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ALL-AREA GIRLS LACROSSE TEAM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR MACKENZIE SMITH
All-Area First Team
Meredith Baker
Maddy Blakeman
Olivia Blakeman
Brianna Blum
Marissa Braden
Hope Cotten ALEX BOERNER/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Mackenzie Smith of Vero Beach High School is the 2012 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year.
Gracee Hendrix
The closer
Olivia Long
Mackenzie Smith was the go-to player on another Indians’ state championship team Caitlyn Miller
Lexi Moirano
Lucy Sexton
By Laurel Pfahler
Allison Modica
Player of the Year
laurel.pfahler@scripps.com 772-978-2282
VERO BEACH — When the game was on the line, the Vero Beach High School girls lacrosse team put the ball in Mackenzie Smith’s possession. Rarely, did Smith not convert. The senior attacker/midfielder developed into the Fighting Indians’ go-to player this year and guided them to a seventh straight state title and a 22-2 finish with four wins over out-of-state opponents. Smith, the team’s points leader with 66 goals and 64 assists, is the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers All-Area Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year. “It’s all attitude,” Vero Beach coach Shannon Dean said. “I have coached Mackenzie many years and I’ve watched her evolve as a player, and this was the final chapter in her high school career, to be that dominant player for Vero Beach High School. “That’s what she wanted, and whatever she sets her sights on, she gets it.” Smith, who is signed to play at Vanderbilt, began to set herself apart at the end of last season. Her best game came in an 12-11 win over St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (D.C.) on March 30, when Smith scored a game-high five goals, including the game-winner with 2:48 left. The win came right after McDonogh (Md.) ended the Indians’ 69-game
Katy Pridemore
Allison Windsor
MEREDITH BAKER
Vero Beach junior attacker Stats: 16 goals, 8 assists, 16 draw controls, 7 groundball controls, 3 interceptions
MADDY BLAKEMAN
St. Edward’s senior midfielder Stats: 71 goals, 17 assists
OLIVIA BLAKEMAN
St. Edward’s sophomore midfielder Stats: 50 goals, 20 assists
BRIANNA BLUM
Vero Beach junior defender Stats: 8 goals, 2 assists, 6 draw controls, 16 groundball controls, 6 interceptions
MARISSA BRADEN
Coach of the Year
Shannon Dean
Mackenzie Smith
Vero Beach senior midfielder/attacker Stats: 66 goals, 64 assists, 22 draw controls, 24 groundball controls; a four-year player who helped Vero Beach to its seventh straight state final win this season; a first-team All-District, All-Region and All-League selection and a 2012 U.S. Lacrosse All-American and Academic All-American Coach Shannon Dean: “You look for that go-to player and she definitely identified herself as the one we wanted with the ball in her hands at the end of the game or as a game-changer. She developed into that role at the end of last year, and she was definitely our go-to player. She has that makeup that puts her in the elite level. She’s cemented her name into the elite class of Vero Beach High School players.”
The Team The 2012 All-Area Girls Lacrosse Team was compiled by Laurel Pfahler.
win streak. “We lost some big players on the offensive end with Courtney (Swan), Erin (Schroeder) and Sam (MacCurdy), so I wanted to be the player to step up in situations where needed and to be a senior leader,” Smith said. “I knew one of us had to take that role, and I wanted to be an impact player.” Smith’s résumé is packed full with honors. She is a 2012 U.S. Lacrosse First Team All-American and Academic All-American, was a U.S. Lacrosse Top (High School) Performer for April 4 and May 2, the ESPN Rise Southeast Region Player
of the Week for May 8 and earned first team All-District, All-Region and All-League. The St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes game stands out as the highlight of Smith’s career, but she ended it on a high note, too. Vero Beach had to fend off a quick start from OrlandoBishop Moore in the state championship game, but Smith scored three of the Indians’ first four goals and sparked a run to put the Fighting Indians ahead for good in what turned into a 22-6 rout. Smith said scoring goals became “like second nature” to her after an increased focus in practice this year. She said the experience of playing with some of the top players in the country helped her “drastically improve” since her freshman year. “I have so much experience from playing with these girls and the girls I was with the past three years, with players like Courtney, Jenn (Leffew)
Team: Vero Beach Years with team: 10th season This season: Led the Fighting Indians to a seventh straight state final win and a 22-2 finish, including victories over four out-of-state opponents. Vero Beach has won 93 straight games against in-state opponents. Quotable: “This year tested another angle of my coaching ability as far as having a mix of players from freshmen up to seniors. It was very challenging to get them to mesh together toward that common goal, but it just made me a better coach. As coaches, we are also students of the game, and I’m constantly learning through my players new things as a coach and this season was something I will take with me. It was especially gratifying in that aspect that it was something I wasn’t used to and I had to overcome.”
and Krista (Grabher),” Smith said. “I was constantly forced to be better, and I just tried to put my own spin on what they did. “I’ve learned tons of lessons on and off the field, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to play for.”
Martin County senior midfielder Stats: 65 goals, 16 assists
First Team continued
HOPE COTTEN
Jensen Beach sophomore midfielder Stats: 63 goals, 13 assists, 36 interceptions, 74 groundball controls, 46 forced turnovers, 17 draw controls
CAITLYN MILLER
Vero Beach senior goalkeeper Stats: 52 percent save percentage
GRACEE HENDRIX
Vero Beach senior defensive midfielder Stats: 9 goals, 7 assists, 20 draw controls, 18 groundball controls, 5 interceptions
OLIVIA LONG
Vero Beach senior defender Stats: 4 goals, 6 assists, 70 draw controls, 35 groundball controls, 1 interception
ALLISON MODICA
Vero Beach junior midfielder Stats: 28 goals, 8 assists, 13 draw controls, 6 groundball controls, 5 interceptions
LEXI MOIRANO
Vero Beach junior attacker Stats: 37 goals, 12 assists, 10 groundball controls, 2 interceptions
KATY PRIDEMORE
Vero Beach sophomore midfielder Stats: 67 goals, 40 assists, 22 draw controls, 29 groundball controls
LUCY SEXTON
Vero Beach senior midfielder Stats: 41 goals, 20 assists, 17 draw controls, 18 groundball controls
ALLISON WINDSOR
Martin County senior attacker Stats: 29 goals, 44 assists, while playing on broken ankle
Honorable Mention ANGIE BENSON Martin County freshman goalkeeper CHRISTIANA BUTZ St. Edward’s sophomore attacker BRENNA CONWAY John Carrol soph. attacker
SAVANNAH COTTEN Jensen Beach senior attacker LARA DRONDOSKI St. Edward’s senior defender RACHEL DUMAS Pine School senior midfielder
MORGAN FALKENHAGEN St. Edward’s sophomore midfielder MEGAN KROH Vero Beach senior defender ASHLEY MACINTYRE Vero Beach freshman midfielder
ANGELINE NISA Jensen Beach senior defender/midfielder HANNAH PALAU Vero Beach freshman attacker ANMOL PATEL St. Edward’s senior defender
CAROLINE SMITH Martin County sophomore midfielder ELIZABETH UPTON Pine School senior midfielder
All-Area Spring Sports Schedule SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Girls Tennis
Boys Tennis
Girls Track
Boys Track
Girls Lacrosse
Boys Lacrosse
Softball
Baseball
See previous all-area teams on prepzone.TCPalm.com