Late Run Helps St. Anthony’s Win Defensive Battle at Darien, 9-5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Darien (Conn.) and St. Anthony's (N.Y.), both nationally ranked, met for their annual showdown over the weekend in Connecticut. In a game with 22 Division I commits, and 30 in total across all divisions (plus several likely DI bound underclassmen), the level of play was exceptional. <br><br>Ultimately, defense ruled for most of the day, until the Friars were able to pull away in the fourth quarter and secure a 9-5 victory. Darien struggled at the faceoff spot, but excellent showings from the defense, in particular netminder [player_tooltip player_id='14886' first='Carter' last='Hagen'], helped steal some possessions to make up for the deficit. In a game full of stars, these players stood out among the rest:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["15268"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The Friars' top scorer on the day, Langton showed off some incredible game sense and lacrosse IQ. He scored once as a dodger, taking a shortstick matchup behind the goal for an invert look, beating him clean to the right, and scoring from a sharp angle before a slide could reach him. He also scored off-ball multiple times. When Darien would slide to support a matchup, Langton was excellent at spotting the weak point in the Darien defense and moving to it, forcing perfect rotations and rapid recovery all day. He's the type of player who is a nightmare to deal with for a defense because even without the ball, he's always applying pressure.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["14914"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Vardaro got the marquee matchup of the day, rarely leaving the side of Notre Dame signee [player_tooltip player_id='14811' first='Brady' last='Pokorny']. Pokorny scored once in the game's early going when he used a pick to get topside to his left from the low wing, but the rest of the day, Vardaro was able to bottle him up. He played through picks well all afternoon and stayed glued to his matchup even as Darien tried to switch it. In that sense, Vardaro can be a game-breaker. He can limit the opposing team's top weapon regardless of the scheme thrown at the matchup. The list of defenders in the nation who can keep Pokorny quiet is very short, but Vardaro is on it.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["14538"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"McDonald is as good an LSM off the ground as you'll find in the country. There were occasions where it was McDonald alone against two or more Darien players for a loose ball, and McDonald came up with it. He's fast - always a desirable trait for an LSM - but what stands out is his acceleration. He comes up with a loose ball and it feels like he's at top speed in only a stride or two, running away from traffic or starting transition in the blink of an eye. McDonald did not show off a wide array of skills on the offensive end of the field in this one, in part because the game just didn't develop that way, but he has the stick skills to run transition offense well. Darien has a few midfielders who are worthy of a pole, and McDonald looked ready to handle any one of them.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["14886"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"The Darien netminder made a number of critical saves in this game, keeping the Blue Wave within striking distance for most of the day. His most impressive stop came in the third quarter when a Friars player got a pass on the righty pipe in transition, leading to a dunk opportunity. The shot went to Hagen's left shoulder, and he was able to punch his top hand across fast enough to stop the shot clean, catching it and offering no rebound. Darien quickly attacked the other way with a transition opportunity of their own, started by Hagen. Hagen has always had a knack for playing angles well and moving on his arc to use his big frame to hide a ton of the net behind him. The top-hand speed shown on this particular save was a testament to the rest of his goalie skill set.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["19160"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"McNamara drew the assignment of [player_tooltip player_id='14954' first='Luke' last='Breslin'] (Lehigh) on the day. Breslin is an elusive dodger who is at his best shaking his man from X or low wings and attacking close to the crease. McNamara played him very well, using the crease to catch up when needed, and keeping his stick in Breslin's gloves to make it difficult to feed.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["23229"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"The Tufts commit also stood out, drawing the difficult assignment of guarding [player_tooltip player_id='14540' first='Gary' last='Merrill'] (UNC) for the day. Merrill took a few runs at Bonner but really only got the better of him for a shot twice, and just one of those was a goal. The rest of the day, Bonner was disruptive and, like McNamara, stayed on his matchup's gloves. Both McNamara and Bonner had multiple caused turnovers and ground balls on the day (and in key moments) to give Darien opportunities on the offensive end.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6627c5651eeb8"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->