Bullis (Md.) completed an impressive run on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. as they took down undefeated Salisbury (Conn.) to win the 2019 GEICO High School Nationals. The IAC champs came to play this week as they upset Hill Academy (Ont.) in the semifinals and then did it again against Salisbury in the championship.
The Bulldogs are the only American team to win the championship as Hill Academy won the first two (2017,2018). Robert Schain led the way for the Bulldogs as he was the catalyst on the offensive end. The senior Penn commit tallied 9 points (4G/5A) in the win, ending his high school career on a high note.
Connor Davis got the scoring started early, putting Bullis up 1-0. Salisbury answered as both teams went back-and-forth early on. After Jonathan Bender put Bullis up 2-1 Salisbury answered with a two-goal run from Scott Wilson and Connor Drake, giving the Knights their first lead of the game at 3-2.
After a Bullis goal from Kieran Anzelone things were tied up at 3 to end the first period of play. Gus Weiner and Bryson Shaw scored two straight, putting Bullis up 5-3 early in the second and pushing the Bulldogs run to three. Connor Drake finally stopped the bleeding, scoring Salisbury’s only second quarter goal with 5:30 left in the quarter.
The Bulldogs continued to dominate on both ends of the field for the rest of the half, taking an 8-4 halftime lead. Robert Schain, Bryson Shaw, and Connor Davis all scored for Bullis to end the half on a three-goal run.
Bullis continued their domination in the second half, winning on both ends of the field. After Jonathan Bender put Bullis up 9-4 early in the third Salisbury finally found the back of the net with 4:30 in the third. Robert Schain scored off a Jonathan Bender assist to put Bullis up 10-5 heading into the fourth.
It was back-and-forth early in the third as each team answered each other. Bullis used a two-goal run from Gus Weiner and Robert Schain to get up 13-6 late in the fourth. Salisbury was able to rattle off two in the final minutes of the game but could not complete the comeback, taking their only loss of the season.
The 2019 GEICO High School Nationals championship has been set as Bullis (Md.) took down Hill Academy (Ont.), and Salisbury (Conn.) beat St. Sebastian’s (Mass.) in the semifinals. Bullis and Salisbury will meet in the championship on Tuesday night at 7:00pm.
Bullis 11, Hill Academy 10
Bullis pulled off the upset and took down two-time defending champion Hill Academy. It was a very defensive heavy start for both squads Immanuel Brown scored the first goal of the game with 5:31 in the first, putting Bullis up 1-0. The Bulldogs found the back of the net less than a minute later, pushing their lead out to 2-0.
Hill Academy went on a three-goal run in the final minutes of the first, taking a 3-2 lead at the end of the first. Bullis quickly tied things up at 3 early in the second. After some more back-and-forth play through Dyson Williams netted his second of the day late in the quarter, giving Hill Academy a 5-4 lead heading into the half.
The second half saw much more offense earlier on as Hill Academy started off on a three-goal run, taking an 8-4 lead. Robert Schain seemingly gave Bullis the lift they needed with an insane long pole goal.
The Bulldogs rode that momentum into the fourth as they eventually got ahead, taking a 10-8 lead midway though the fourth. While Hill Academy was able to get something going late, they just couldn’t overcome the deficit as Bullis secured the one-goal 11-10 win to advance to the championship game.
Salisbury 7, St. Sebastian’s 5
It was a defensive battle as both goalies played fantastic throughout the game, making big save after big save. Michael Swirbalus got St. Sebastian’s on the board first midway though the first. After some more defensive heavy play Salisbury finally found the back of the net with a Will Ferrell goal, making it 1-1 at the end of the first.
More defensive play resumed in the second quarter as St. Sebastian’s took a 2-1 lead early. Salisbury finally got their offense going again, scoring midway though the second. Both defenses stood tall through the end of the first half to keep it tied at 2 all heading into halftime.
A big Logan McNaney save led to a Salisbury fast break that ended with a Will Ferrell goal, giving the Knights their first lead of the game at 3-2 early in the third. It was very back-and-forth through the third as St. Sebastian’s took back the 5-4 lead late in the third quarter.
Again, defense was the name of the game in the fourth, but Salisbury would find their offense. The Knights scored the only two goals of the quarter, securing the 7-5 win. While St. Sebastian’s had some opportunities late Logan McNaney stood on his head to help secure the win for Salisbury.
On a Sunday afternoon in South Bend,IN, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Maryland Terrapins went to battle indoors. It was a game of runs, and quite the offensive battle from what we have seen in the past when these two meet. While Maryland was able to force overtime, Notre Dame finished as the 17 ranked Irish took down the 2 ranked Terrapins.
Notre Dame was led Brendan Gleason and Brian Willetts who each tallied 5 points in the Irish win. Matt Schmidt made 11 saves in goal, anchoring that tough Notre Dame defense they are known for.
Logan Wisnauskas led the Terrapins with 5 points (3G,2A). Jared Bernhardt, Anthony DeMaio, and Kyle Long all contributed heavily as well, each tallying 4 points. In goal, Danny Dolan made 7 saves.
As many say, lacrosse is a game of runs. That statement proved to be true in this game as it truly was a game of runs, and that made for some exciting back-and-forth lacrosse.
Louis Dubick got things started off early with a goal to give Maryland the 1-0 lead. Notre Dame answered just a few minutes later as Connor Morin got the Irish on the board to notch things up at 1. After a three-goal run midway through the first Maryland was abale to push out to a 4-1 lead. Notre Dame answered with a two-goal run to end the first and make it a one-goal game heading into the second.
Notre Dame turned their two-goal run into a four-goal run as their offensive success continued into the second with Brian Willetts and Morrison Mirer each finding the back of the cage. Maryland was able to find a little offensive success as Kyle Long scored the Terrapins only second quarter goal. Notre Dame ended the half strong, pushing their lead to 7-5 and using strong defensive stands to limit the Terrapins getting any momentum.
Coming out of the half trailing 7-5, Maryland was able to finally get passed the Notre Dame defense early on with two goals coming from Will Snider. The Irish again answered in a big way, scoring four straight to go up 11-7 with 7:16 in the third. The Terrapins started to heat up with two goals to end the third, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 11-9.
The Terrapins continued their offensive firepower into the fourth as Logan Wisnauskas tied things up at 11 midway through the fourth. Brendan Gleason went off zipped two past Dolan to give Notre Dame a two-goal 13-11 lead late in the fourth. Logan Wisnaukas scored a transition goal off of deflected save to make it a one-goal game. Anthony DeMaio tied things up with :16 in the fourth to tie it up at 13 and force overtime.
Brian Willettes set up behind the cage at ‘X’, turned the corner, and zipped it past Danny Dolan to score the game winner for Notre Dame to secure the 14-13 victory.
Both of these squads will be in action next weekend on Saturday. Maryland will travel to Albany and Notre Dame will face Denver at home in some Saturday night lacrosse action.
St. Mary’s midfielder Alex Wicks was one of a handful of players to announce their commitments this past weekend. (Photo: Matthew Cole / BSMG)
***Note: You can now submit commitments, decommitments/flips, offers, and more to Lacrosse Bucket here.***
This past weekend was full of players committing to continue their lacrosse career’s at the next level. In total there were five player that committed to play DI lacrosse. These commitments came mostly from players in the class of 2020 as well as one commitment coming from the 2019.
Maryland, Robert Morris, Cleveland State, Air Force, and Marist all landed a commitment in the 2020 class. Drexel received a commitment in the 2019 class over the weekend.
2019 Weekend Commitments
Drexel received a commitment from 2019 St. Mary’s (MD)/ Annapolis Hawks midfielder Ryan Jones
Marist got a commitment from 2020 defenseman Noah Arenson out of Holly Springs (NC)/ Team 91 Carolina
Excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Marist College to play Divison 1 lacrosse. I want to thank my Family, Friends, Teammates, and Coaches for getting me to this point in my career! #EC34pic.twitter.com/icwcas4z8s
St Augustine Prep (NJ) junior faceoff/ midfielder Steven DelleMonache committed to Robert Morris
Blessed to announce that I have committed to play Division 1 Lacrosse at Robert Morris University. Huge thanks to my family, friends, teammates, and coaches for helping me get to the point where I am and become the man that I am today. pic.twitter.com/Iyv85JjNQz
Cleveland State landed a commitment from 2020 Vinney HS (MO) defenseman Jordan Celeslie
I’m very excited to announce my commitment to play Division 1 lacrosse at Cleveland State University. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me over the years through this process. #GoVikespic.twitter.com/hV0XVLCN8R
The Air Force Falcons landed yet another commitment in the 2020 class as St. Augustin Prep (NJ) attackman David Burr announced his commitment over the weekend
Photo Credit Jerry and Chris Norton / Ponte Vedra Recorder
The high school lacrosse season is on the horizon and this season there are some very good teams across the country that will be very competitive not only in their state or region, but nationally as well. Of course some of the traditional powers will be on this list, but there are also some teams that the casual fan might not know all the much about.
*Note: List is in no particular order.*
Culver Military Academy (IN)
Culver has been one of the most dominant high school teams in the country for the better part of about a decade or so. They always have some of the best players from the US and Canada on their team and Coach Posner does a great job of coaching them up and getting all that talent to play as one unit. Being a Military boarding school helps with that as well I should say. This season the Eagles have 19 current division one commits and more to come on this 2019 squad. This team has future pro’s at every position and it will be very hard for any team to stop them. After watching Culver about four times last season and seeing what they have back, I honestly think this may be the best Culver team we have seen to date.
The Hill Academy (ON)
The Hill Academy out of Ontario has won the first two Geico High School Lacrosse Nationals. Each year Hill get’s more talent and keeps getting better. The Merrill’s have built something special with the Hill Academy and that just keeps on continuing. With 13 current Division one commits on their roster the Hill looks just as good as ever. Just like many other sports centric prep schools they have future college stars and pro’s all over the place and they are going to win and win a lot. No doubt about that. I honestly can’t wait to see how this Hill team has improved with some of their younger studs back from last year.
IMG Academy (FL)
Yeah, it was a shaky year for IMG in 2018 as they didn’t have near the amount of success they were looking for. Fortunately for the Ascenders they have a lot of talent back, as expected of a school like IMG, and they are looking to rebound. With 11 players currently committed to play Division One lacrosse IMG will be competitors on the national stage again this season, and hopefully improve a lot from last year.
Salisbury (CT)
The prep school out of Connecticut has pro and Division one talent all up and down the field. The Crimson Knights do lose a lot of great players from last season, but they return just as much talent as they lost with 20 players currently committed to play Division One lacrosse. Salisbury looks to be right up there again this season competing for a national championship along with the rest of the big boys as usual. They will be led by senior midfielder and Duke commit Connor Drake, amongst others.
Calvert Hall (MD)
Calvert Hall is a perennial power in the MIAA and always have a lot of talent, even though they graduated a slew of seniors in 2018. The Cardinals are coming off of two straight MIAA A conference championship’s and have a ton of talent back, as always. The Cardinals are led by 2019 Ohio State commits midfielder Grant Mitchell and defenseman Jacob Snyder.
Ponte Vedra (FL)
The Sharks look to be the favorites to win it all in Florida this year as they have one of the best teams in the country and play a pretty tough schedule as well with teams like Calvert Hall (MD), Episcopal Dallas (TX), and others on the schedule. The Sharks will be led by junior midfielders Dylan Hess who is committed to Georgetown and Carter Parlette who is a Notre Dame commit, as well as a whole host of other player heading to DI schools.
McCallie (TN)
A power in the south McCallie is loaded with talent this season just as they have been in the past as well. Head Coach Troy Kemp and the Blue Tornado feature eight current DI commits this season. They are for sure the favorite in Division I in Tennessee this season. They are led by senior defenseman Cam Henry who is heading to Duke, senior midfielder and Ohio State commit Eli Ensor. as well as junior midfielder’s Carter Henry who is heading to Yale and Rutgers commit Ellison Burt-Murray.
Episcopal School of Dallas (TX)
The Eagles have a new coaching staff and a boat load of talent coming into this 2019 season. Many have already said that there is no doubt that Episcopal Dallas (TX) will be in the state championship this season. They will be led by one of the best defenses in the country with senior’s Scott Bower who is heading to Virginia and Ohio State commit Carson Raney.
Torrey Pines (CA)
Regional and national powerhouse Torrey Pines is back and looking to be great again this season with another very tough national schedule. The Falcons have a lot of talent as always and will be led by senior midfielder Michael Mines who is committed to Ohio State, as well as many other DI commits.
Bullis (MD)
After winning the IAC championship in 2018 Bullis looks to repeat as they return some great talent on both sides of the ball. They will be led by junior midfielder and Jacksonville commit Immanuel Brown, as well as senior attackman Robert Schain who is headed to Penn.
St. Paul’s (MD)/ Crabs Lacrosse LSM Frankie Hapney announced his commitment to Syracuse on Saturday. Hapney’s commitment to Syracuse comes after he decommitted from Michigan back in the fall. Hapney’s brother Nick is a freshman defenseman at Utah.
Hapney is great at being able to spark transition and has the skill set and IQ to be a threat inside the offensive zone. He is speedy and is able to just flat out beat guys with his feet. Hapney is great in the middle of the field being and being able to cause turnovers.
He has the skill set and know with how to be a guy that can be a threat on the defensive end of the field as well. Hapney may not be the biggest guy on the field but he makes up for his size in how hard he plays and being able to be effective in a plethora of ways.
With the addition of Hapney Syracuse now has 10 commitments in the 2020 class. Hapney joins a recruiting class at Syracuse that is currently ranked 20th by Inside Lacrosse and is highlighted by four 4-star rated players.
