By Oscar Matos ’18

After capturing twenty-nine consecutive victories, compiled over two years, the JV lacrosse team looked to complete their perfect record and hoist the AAA CHSAA Championship plaque on Tuesday, May 24 against Kellenberg.  The heavily-favored Flyers entered the game with the clear advantage; however, the team could not let pride be their downfall, as Kellenberg had just come off a major upset over St. Anthony’s in the semifinal round and looked to put forth a similar performance in the championship.

The atmosphere was electric as the game kicked off, and the Firebirds scored a quick goal to take the lead, but Chaminade made the necessary adjustments.  Jake Sexton ’18 answered back with an impressive goal of his own to equalize the score.  The Flyers quickly netted three more goals to stretch the lead to 4-1 in a matter of minutes.  Kellenberg then slowed the tempo down in an attempt to regroup.  After a brief period of time in which neither team was able break down the other’s defense, the Flyers scored again with just seconds left in the quarter to make the score 5-1.

The Flyers’ ball movement was masterful in the second quarter and contributed to their domination.  Will Kusnierek ’18 netted a quick goal to open the second quarter and increase the lead to 6-1.  As the quarter continued, it became obvious why the Flyers were able to maintain a 15-0 record during the season.  The offense was unstoppable, and managed to control the ball while still playing at an extremely fast pace.  At the half, the score was 11-3, and, barring a miracle, Chaminade seemed to have the championship locked up.

Kevin Maguire ’18 said, “I think we did a great job executing in that first half. We knew we needed to be sharp if we wanted to come out on top and we were.”

Coming out of the break, it was clear that the Flyers’ goal was to slow the game down and make it harder for Kellenberg to mount a comeback.  They were careful and precise with their passes so as to avoid costly turnovers.  The two teams traded goals for the majority of the half, with neither team scoring two consecutive goals until the very end.  While defeat was inevitable, Kellenberg managed to close out the game strong to the tune of a 3-1 run to cut the deficit to 14-7.  However, it was too little too late.  As the final buzzer sounded, the Flyers began to celebrate not only the 14-7 win and AAA CHSAA Championship, but also the fact that the victory marked their 30th straight win dating back to Freshman lacrosse.

Christian Dimaio ’18 said, “After all the work we put in this season it feels great to win this championship, and going undefeated makes it even better.”

The JV lacrosse team closes out another successful season, and hopes for continued success.