By Jay Iraj ‘17

Each year, the Chaminade and Manhasset lacrosse programs face off in honor of Sgt. James J. Regan, a Manhasset native who graduated from Chaminade in 1998 before playing lacrosse at Duke University.  After graduating in 2002, Regan selflessly decided to join the U.S. Army Rangers to serve and protect our country.  Tragically, Regan was killed in 2007 while serving in Iraq.  In remembrance of Sgt. Regan, the Army Ranger Lead the Way Fund holds the annual “Regs Rock” Lacrosse Day.  

As soon as the opening game started, the junior varsity Flyers showed outstanding energy and effort, resulting in a lead that they continued to add to throughout the first half.  Aidan Byrnes ‘18 contributed three impressive goals in the first half.  The chemistry that the players shared with one another also showed on both sides of the field.

While the Flyers put up strong numbers on the offensive end, it was on defense where the team truly shined.  The team applied seemingly constant on-ball pressure.  This, along with their dominance on faceoffs, helped the Flyers dominate the time of possession and gave them time to set up their deadly attack.  The team went into the half with a 9-0 lead.  

A few minutes into the third quarter, Byrnes struck again on a shot that was set up by a beautiful pass from Dermot Quinn ‘18.  The score remained 10-0 until Manhasset added a goal of its own with a couple minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Chaminade maintained possession during the final quarter and kept the game at a slow pace.  As a result of the game’s tempo, the Flyers offense quieted down considerably to close out the game; however, they still won the game by a score of 10-1.

To conclude the “Regs Rock” Lacrosse Day, the Varsity Flyers hoped to come out on top against a strong Manhasset squad.  After a couple early goals, including a beautiful shot from Joe de Lyra ‘17, the game was knotted up at 1-1 halfway through the first quarter.  A few missed opportunities by Chaminade allowed Manhasset to finish the first quarter with a 3-1 lead.

The Flyers continued to struggle throughout the course of the game due to Manhasset’s impressive goaltending and strong offense.  Late in the game, the Flyers made a short run of their own led by goals from Joe Carney ‘16, Will Renz ‘16, and Christian Kuhn ‘17.  Regan Quinn ‘17 also scored after a nice feed from Christian Rega ‘17.  When the final whistle blew, the score stood at 10-5 in favor of the Indians.  Although this result was not what the Flyers had hoped for, the players and coaches can still take some important lessons away from the game.

When asked about the team’s performance, midfielder Ryan Moran ‘17 said that the team did well in some aspects like winning faceoffs and that moving forward.  “We have the talent to do well, we just have to stay strong as a team and lift each other up, and we’ll bounce back,” Ryan noted.