Friars Fall in Try for Fifth Lacrosse Championship

This article was written by Geoffrey Walter. 

St. Anthony’s four-year run at dominating the NSCHSAA lacrosse crown ended with a 7-5 loss to archrival Chaminade Thursday night at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

The loss is the first time that the Friars have failed to win the championship after being swept by the Flyers during the regular season for the past three years.

St. Anthony’s senior attacker Dylan Molloy had netted the first two games in a repeat showing of the Friars’ MO during the regular season, scoring the opening volleys, only to then be faced with victories by Chaminade.

The Friar defense had neutralized Chaminade attackers Ryan Lukacovic and John McDaid, only to see Brian Pratt score a hat trick on St. Anthony’s goalies Anthony De Los Reyes and Jack Concannon.

“We were able to finally finish it here; best group of guys and to finally get it at the end and finish like this is great,” said Lukacovic, reflecting on his three years at the varsity level before heading to Virginia. 
 
The win also caps a year that has seen the two archrivals facing off in most of the Catholic League finals with the Flyers coming out ahead in the majority of the victories. 
 
“It hasn’t really totally hit me yet because we’ve been working so hard all my brothers out here for so long, it’s just nice to finally get it to pay off in the end; it’s just great to get that final win against them,” said Chaminade goalie Daniel Fowler, who garnered MVP honors. “This year has been, for our class overall, a pretty incredible year.”

Chaminade Scoring Statistics
Player               Position        Goals       Assts
Brian Pratt         Midfielder            3              0
Ryan Lukacovic   Attacker            1              4
John McDaid       Midfielder           1              1
Carney Mahon    Midfielder           1              0
Tom Zenker        Midfielder           1              0

St. Anthony’s Scoring Statistics
Player               Position        Goals       Assts
Dylan Molloy       Attacker            2               1
JT Caputo           Midfielder           1              0
Drew Custance   Midfielder           1              0 
David Rivoir        Attacker            1              0
John Puckhaber  Midfielder          0               1

Chaminade Goalkeeping
Goalie                          Saves
Daniel Fowler                  10

St. Anthony’s Goalkeeping
Goalie                          Saves
Anthony De La Rosa        7
Jack Concannon             10