By Marshall Tempest
Apopka Chief Staff
Last week, the Apopka boys lacrosse team started their 2025 spring season with an away game against Windermere High School. The Blue Darters fell 17-2 in their season opener against one of the best teams in the state.
Apopka boys lacrosse vs. Windermere
Last year, the Blue Darters finished their season 2-15 and ranked 195th in the state. Windermere finished their season 11-7 and ranked 79th in the state. The two programs have a slight gap, but Apopka never shies away from elite opponents.
Apopka’s two goals came from Matthew Touchet and Colt Hoyt. Hoyt also collected one groundball and nine faceoff wins. The Blue Darters’ goalies Brennan Harvey, Parker Aho, and Nya Makonnen allowed 17 goals between the three of them but also combined for 12 saves, with Makonnen accounting for 10 of them.
After their game against Windermere on Tuesday, February 11, the boys hosted the Lake Minneola Hawks on Thursday, February 13. Last year, the Hawks, like Windermere, finished as one of the best teams in the state. The Hawks finished the 2024 season with an 11-5 record and were ranked 73rd in the state. Lake Minneola also beat Windermere last year in the second round of the Class 2A District 5 Championship 11-3.
Apopka boys lacrosse vs. Lake Minneola
The first two games of the 2025 Apopka boys’ lacrosse campaign were against top-100 schools, as the team tried to lay the foundation of its game before the season’s gauntlet.
Sadly, the game against Lake Minneola was much like the loss to Windermere. Apopka fell 17-3, scoring one more goal than in their loss to Windermere. Cooper Johnson and Brennan Walsh scored three goals for Apopka. Johnson scored two goals, and Walsh scored one but also collected two ground balls.
Jayden Burton and Hayden Pugh, the Blue Darters’ faceoff specialists, had a great game at the midfield line. Burton and Pugh had 12 faceoff wins, with Burton collecting 11 of those wins. Apopka’s goalies Brennan Harvey, Stockton Hurlburt, Parker Aho, and Nya Makonnen collectively made 10 saves on 25 shots on goal. Makonnen led his fellow goalies in saves with five, Hurlburt had three saves, and Aho had two.
Whats next?
This week, the boys have two games, the first being on Tuesday, February 18, against the South Lake Eagles at home, which is slated for a 6 p.m. start. The Eagles were 0-1 coming into the game after falling in their first game of the season 9-1 to St. Cloud. This is also the first year South Lake has had a lacrosse team since the 2013 season.
The boys’ second game is on Thursday, February 20, against Ocoee High School for Apopka’s third district matchup of the season. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. at Ocoee. The Ocoee Knights are coming into the game with a 0-1 record after falling 19-3 to East River in their season opener. The Knights do have a game on Tuesday against Tohopekaliga before their matchup with Apopka on Thursday.
The Blue Darters have an opportunity to quickly improve in week two of the season and get back to .500. If Apopka can beat South Lake and then Ocoee, a district matchup, it would be huge for rankings and momentum going forward into the season.
