Around the Crease is LaxRecords.com’s weekly notebook where I look at the news of the week, in addition to highlighting teams, players, and coaches.
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Chasing The King
It was an incredible way to kick off the weekend.
Less than 24 hours after Mikey Berkman from West Orange (Fla.) surpassed 400 career points, Nicky Solomon from Centennial (Ga.) became just the 18th player in history to score at least 500 points in his career.
And we’re only four games into Solomon’s season.
Solomon’s 500th point came on an assist to Maryland commit Ryan Siracusa (video above). The UNC commit had eight assists and five goals in the win over Norcross (Ga.) to give him 503 total points in his career.
“I wasn’t really thinking about the points, honestly,” Solomon said. “I was thinking about winning the game. It’s cool to get all these stats, but it’s more important to win.”
Solomon, the brother of Syracuse sophomore, Nathan Solomon, has averaged 155 points per season through his first three years and looks to become Georgia’s all-time leader.
To accomplish that feat he needs to dethrone Nathan, which according to teammates might not be so simple.
“[From teammates] I get that Nate’s better, or you’re the King’s brother and all that stuff,” Solomon said. “I think it’s funny.”
And what does Nathan think of it?
“He just said ‘you’re not there yet’,” Solomon said of Nathan’s response after he found out he scored 500. “He had a game yesterday, so I haven’t talked to him a whole lot. He’s probably sweating.”
The younger Solomon already passed Mikey Powell on the all-time scoring list, but he needs 135 more points this season to reach Nathan’s 623 career total.
Solomon needs to finish this year with 171 points to tie his brother. He scored 175 points last season.
No Longer Streaking
Oxbridge Academy (Fla.) snapped a couple of St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) streaks with a 6-4 win on March 2.
The Thunderwolves ended the Raiders 42-game streak against in-state teams in addition to its 13-game overall winning streak. STA’s 13 game streak was the longest in the state.
Oxbridge improved to 4-0 with the victory. Head Coach Stan Ross has led his team to wins over STA and St. Andrew’s (Fla.) this season. They face Maryland power Boys’ Latin (Md.) Saturday.
St. Thomas Aquinas is now 4-1.
Ponte Vedra (Fla.) now has the longest winning streak in the state. The Sharks started the season 6–0 and posted wins over IMG Academy (Fla.) and Lake Highland Prep (Fla.).
Shameless Plug
You may have noticed a new stat on LaxRecords.com last week. Faceoff percentage is now a stat that is track and you can submit for inclusion in my daily updates and the 2018 Best Known Performers.
To get added to the list a player needs to have taken at least 10 faceoffs in a game and won 65 percent.
You can use the Submit a Player Performance form to submit a player for inclusion.
I am also searching for season and career statistics for faceoff men.