- April 12, 2026
FPC goalie Aiden Commendatore makes a spectacular save. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' Cole Cabrera (6) gains possession. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' Trey O'Janovac (99) scoops up a ground ball in front of Garrett Winkler. Photo by Keishia McLendon
FPC's Zane Dailey (right) defends against Matanzas' Case Britton. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' CJ Schouten has possession with FPC's Jacob Moreira (11) in pursuit. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas goalie Liam O'Connor nabs a high shot. Photo by Keishia McLendon
FPC goalie Aiden Commendatore. Photo by Keishia McLendon
FPC midfielder Brayden Norton-Henry. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' CJ Schouten (left) and FPC's Zane Dailey in a faceoff. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' CJ Schouten (right) comes up with the ball after a faceoff with FPC's Zane Dailey. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Zane Dailey (left) and CJ Schouten battle for possession. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas' CJ Schouten (left) wins a face off with Zane Dailey. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Matanzas and FPC players go after a ground ball. Photo by Keishia McLendon
FPC goalie Aiden Commendatore makes a save. Photo by Keishia McLendon
The Matanzas boys and girls lacrosse teams both won their first-round district tournament games on Friday, April 10, to advance to the District 4-2A semifinals.
The Pirates played a doubleheader at home. In the first game, the Matanzas boys defeated Flagler Palm Coast 10-5. In the nightcap, the Matanzas girls defeated Sanford Seminole 13-7.
The Matanzas boys last won a district tournament game two years ago, also against FPC, 8-7. They will travel to Gainesville Buchholz (13-5) on Tuesday, April 14, for a 7 p.m. semifinal.
The Matanzas girls won their first district tournament game in 10 years. They will travel to Lake Mary (14-3) on Monday, April 13, for a 7:30 p.m. semifinal. The Rams are ranked fifth in the state overall and second in Class 2A.
“We’ll see how we compare to the No. 1 seed,” Pirates girls coach Brandie Alred said. “It will help us to see what we need to focus on next year.”
Junior Addison Alred scored seven goals against Seminole. Senior Mia Apfelbach had three goals and two assists. Sophomore Trinity Johnston had two goals and seven ground balls, and senior Taylor Openshaw scored a goal, recovered seven ground balls and caused five turnovers. Goalie Taylor Basiger had five saves. The Pirates improved to 7-5, clinching a winning season for the first time since 2016.
“We played [Seminole] in the preseason, when we won 14-6,” Alred said. “We knew they were going to be better, but we also got better. Their defense improved, but we were able to power through. In the preseason we didn’t know where we stood. We improved our stick skills and our passing, and we’re utilizing every single player.”
Vinny Ferrugiaro scored seven goals for the Matanzas boys team, while Michael Lamonica, Rylee Roberts and CJ Schouten each scored one goal for the Pirates’ second victory this season against the Bulldogs.
Matanzas improved to 4-10 with the quarterfinal win, while FPC ended its season at 2-12. The Bulldogs collected their two victories in the their final two regular-season games on April 1-2.
Senior Ryan Zapata scored three goals for the Bulldogs, while freshman Garrett Winkler scored twice. Senior goalie Aiden Comendatore ended his high school career with over 700 saves in this three seasons with FPC. He will play lacrosse next season with Savannah College of Art and Design. Matanzas attacker Ferrugiaro has committed to play for Oglethorpe University.
FPC closed to within 6-3 in the third quarter before the Pirates outscored the visitors 4-2 the rest of the way.
The FPC girls also saw their season end on April 10 with a 14-4 district quarterfinal loss to Lake Brantley on the road on April 10. Brianna Long scored three goals for the Bulldgos (4-11), while Sofia Fretterd scored one goal. The two juniors each scored 32 goals this season.
