Freshman Nick Testa dishes out five assists as St. Andrew’s lax dominates

Scots take out Belen Jesuit in Class 1A regional semifinals

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA – Freshman attackman Nick Testa tallied five assists to help St. Andrew’s to a dominate 15-1 win over Belen Jesuit in the Class 1A regional semifinals. The top-seeded Scots earn their 16th win of the season and fourth in a row as they head into Saturday’s final.

Four of Testa’s helpers came on a pair of goals each from seniors Jack Schulte and Eric Stiefel. Testa’s other assist came off the stick of freshman Shovan Eriksson with 1:31 remaining in the first half. Testa has now recorded a team-high 62 assists for the Scots.

St. Andrew's freshman Nick Testa dished out five assists, to increase his season total to 62, as the Scots routed Belen Jesuit, 15-1, in the Class 1A boys lacrosse regional semifinals / Photo by Michael Costeines

“I think we played good as a team,” said Testa. We moved the ball well. Our defense played a lot. We played good zone. When it came to offense, we moved the ball well. We found the cuts on the crease and our faceoff guys did great at the X. Hopefully we keep going and keep it rolling.”

St. Andrew’s first two goals of the game came from junior Connor Hofbauer at the 9:44 and 0:49 mark of the first quarter. Belen Jesuit did its best to control and slow the game down while keeping the Scots’ offense at bay for the first 12 minutes. The Wolverines lone goal on the night came from senior Israel Salabarria to make it 2-1 with 33 seconds remaining in the first period. However, the Scots quickly struck back on a goal by junior defenseman Leyton Zorumski, nine seconds later, to make it 3-1.

From there, St. Andrew’s offense got into gear with 12 straight goals to end the game. The Scots were led in goals by Eriksson and Schulte with three each. St. Andrew’s added nets from junior Dominick Deering, senior Caleb Fox, and freshman Cole Denton. Schulte leads the Scots with 54 goals while Stiefel is third with 33 goals.

After going up 9-1, the contest was delayed by lightning with 8:58 remaining in the third period. The half hour stoppage did little to stop St. Andrew’s offensive attack as they scored six goals out of the break. Belen Jesuit struggled to stop the Scots in the crease and on the ground ball.

St. Andrew’s also received a strong night in goal from Ryan Kaplan. The senior net-minder made seven saves while allowing the one goal. Kaplan came into the game with a .559 save percentage while making 99 saves. He earns his 16th win of the season to three losses. Facing shots all game, Belen Jesuit received a gritty performance from goaltender Andrew Candela. The junior made 12 saves on a barrage of shots after the first quarter.

Testa also leads the Scots in points and points per game. He has recorded two or more assists in 17 games this season. More so, Testa has three five assist outings along with a season-high nine assists against Gulliver Prep.

“I found it this year,” said Testa on his team chemistry. “Playing a lot of South Florida Swordfish club lacrosse with Jack and all the guys. I found with all my attackmen, we move the ball well and have a connection. We find each other a lot.”