Final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Lacrosse Rankings

Garden City (N.Y.) has been named the No. 1 team in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Lacrosse Rankings.

The Trojans capped a 22-0 season Saturday by downing Irondequoit in the New York Class B championship game at Middletown, 11-4.

Devin Dwyer had two goals and four assists and Patric Berkery scored three goals as the Trojans won their first state title since 2000 and fifth overall. Garden City led by just one goal, 4-3, after three quarters, but opened it up in the final period.

Rob Savage and Justin Guterding each had two goals and Liam Kennedy added a goal and two assists while Cody George scored once. Dan Marino was a standout in the goal with eight saves.

"From beginning of the season, when we were ranked No. 5 in the nation, we really didn't pay attention to rankings," said Garden City junior long stick midfielder Kyle Skramko. "Coach (Steve) Finnell tells us not to look at that. "Instead we tried to stay focused to work hard. Our work ethic helped us out. To go undefeated is really amazing. We really put our hearts on the field. Since I was in kindergarten, I wanted to win a state championship. This is surreal that it's all really happened."

The Trojans got the nod as the No. 1 team over other champions that enjoyed brilliant seasons. No. 2 Calvert Hall (Md.) won the powerful MIAA "A" Conference crown, but fell to Pennsylvania state champion Conestoga (No. 7) and also lost once in MIAA league play.

No. 3 West Islip (N.Y.) also won a state title Saturday, taking the Class A crown, but had a loss to No. 11 Chaminade (N.Y). No. 4 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) won the WCAC crown but suffered one defeat in the regular season to McDonogh.

No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.) also wrapped up a state crown Saturday, handling Delbarton, 11-5, for a second straight Tournament of Champions title and its 36th-straight win.

But when looking at strength of schedule, Garden City has the decided advantage. The Trojans, aside from winning a New York state title, claimed a huge 12-11 victory over then-No. 1 Conestoga in the Checking for Cancer Invitational at Haverford School.

They also defeated Massachusetts state finalist Duxbury (No. 10), 10-5. Garden City outscored its last four opponents 48-12 in section and state playoff action.

Final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Lacrosse Rankings

1. (No. 1 last week) Garden City (N.Y.), 22-0
Devin Dwyer had two goals and four assists and Patric Berkery scored three goals as the Trojans capped a perfect season with an 11-4 conquest of Irondequoit in the Class B boys lacrosse state championship at Middletown. Garden City won its first state title since 2000 and fifth overall.

2. (2) Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 16-2
The Cardinals delivered a statement victory over Loyola Blakefield in the MIAA A Conference championship game, 17-3. It was their first MIAA crown since 2003.

3. (4) West Islip (N.Y.), 21-1
Nick Aponte collected three goals and four assists and Tom Moore added three goals and an assist to help the Lions topple Ithaca, 12-7, for their fifth Class A championship in seven years. The Lions (21-1) also won the title in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Goalie Jack Kelly was named Defensive Player of the Game with 14 saves for West Islip. Ithaca seized a 2-0 lead in the first quarter and it was Kelly’s superb play that helped the Lions stay alive. West Islip then took a 4-2 lead in the second quarter and exploded for six goals in the third quarter to take a 10-5 lead.

4. (3) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 20-1
The Purple Eagles claimed their third-straight WCAC championship with the 10-3 win over DeMatha. Gonzaga closed the year with 14 straight wins.

5. (5) Bridgewater-Raritan (Bridgewater, N.J.), 21-0
The Panthers won their 36th-straight game and claimed their second-consecutive Tournament of Champions title with an 11-5 conquest of Delbarton Saturday. Scott Bieda had six goals and an assist to lead the victory while Zach Higgins scored twice, Ryan Hollingsworth had a goal and four assists and Zach Jones made 12 saves. The Panthers led 8-1 at halftime and never looked back.

6. (7) Haverford School (Pa.), 21-2
The top-seeded Fords suffered a 15-11 loss to Episcopal Academy in the Inter-Ac Invitational finals. But they won the Inter-Ac League title, going undefeated, and went 4-0 against MIAA teams.

7. (8) Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 23-3
The Pioneers claimed their third-straight Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) championship by defeating La Salle, 10-7, Saturday at HersheyPark Stadium. Tyler Brooke scored four goals and Bradlee Lord had two goals and four assists while goalies Brody Shea (five saves) and Robbie Zonino (six saves) were standouts as the Pioneers improved their record to 96-8 over the past four years – all of which led to state final berths.

8. (9) St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 16-3
The Friars won their fourth-straight CHSAA Class AAA championship by upending Chaminade, 8-6.

9. (10) Salisbury School (Conn.), 12-1
The Crimson Knights closed their season with a 13-5 win over Choate (Conn.). Their only loss was an 11-10 overtime defeat to Deerfield Academy (Mass.).

10. (11) Duxbury (Mass.), 20-2
Cam Mullins, Seamus Connelly and Henry Narlee each had hat tricks as the Dragons routed Lincoln-Sudbury in the Division I state semifinals, 18-6. The win advances Duxbury into the Division 1 championship game for the 11th straight year. The Dragons shoot for their ninth state title against sixth-seeded Needham on Wednesday at Harvard Stadium (7:45 p.m.).

11. (12) Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.), 16-2
The Flyers again dropped the CHSAA title game to St. Anthony's, 8-6.

12. (13) Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.), 16-4
A 17-3 loss to Calvert Hall in the MIAA A Conference championship game does not spoil a standout season for the Dons. Loyola Blakefield doubled its win total after going 8-10 last year and also had an impressive 13-7 victory over defending champion Gilman in the MIAA semifinals.

13. (15) Episcopal Academy (Newtown Square, Pa.), 18-5
The Churchmen rallied from an early 4-0 deficit and toppled Haverford School, 15-11, to win their first Inter-Ac Invitational championship and snap the Fords' 34-game win streak against Pennsylvania teams.

14. (18) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 22-1
The Mavericks rallied to defeat Torrey Pines, 8-7 in overtime, to win the CIF San Diego Section Division I title for the fifth time in seven years. Tom Riis scored twice in the final 2 minutes to send the game into overtime and Aaron Loy won it with 20 seconds left in overtime. The Mavs' only loss was a 7-6 overtime decision to St. Anthony's.

15. (19) Landon (Bethesda, Md.), 13-6
The Bears capped a brilliant stretch of 10 wins in 11 games as they downed Bullis School (Md.), 7-4, to win the Interstate Athletic Conference championship for the 28th time. Landon is the only school to defeat No. 2 Haverford School this year.

16. (20) Arapahoe (Centennial, Colo.), 19-0
The Warriors claimed their second CHSAA title in four years with an 8-4 victory over Cherry Creek. Bryce Parietti led the Warriors with three goals in the title game.

17. (21) Darien (Conn.), 20-2
Henry West and Peter Lindley scored four goals each as the Blue Wave won their seventh state championship in the last eight years by downing New Canaan in the Class M finals, 11-5.

18. (22) Gilman (Baltimore), 12-4
The Greyhounds were eliminated in the semifinals of the MIAA A Conference tournament by Loyola Blakefield (Md.), 13-7. They still boasted wins over No. 17 La Salle and No. 20 Landon School.

19. (25) Deerfield Academy (Mass.), 14-2
The Big Green finished with two huge wins, an 11-10 overtime victory over previously undefeated Salisbury and a 6-5 double overtime triumph over Phillips Exeter (N.H.).

20. (17) Ithaca (N.Y.), 18-2
The Little Red fell to West Islip in the Class A championship, 12-7. Doug Biondi had three goals and an assist for Ithaca, which had a huge 11-9 victory over Fairport in the semifinals.

21. (16) La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.), 20-5
The Explorers suffered a 10-7 loss to Conestoga in the PIAA championship game. Adam Stefanowicz had two goals and Matt Rambo contributed a goal and three assists for the Explorers, who also lost to Conestoga in the 2010 finals.

22. (14) Niskayuna (N.Y.), 20-2
The Section 2 champion Silver Warriors fell to West Islip in the Class A state semifinals, 9-6. Luke Goldstock had two goals for the Silver Warriors, who were held to their lowest goal total of the year.

23. (6) Fairport (N.Y.), 20-1
The Section 5 champion Red Raiders saw their undefeated season end in Wednesday's 11-9 loss to Ithaca in the New York state Class B semifinals. Derek Dejoe and Brian Martin each scored twice for Fairport.

24. (24) Liverpool (N.Y.), 18-2
The Warriors won their first Section 3 Class A title in 23 years by stunning West Genesee, 6-5 in overtime, on a goal by Kyle Deangelis with 6 seconds left in overtime. Liverpool had dropped a 14-4 decision to West Genesee in the regular season and lost a 7-6 triple overtime decision to the Wildcats in last year's title game.

25. (NR) Smithtown West (N.Y.), 16-2
The Bulls reached the Section 11 championship game and had victories this year over Section 11 champ Ward Melville and state Class B semifinalist Yorktown.

Dropped out: West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 17-2.

Chris Goldberg, editor and owner of Lacrosse Media, operates Phillylacrosse.com, LILacrosseNews.com and BaltimoreLacrosseNews.com, as well as the new national gear site, LaxGearZone.com. He may be reached at golax@phillylacrosse.com.