Recap and Standouts: St. Anthony’s Takes Down No. 1 Culver, 9-8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A busy weekend of big interstate matchups in high school lacrosse was headlined by a St. Patrick's Day clash between No. 1 Culver (Ind.) and No. 5 St. Anthony's (N.Y.) at Rutgers in a game that had everything you'd want in an early season matchup. <br><br>The Eagles came into this matchup flying high with a perfect 4-0 record while outscoring opponents 72-16 during that stretch, however, they would run into an inspired St. Anthony's (N.Y.) bunch that rode a big second half to come away with a season-opening 9-8 win. <br><br> The tone was set early, with Friar senior goalie [player_tooltip player_id='15383' first='Sean' last='Forde'] making a doorstep save on Duke-bound [player_tooltip player_id='14848' first='Luke' last='Warrington'] to fire up his squad early. From there, both teams traded blows in the first quarter, starting with a sweet BTB tally from Culver junior [player_tooltip player_id='14572' first='Christian' last='Hogan'] (Ohio State) off a feed from Princeton recruit [player_tooltip player_id='14827' first='Aidan' last='McDonald'], who finished the day with four assists. The first half was fairly even and a great defensive game from both sides, with St. Anthony's thriving in unsettled situations to take a 5-4 lead into halftime after an EMO tally from Army commit [player_tooltip player_id='15268' first='Quinn' last='Langton'] to regain momentum before the break. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Anthony's would come out red-hot in the second half, getting goals from [player_tooltip player_id='14954' first='Luke' last='Breslin'] (Lehigh), [player_tooltip player_id='14540' first='Gary' last='Merrill'] (North Carolina), [player_tooltip player_id='15509' first='Jake' last='Riglietti'] (Iona), and [player_tooltip player_id='14905' first='Kyle' last='Bilello'] (Brown) to establish a commanding 9-4 lead. The Friars were able to hold the Eagles off the board until five-star [player_tooltip player_id='14890' first='Mason' last='Szewczyk'] (North Carolina) found the net with 56 seconds left in the third quarter to begin Culver's comeback attempt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Going on a 3-0 run and shutting St. Anthony's out in the third quarter, the Eagles received individual scores from [player_tooltip player_id='14844' first='Luke' last='Macaluso'] (North Carolina) and Hogan, along with Szewcyzk, who beat his man off the dodge and scored once again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A late penalty on Culver allowed St. Anthony's to run the clock down to under a minute, however, the Eagles' last-chance efforts fell short on a great defensive stand from the unit of [player_tooltip player_id='14914' first='Dante' last='Vardaro'] (Penn), [player_tooltip player_id='14845' first='Tommy' last='Snyder'] (Virginia), [player_tooltip player_id='21150' first='Michael' last='Kelton'] (Army), and LSM [player_tooltip player_id='14538' first='Parker' last='McDonald'] in front of Forde, who was stellar in net as the last line of defense. At the face-off X, senior [player_tooltip player_id='14908' first='Michael' last='Moon'] led the charge with a 9-for-17 outing, thriving in the first half in particular. <br><br>Here's a closer look at the standouts: <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='14890' first='Mason' last='Szewczyk'] '24, M, Culver (Ind.) | North Carolina</strong><br>Finishing with a hat trick, Szewczyk was able to do mainly by being patient with the matchups he drew and beating his defender with his quick change of direction and unique ability to score in multiple ways. He continued to show the willingness to go after longpoles, confidently beating his man off the dodge and getting shots off with a sudden release.&nbsp;<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='14848' first='Luke' last='Warrington'] '24, M, Culver (Ind.) | Duke</strong><br>It's also worth noting that Szewczyk's linemate also impacted the game immensely as a two-way workhorse, though a stifling Friar defense was able to limit the Duke signee's offensive output.&nbsp;He's been a steady contributor for Culver since his arrival, going from an SSDM role early in his career to a two-way role, now rarely leaving the field. <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='14984' first='Sean' last='Grogan'] '25, A, Culver (Ind.) | Yale</strong><br>Grogan, a 6'1 Kentucky native, was another standout, posting two goals and an assist. He stayed active the entire game, working well off-ball and putting pressure on the defense with his excellent footwork and strong shot. <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='14905' first='Kyle' last='Bilello'] '24, M, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | Brown</strong><br>The senior midfielder had a tremendous day, recording a hat trick and adding his assist. A constant presence in transition, Bilello was relentless in showing off his speed and determination in the open field. His teammates were able to find him a lot during this game to set him up for shots that he was able to place in great spots, whether it was on the run or a step-down. <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='14914' first='Dante' last='Vardaro'] '24, D, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | Penn</strong><br>Returning to form after missing last year due to a knee injury, Vardaro was highly impactful as a defensive leader for St. Anthony's. Hard-nosed and athletic, Vardaro used his 6'0 frame to get physical with his opponent and produce takeaways. He put together several eye-popping sequences in the second quarter, causing a turnover that led to a Bilello goal. A few minutes later, he stripped his opponent and then had an interception less than 30 seconds apart. Vardaro was able to hold 4-star standout [player_tooltip player_id='14844' first='Luke' last='Macaluso'] in check for most of the game, only allowing him to score a single goal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='15383' first='Sean' last='Forde'] '24, G, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | Utah</strong><br>Forde was excellent and recorded 10 saves in the first half alone, allowing his squad to play with confidence heading into halftime. He finished with an unofficial 13 saves, with St. Anthony's managing the clock well late in the game despite Culver's comeback. Doing a great job of limiting rebounds, he made a ton of huge saves against an offense jampacked with highly touted recruits. There's no doubt that he'll play a huge role in the Friars' success this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lSJjsx9-Lc","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lSJjsx9-Lc </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->