A decade in waiting: Boca Raton boys lacrosse makes regional splash with quarterfinals win

BOCA RATON — The wait is over.

The Bobcats won their first regional boys lacrosse playoff game in a decade on Thursday night, defeating Martin County 17-7.

Joining the ranks of Boca (13-4) leadership three years ago, head coach Zach Pasko set out to foster a culture of growth for the sport in the city.

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“I can tell you right now, I didn’t build it by myself,” Pasko said. “I have a great group of coaches. It’s all about these kids. They had to buy in. You can try to create a culture as much as you want, but it takes the buy-in from the kids. I’m just the coach.”

Thursday's victory was the latest example of that plan producing dividends, and the stars of the regional match showed why they’ve earned their nicknames.

Finding his team in an early 3-1 hole, Bobcats’ Anthony "Antman" Hicks put together a three-goal first quarter that galvanized his squad, part of a game-high eight-goal performance.

While Anthony was thought of as an underdog, his father coined the nickname based on the movie.

“I saw our team was down, so I knew we had to get the morale up,” Hicks said. “I just thought, the best way to do that is get some goals in and get the sideline moving. Just get the crowd cheering.”

Do-it-all Aidan “the General” Caffrey then took over in the second quarter, even getting an assist from his twin brother, Grayson, on a second-quarter score.

The senior’s nickname stems from his commitment to join the Navy on an ROTC scholarship.

“I just do what it takes to win,” Caffrey said. “I get after it. Whatever they need me to do, I do. I fill in the roles. Today, I was taking a little bit more shots. I just do what’s asked of me and that’s what I’ve always done.”

There are so many more, including James "Money" Marzan and Miller "Miller Time" Dickenson, who made a number of pivotal saves against a Martin County team that came into Thursday’s game averaging over 10 points per game.

After the Bobcats went on a 6-1 run to take control of the game, Martin County battled back with a few goals. Just three goals separated the two squads at halftime, with Boca leading 9-6.

The second half was a runaway for Boca, outscoring the northern county counterparts 8-1 in the final two quarters, largely thanks to a two-goal, four-assist performance from Bryce Cordoba.

It also doesn't hurt when the squad as a whole is converting over 40% of its shots.

Boca Raton will face the winner of Friday’s match between No. St. Thomas Aquinas and No. 7 Stoneman Douglas, and home-field advantage will depend on the matchup.

So how far can Boca Raton go?

“In terms of the ceiling, I wouldn’t be able to predict how far we can go,” Luke Trinley said. “It’s only been a few years and we’ve already made this much progress. The future’s bright as hell, man. We’re only going up from here. Big things this year, and we’re not done yet.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton boys lacrosse defeats Martin County in regional matchup