Sports

Flyers Fall to St. Anthony's Lacrosse in Championship

Friars midfielder Charlie Raffa named MVP in 12-10 victory.

Winning three times against the same team is a challenge.

was able to accomplish the feat. wasn’t. The difference between the archrivals? The came this year during the regular season. St. Anthony’s wins have come in the past three championship games.

“The other two games are over, there’s only one game left,” Chaminade varsity lacrosse head coach Jack Moran would say before facing St. Anthony’s for the third time Thursday night at Hofstra University for the NSCHSAA Class AAA crown.

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It was the Friars who added another plaque to their collection Thursday night at Hofstra, taking the 2011 NSCHSAA title from their archrival 12-10.

It was a simple grudge match, literally a knock-down, drag-out fight between the two archrivals.

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“All of our kids have played in the finals before, all of them have played against St. Anthony’s in the finals so there’s really no kinda nuance except show up and play hard,” Moran said.

These are after all the only two teams that have taken home the crown for the past two decades, the finals predetermined before a schedule even drawn up. In short, no surprises, save the outcome.

“It was the closest four quarters of lacrosse that we’ve played all year and it was four quarters of effort,” St. Anthony’s head coach Keith Wieczorek said after being ceremoniously doused with Gatorade. “We played with intensity for four quarters tonight and if there was a difference that was it.”

“The don’t mean anything,” Moran would say before St. Anthony’s Senior attacker Chris Bennardo scored 48 seconds into the game to give the Friars the lead, one they would let the Flyers tie twice but never truly relinquish, teasing them only to yank it away with another outburst.

Chaminade goalie John Connors would manage only seven saves on the evening.

St. Anthony’s midfielder Charlie Raffa garnered MVP honors with two goals on four shots. Defenseman Tim Stackpole had seven grounders.

“(He’s) more an emotional MVP,” Wieczorek said of the senior who was out since a game against Darien, CT with a broken jaw. “He did everything he can, saw like nine doctors to get back and he finally got cleared last week and he did everything and more that we asked him to do.”

Emotional was clearly the adjective judging from the early celebration erupting on the Friars bench as the 59-man bench emptied onto the field with less than 2 seconds left, having to scramble back for the remaining ticks off the clock.

“We were a little banged up this year,” Wieczorek said. “This game was the first time we’ve had all our starters back and healthy since almost the second game of the season. Nothing was different, I just think the kids executed.”

1 2 3 4 F St. Anthony’s 4 2 2 4 12 Chaminade 1 4 2 3 10 Chaminade Scoring Statistics Player Position Goals Assts Shots Matthew Kavanaugh Attacker 4 0 3 Sean Mahon Midfielder 2 0 5 Matthew Clarkson Attacker 2 0 2 Walter Rooney Midfielder 1 0 5 Shane Thornton Attacker 1 0 4 Matthew Graham Midfielder 0 1 1 Ryan Lucakovic Attacker 0 0 3 Paul Urbank Midfielder 0 0 3 Brendan DeTomasso Attacker 0 0 2 Christipher Schoenhut Attacker
0 0 1 Chaminade Goalkeeping Saves John Connors 7 St. Anthony’s Scoring Statistics Player Position Goals Assts Shots Sean McDonagh Attacker
3 1 6 Joe LoCasio Midfielder 2 1 2 Christian Bennardo Attacker 1 0 5 Charlie Raffa Midfielder
1 0 4 Matt Chanenchuk Attacker 1 0 2 Brendan Conroy Midfielder 1 0 1 Brian Sherlock Midfielder
0 0 2 Greg Danseglio Defender 0 0 1 Adam Pomper Attacker 0 0 1 Tim Stackpole Defender 0 0 1 St. Anthony’s Goalkeeping Saves Kieran Burke 10


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