MIA cycled in a few of their second string players to get them some action and prepare for the coming season. 

Max Perenesky from Village School scored both of the goals for his team. These were their first goals in high school history. Village School’s high school lacrosse program started this year, and this was only their second game.

Familiar faces were spotted off the field in the Knight’s coaching staff. Former MIA teacher Michael Butler is now the head coach for the boy’s high school lacrosse team and teaches for the middle school. Additionally, 2022 MIA graduate Quintin Fitton is the assistant coach. Many of the players for the Rays have been coached by Butler in previous years at Lely and played alongside Fitton. 

The Manta Ray’s season continues next week with games at Palmetto Ridge (1-1) and Naples (1-0).