By Ryan Schmidt ’19

In a national preseason poll for the 2018 season, Chaminade’s varsity lacrosse team was ranked fifth. This came to no surprise of an incredibly talented squad led by many highly touted Division One recruits, including FOGO (face off, go off) Tyler Sandoval ’19, defenseman Frank Marinello ’18, and goalie Andrew Bonafede ’18. However, the Flyers were eager to show that they belonged as one of the top four teams in the nation.

The season started off with a bang, earning an impressive win against McDonagh, a lacrosse power-house from Maryland. This was the beginning of a tremendous run, as the Flyers improved to 4-0 before suffering their first loss of the season against a difficult Ward Melville team. The Flyers then went on another 4-0 winning streak with noteworthy wins against Fairfield Prep, Yorktown, and Wilton.

The squad traveled to South Huntington on Thursday, April 26, to take on archrival St. Anthony’s.  After holding an initial 4-1 advantage through the first quarter, the Friars struck back with 8 goals between the second and third quarters to defeat the Flyers.

Reflecting on the loss, Tyler Sandoval ’19 exclaimed, “We suffered a tough loss on Thursday, but I think it’s important that we take a step back and assess what our weaknesses are. Rather than dwelling on the loss, we have a couple of games this week to focus on winning. We have to take the season one step at a time.”

However, the Flyers seek to rebound from this loss and avenge their defeat with a potential rematch against the Friars in the league championship game.

After the hard loss, the motivated Flyers amounted a season high 21 goals in a blowout win (21-4) against Greenwich on Saturday, April 28. Maintaining this momentum could certainly put Chaminade in a position to emerge victorious in the approaching playoff season and league championship game.

The Flyers’ next big matchup is tomorrow, Saturday, May 5 against Manhasset. This competition is the annual “Reg’s Rock” game to honor the life of Sergeant Jimmy Regan ’98. The Flyers will take the field at 7 p.m. at Manhasset High School. Following this event, the regular season will conclude on Ott Field on Saturday, May 12 against a ferocious Delbarton squad. Here, the Crimson and Gold will seek another bolstering win leading into playoffs.