TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - As talented as last year's Maclay team was, they lost a heartbreaker to Orangewood Christian in the Elite Eight, ending their season. This year, senior Lucas Briggs wants to make sure that doesn't happen.
"I really want to win a Championship," he said. "That's our only goal this year."
The guys are all on the same page, and they seem to be peaking at the right time, cruising to a District title last week against Port St. Joe.
"We're coming off two fairly consistent, back to back games," said head coach Andy Warner. "Our goal is to make Wednesday a third one."
"We've done better than last year, and we were very close last year, so I'm liking our chances," agreed Lucas.
Maclay likes their chances when Lucas is on the pitch. Starting at central defender, Lucas is so versatile, he's also a big player on offense.
"He's the third leading scorer on the team from a central back position," said Warner. "He has a desire, and he has a nose for the goal, and to be honest, that's something you don't coach."
Another thing you can't coach? Lucas' grades in the classroom- he boasts a 3.84 GPA.
"I have to give it my all," he said. "It's a lot of long nights, a lot of early mornings where I'll wake up before school and type an essay."
"He's organized his time, like all the students here, and he makes sure that when it's soccer time, he can focus on that," said Warner. "We have no limitations here. How far do we want to go? What do we want to achieve and we want to do this collectively. My job as a coach is to get the best out of every athlete."
The best out of every athlete, and Lucas is hoping to ride that mantra all the way to State.
"We really want to leave our mark. I just hope to do the best we can and hope it all turns out in the end."
