By Colin Capece ’18

The rivalry between Chaminade’s and St. Anthony’s lacrosse programs has always been filled with incredible passion from players on both sides, creating many unforgettable moments over the years.  On the JV level, the Flyers have historically prevailed over their biggest foes in Catholic League play.  On Tuesday, May 3, the Flyers headed into their league rematch against St. Anthony’s, hoping to build upon the success that they have had in the past.

The last time the Flyers and Friars squared off, they produced a thrilling overtime spectacle that teetered back and forth between the two teams.  In the match’s final seconds, Sean Kuttin ’18 delivered the game-winning goal for the Flyers.  This time, however, the Flyers dominated from wire to wire.  The entire team put forth a fantastic effort to take down the Friars for the second time this season on Ott Field.

Early on, the Flyers came out with a high-pressure attack, which forced some sloppy mistakes from the St. Anthony’s defense.  Pat Kavanagh ’18 opened the scoring for the Flyers when he forced a turnover from the Friar’s goalkeeper.  Kavanagh scooped up the ball with ease and ripped it into the back of the empty net before the goalkeeper knew what had hit him.

The Flyers continued in this vein, adding to their tally throughout the first half, and entered the break with a 6-2 lead.  This mirrored the halftime score of the previous faceoff between the Flyers and Friars.  During that game, St. Anthony’s clawed its way back to tie the score at nine at the end of regulation.  Remembering how his team squandered a four-goal lead, Sean Kuttin said, “We wanted to stay focused and continue to play hard, because we knew they would come out of the half with a lot of energy.”  The Flyers did not fall flat in the second half this time, and they scored four more goals to bury the Friars.

Frank Marinello ’18, Anthony Tangredi ’18, and goalkeeper Andrew Bonafede ’18 provided a consistently rock-solid defense throughout the game.  Tangredi noted, “Defensively our team played really well, and I also thought we communicated greatly.”

Kavanagh and fellow attackman Aidan Byrnes ’18 continued to wreak havoc on the St. Anthony’s back line throughout the course of the game.  However, it was Chaminade’s midfield that generated the bulk of the attack, scoring six of the ten Flyer goals.  Strong performances by midfielders Kuttin, Chris Nicholas ’18 and Will Kusnierek ’18 helped to secure the victory for Chaminade.  

After the game, Kusnierek said, “It was a great team win for us, but now we are focused on preparing for Delbarton.”  The team hopes to maintain the level of passion and energy displayed in this game for the rest of the season, to safeguard its immaculate record.