James Finch made quite the impact in his freshman season at St. Thomas Aquinas.
In addition to his team-leading 62 goals and 31 assists, Finch started as a freshman on the state runner-up Raiders. He scored three or more goals in 11 matches, including five in an 11-8 win over St. Andrew’s; five in a win over Boca Raton, and a half-dozen each against Miami Columbus and Coral Glades.
“This was a big year for me as a freshman, making it all the way to states,” said Finch, who was one of four ninth-grade starters on the team that finished 17-4. He also tallied three goals and two assists in a 10-8 win over Jupiter.
Among his other accomplishments was traveling to New York and winning two games against top high schools in Long Island. He said he was also proud of beating rival, and three-time defending Class 1A state champion, St. Andrew’s, a game which he scored five times.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would make the impact that I did,” he added. “I knew I had to step up if I wanted to start as a freshman. I didn’t think I would do that well. I love the competition and I know if it is a big game and means something, it gave me the extra drive.
“It didn’t take the team long to accept me as a freshman,” Finch continued. “Once I started to prove myself, they started to encourage me to do more. In the beginning, there was a lot of pressure because we graduated some key players, but I just blocked that out. I don’t think me or the returning players ever want to experience losing the state final ever again and it is going to make us work even harder next year.”
St. Thomas Aquinas coach Terry Crowley came away impressed with his youthful attacker.
“James was our quarterback all year,” Crowley said. “We always say ‘big-time players, play big in big games’ and James did just that. We have never had a freshman that has been this dominant. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for this young man.”
