WEST PALM BEACH — Oxbridge boys lacrosse is over the hump with a 12-7 defeat of a nationally ranked St. John Paul II squad. Now, the hope is to stay there.

For the first time since the program's inaugural season in 2012, Oxbridge (8-3) suffered a losing record.

After recording a career-best five goals to upset the Eagles on Thursday, senior and Florida Institute of Technology commit JD Ross' hope is that the ThunderWolves will finally start getting the credit they deserve this spring.

"Everyone in the state — we've been written off all year, and I think we want to prove that Oxbridge is still a lacrosse team you don't want to mess with," Ross said.

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Ross knows why, though.

The ThunderWolves swallowed some "tough pills" early in the season.

Tough losses help team lock in

Three-peat 1A state champion St. Andrew's dealt Oxbridge a 19-4 demolition in the second game of the season. Weeks later, Oxbridge lost to a battle-tested St. Edward's by four points. As of Tuesday's 14-10 loss to Benjamin, the ThunderWolves decided enough was enough.

"Their defense plays a lot more pressure," Ross said of SJPII. More often than not, the 6-foot-3 middie and attack found himself chased down by upward of three defenders throughout the night.

"Benjamin wanted to own their one-on-one matchups a little bit more, and I think we catered to this team a bit more than we did to Benjamin," he continued.

ThunderWolves have no doubt in Dowd

St. John Paul II (8-4) went from trailing 8-2 at the half to a near comeback in the fourth quarter when junior Travis Cheristin delivered a goal to shave the deficit down to just four points with five minutes of action left. With 1:47 to the horn, Oxbridge senior Campbell Zegras zinged in a hat trick goal for the final score of the game, but the true nail in the coffin was junior goalie Koury Dowd.

"Koury has been on fire all season. Two years ago, we graduated Parker Fite and Koury had to step in and play a big role and I think he did the right way," Ross said. "He started building it last year and I think when he's in his zone, he's one of the best goalies in the state."

Although the Eagles found a second wind to put up five goals in the second half, Dowd's resilience brought endless acclaim from spectators for his offseason progression and how "locked in" he's been for the ThunderWolves.

"After every goal on the defense, we all come together and talk it out. Same for the offense. After every goal, six heads in and for the defense, seven heads in. Coach [Stan] Ross has really helped us come together as a team, too," Dowd said.

"These past few weeks, we've really started to come together as a team and I think it showed tonight from the first quarter to the last quarter. We got together. We played great. No one was arguing and we got the win," Dowd said.

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"I've played with all these guys since I started playing lacrosse at 6 years old and we've built lifelong friendships that way," Ross said. "I think our team chemistry is just unbelievable ... it's really helped us get to where we've been so far."

Rebuilding the team's bond to the point where they can have post-win sleepovers like they do now was no easy task for Dowd, Ross and Oxbridge.

As the team welcomed a group of talented underclassmen in 2023, 14 of Oxbridge's skilled and steady playmakers who managed new egos in the past had graduated.

"Last year was rough. We really weren't one," Dowd said.

The ThunderWolves, currently led by 11 seniors, aren't happy to admit that much of their battling last year was done off the field, bickering among each other. Yet, those bitter memories make boisterous, hug-filled celebrations like Tuesday's that much sweeter.

"This year, we all started becoming friends again," Dowd said and smiled.

"Even after losses when it's hard to like each other, through the wins, through the practices, through conditioning we all come together as one team and I think it showed on the field tonight."

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Oxbridge boys lacrosse makes statement with St. John Paul II upset