Sean Mahon and No. 11 Chaminade take aim at No. 12 St. Anthony's this week.
Photo by Ray Nelson
Two state championships have already been awarded, in Florida and Texas.
In the Sunshine State, Lake Highland Prep avenged its only loss of the season by beating St. Andrew's, 11-10, to win its first FHSAA title.
In the Lone Star State, Coppell defeated Dallas Jesuit, 10-8, for its first Texas state Division I championship.
For most schools, though, the start of the postseason is right around the corner, which makes this a make or break week for many teams either vying to secure a postseason berth or to improve their seeding.
Some teams have already locked up league titles, including the team that's held the top spot in the national rankings since the preseason, Haverford (Pa.). The Fords beat Episcopal Academy (Pa.) 13-9 on Saturday to improve their Inter-Ac League record to 7-0.
Joe McCallion continued his outstanding work in the faceoff X, finishing 15 of 25 on faceoffs.
One team that's hoping its success in pulling out close games continues into the playoffs is West Islip, which has won four New York state championships the last five years. The Lions won their third overtime game of the season last week by beating Suffolk County rival Smithtown West, 8-7, on a goal by
Tom Moore.
As the regular season wraps up, many seniors are achieving significant milestones.
University of North Carolina recruit Joe Sankey of Penn Charter (Pa.) surpassed the 300-point mark for his varsity career by registering two goals and six assists in a 13-7 victory against Garnet Valley (Pa.), giving him 164 goals and 143 assists.
Siena signee
Kieran Donohue of Somers (N.Y.) scored his 100th varsity goal in a 14-8 win over Horace Greeley (N.Y.). Donohue had four goals and two assists in the contest.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL BOYS LACROSSE RANKINGS1. Haverford School (Pa.), 18-0: Grove Stewart had three goals and two assists in the previously mentioned win over Episcopal Academy. (Last week's ranking: No. 1)
2. West Islip (N.Y.), 13-0: The Lions' winning streak now stands at 34. (Last week's ranking: No. 2)
3. Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 15-1: Tyler Brooke and
Conner Frisina each had three goals in a 10-8 win against La Salle (Pa.) in a rematch of the last two state championship games, which the teams split. (Last week's ranking: No. 3)
4. Ward Melville (East Setauket, N.Y.), 11-1: Tyler Hegarty had three goals,
John Edmonds had two goals and one assist and
Will Mazzone had one goal, one assist and six ground balls in a 14-11 win over Sachem North (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 4)
5. Garden City (N.Y.), 10-2: Liam Kennedy scored five goals in a 15-1 win over Mepham, the Trojans' sixth straight victory. (Last week's ranking: No. 5)
6. Darien (Conn.), 10-2: Richard Gregory had five goals and
Dylan Torey made 14 saves in an 11-5 win at New Canaan (Conn.). (Last week's ranking: No. 6)
7. Summit (N.J.), 15-0: A 14-1 win over Columbia (N.J.) extended the Hilltoppers' win streak to 60. (Last week's ranking: No. 8)
8. Deerfield Academy (Mass.), 11-0: The last time the Big Green won a contest by less than eight goals was six games ago – a 12-8 win over Trinity-Pawling (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 9)
9. Manhasset (N.Y.), 11-1: A goal by
Quinn Moroney off a
Ryan Matthews assist with three minutes remaining gave the Indians a 3-2 victory over Chaminade in an unusually low-scoring game. (Last week's ranking: No. 10)
10. Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, N.Y.), 13-0: Deke Burns has 44 goals and 60 points for the Red Rams. (Last week's ranking: No. 11)
11. Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.), 11-2: The Flyers' losses have come against Manhasset and West Islip, both by one goal. (Last week's ranking: No. 7)
12. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 11-2: Round 2 against CHSAA rival Chaminade (N.Y.) is set for Tuesday. (Last week's ranking: No. 14)
13. Smithtown West (N.Y.), 8-2: The Bulls were minus Duke-bound senior attackman
Kyle Keenan (concussion), but still took No. 2-ranked and unbeaten West Islip to overtime before falling. (Last week's ranking: No. 15)
14. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 14-3: Connor Morgan had five goals and an assist in an 11-7 win over Calvert Hall (Md.). (Last week's ranking: No. 12)
15. Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 15-1: The Cardinals have won four straight since falling to McDonogh. (Last week's ranking: No. 13)
16. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), 14-1: The Raiders start state playoff action as the No. 1 seed and await a Round of 16 game on Wednesday. (Last week's ranking: No. 18)
17. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 15-3: Two of the Canyons' losses came to strong out-of-state teams and they have wins over in-state powers Rancho Bernardo, Torrey Pines and Foothill-Santa Ana on their resume. (Last week's ranking: No. 19)
18. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), 20-1: The Highlanders pulled out the previously mentioned one-goal win over St. Andrew's in the state title game as senior
Nick St. Laurent got the game-winner with seven seconds left.
19. Coppell (Texas), 15-4: The Cowboys' Division I state-title game win against Dallas Jesuit avenged for a 13-11 regular-season loss to the Rangers and followed an 11-10 triumph over St. Mark's in the semifinals. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)
20. Immaculata (Somerville, N.J.), 14-0: Syracuse University-bound
Ralph D'Agostino is one of the nation's top two-way midfielders. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)
Dropped out: St. Andrew's (Fla.), No. 16; Germantown (Pa.), No. 17; St. Mark's (Texas), No. 20.
Joe Lombardi writes the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com and is an analyst for the MSG Varsity Television Network. He is also the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which was released last year. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.
