LADY CONCHS LACROSSE DOMINATES SENIOR NIGHT District Playoffs Less Than One Month Away

In a showdown Key West girls lacrosse coach Marisa Giacopuzzi called “a night to remember,” the Lady Conchs squared off against Archbishop McCarthy on March 14, outscoring the Mavericks 17-5.

It was Senior Night for Key West and the seniors, escorted by the band, stole the show, scoring nine of the team’s 17 goals. Senior captain Bella Marchiano had an impressive night, scoring two goals and an assist plus five draw controls, three ground balls and three forced turnovers. Fellow captain Ada Van Loon scored three times and was credited with an assist, two ground balls and two draw controls.

Low defender and captain Rachel Owens caused a turnover and scooped up a ground ball for Key West. Katie Collins netted two goals and caused a turnover and Michaela Kevalova scored one. Sophia Felini had a goal, five ground balls, two draw controls and a forced turnover. Although she’s a defensive specialist, Devan Bittner still found the net once and added a ground ball, two draw controls and a forced turnover.

The seniors weren’t the only ones scoring for the Conchs. Freshman Maria Chaney had three goals, sophomore Kaitlyn Piloto had two plus an assist, and junior captain Ella Baxter scored two goals, assisted five times and forced a turnover. Freshman defender Colbie Turner caused four turnovers and sophomore goalkeeper Coutney Grabus was credited with one save and a ground ball in the game.

Giacopuzzi credited the win to her team’s willingness to share the spotlight, especially on a night set aside to honor the seniors.

“I loved seeing how selfless everyone was, passing the ball around, trying to get everyone to score – especially our seniors,” she explained.

The 7-1 Conchs are undefeated in district play and hope to maintain the top spot heading into the playoffs, which begin April 11. Their next game is against Miami Country Day Thursday, March 30, and they’ll head up U.S. 1 to face Coral Shores the next day.

Coral Shores’ lone game this week was canceled, giving the Lady ’Canes a nearly three-week break between games. They will see action again on

Tuesday, March 28 when they travel to Coral Reef High School.

Key West’s boys had a busy week, playing three games in four days. On March 14, the Conchs played at Ransom, losing the game 16-2. Even worse, though, captain and key offensive attacker Mack Hill broke his arm in the matchup and will be out for an indefinite period. A bright spot was Carter Sessoms, who managed to get the ball in the net for Key West.

Twelve was the unlucky number as the Conchs dropped a pair to Archbishop McCarthy and Coral Reef on March 16 and 17, 12-2 and

12-10. Brooks Pellicier scored the two goals for Key West on night one, then another the following night. Sessoms had three goals and two assists against Coral Reef while Noah Collins netted three goals, Smith Switzer had two and Morgan McPherson scored one. Daniel Ognian was credited with an assist. Key West is off until Friday, March 31 when they travel to Coral Shores to face the Hurricanes.

Coral Shores traveled to Miami on March 14 to take on the Barracudas of Coral Reef. Reece Jahn helped keep it close with 17 saves in goal, but in the end, the ’Canes lost 8-6. Chuck Jacobsen found the net twice and had five ground balls, but it was faceoffs where he truly excelled, winning eight of 11 attempts. Lucas Carballo, Alex Sebben, Andrew Kumar and Landon Blackford each scored once. The ’Canes are off for spring break and play again on Wednesday, March 29 at home, facing LaSalle. They won 16-3 in their last encounter with the Royal Lions on Feb. 28.

... is a photographer, writer, and semi-professional birdwatcher. He has lived in Key West for more than 25 years and may no longer be employable in the real world. He is also executive director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society.

One of the central tenets of my wife’s and my marriage is: we don’t tell each other what to do. It’s not a rule so much as a guideline, one we both make an effort not to stray too far beyond. We’re both long-time fans of hard-won personal autonomy.

There’s been a big asterisk on that tenet in recent weeks, though, one perpetrated by my wife that could almost be considered borderline nagging.

It has mostly manifested itself in her repeated use of a single sentence: “Why don’t you write something about Flaco?” I’m not sure if I punctuated her phrase correctly. Do you use a question mark at the end of a sentence that is not so much a question as a directive?

Flaco, for those unaware, is an owl, specifically a Eurasian eagle-owl, who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan on Feb. 2 after vandals cut open the wire mesh on his cage. He’s spent the last month and a half hanging around what is arguably the most famous public space in the world. Flaco was captive bred, and at first it was worried that he would starve to death because he wouldn’t know how to hunt and feed himself, and having spent most of his life in a cage that has been described as about the size of a bus stop shelter, he was not the best flier. But his flying skills have apparently greatly improved, and he seems to be thriving on a steady diet of readily available, and easily catchable, rats. And he’s become something of a celebrity. In certain New York social circles, catching sight of Flaco has more cachet than seeing J-Lo and Ben out on a tear, or overhearing Fran Lebowitz complain about the quality of the bagels or how you can’t get proper jelly beans since Schrafft’s went out of business or whatever.

Flaco also has a serious media profile, having been the subject of stories in venerable media outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, CBS, ABC, NPR, the New York Post, the New Yorker and National Geographic.

Eurasian eagle-owls are one of the biggest owl species in the world, with the Latin name Bubo bubo, with “bubo” meaning owl, arguably making them the owliest of owls. It helps that Flaco is drop-dead gorgeous, a big owl with a 6-foot wingspan, long ear tufts, and an earthy plumage that ranges from dark taupe to fawn to mocha to tiger orange.

The term for such a creature in the ecoworld is charismatic megafauna. People just love them.

This time of year, with all the bare-limbed trees in the park, he’s been pretty easy to spot.