Fairfield Prep Completes Comeback in Fourth to Top Cheshire in OT

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fairfield Prep and Cheshire have played three one-goal games in the last two years. The last one went to overtime, and the latest installment of this growing rivalry was no different. <br><br>Cheshire held a three-goal lead in the fourth quarter, but heroics from [player_tooltip player_id='16104' first='Luke' last='Shannehan'] brought Prep back to tie it. Matt Jeffery, viewed as the top high school player in the country, had some heroics of his own, dodging and assisting a game-tying goal with just three seconds left in regulation to go to the overtime period. Shannehan and Jeffery had an epic goal-scoring duel all night, but ultimately, Shannehan was able to score the game-winner just under two minutes into the OT period.&nbsp;<br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["16104"],"_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":"If you score eight goals in a game, that stands out. And with eight goals, they were happening frequently enough that to call them timely might seem silly. Let's consider the moments, though. Cheshire scored first and had the early momentum in this one. Shannehan would score a natural hat trick in the first half, going on to finish the game with eight goals and two assists. He scored just about every which way you can in a lacrosse game. He scored on extra man with time and room shots. He scored isolated on his man, beating his matchup and scoring before help could arrive. He scored off-ball, following rotations and filling space to get a look at the goal inside. On the game-winner in OT, he ran off a pick to free his hands as he swept across the top of the goal then fired to the far pipe. Shannehan's strength is his athleticism and versatility. It's hard to game plan for him because he does so many things well. He had the whole bag of tricks working in this one.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Finbar Molloy","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_weight":"185","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"143","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Fairfield Prep","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Molloy scored the first Prep goal of the night when he attacked on a slow break. While carrying the ball over the midfield line, Molloy could see that the Cheshire defense was not set and there was space to run into. He took what was given, and fired a shot high to beat the goalie. In a way, this show of game sense is emblematic of what stood out for Molloy on the night. Yes, Shannehan had the eight goals, but I counted three that came as a result of a play involving Molloy. Molloy would start with the ball from a wing, and Prep would put Shannehan in a position where his man was the help defender. Molloy was able to beat short sticks all night, so he'd dodge, draw the slide, and once the slide happened, Shannehan would step away to be an outlet, and Molloy would roll away from the pressure of the slide and move the ball. Just like that, Prep was able to use Molloy to switch Shannehan's matchup multiple times on the night, sometimes getting a shorty on him, and that led to goals on at least three separate occasions. Molloy's understanding of the scheme, both on offense and defense, was critical for this.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["15224"],"_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":"Fairfield Prep suffered a big loss early when [player_tooltip player_id='15659' first='Cooper' last='Callahan'] went down with a lower body injury, and missed most of the game. It pressed players like McCarthy into larger roles. McCarthy's presence was felt on every LSM shift. Cheshire struggled to clear against the Prep ride, and a key part of that ride is the LSM who plays in the middle of the field like a free safety. McCarthy picked up ball carriers coming over the midline, harassing them both with stick and body checks. He was also a force on the wings. Prep's Ryan Backus and Cheshire's [player_tooltip player_id='15653' first='Ryan' last='Grove'] had a great back-and-forth at the faceoff spot, and wing play was paramount. McCarthy was excellent on ground balls in scrums off faceoffs, winning possession at critical moments for Prep as they mounted a late comeback to force OT.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["14806"],"_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":"It doesn't take too long to realize you're watching a special player when Jeffery is on the field. Against Prep, he was matched up with [player_tooltip player_id='21722' first='George' last='Hawley']. Hawley often draws the opponent's lefty, in this case, it was Jeffery. The Notre Dame-bound attackman, a midfielder by trade, was a dodging machine, although the Prep defense stifled him early. He got his first goal of the game in the second quarter when a pick switched his matchup and he was able to run by his man and score. He finished the first half with just one goal but worked out his frustrations in the third quarter. In that period alone, he had three goals, an assist, and caused turnovers on the ride. Jeffery operates at a speed that not many high players have. He faced jeers and heckling from the student section all night and was unbothered, finishing with six goals and two assists. Jeffery, as much as he is capable of dominating on his own, still takes what the defense gives him. Because he draws slides so easily, he is often carrying the ball against an unsettled defense with skip lanes available. This is what happened as time wound down in regulation. Jeffery dodged off an end line restart in the corner to his left, and a slide came as he approached GLE. He fired a skip pass to Nick Miller who had all day to shoot, and buried it with three seconds left to force overtime.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["19492"],"_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":"Cheshire had an early lead in this game, but it wasn't because Prep started slow, as the Jesuits had a number of looks in the first quarter. Grenier saved the first four shots he faced, finishing with 16 saves on the night by my count. Grenier was particularly good on shots in tight, making three saves on doorstep shots, some of them coming against a shooter who was completely alone. Grenier plays calmly, he doesn't just throw his body or stick at the ball. His play tells you he is well-prepared for shooters and picks up tendencies well. He anticipated shot locations well and attacked the ball for saves, with the vast majority of his stops being clean and without a rebound. After early struggles, he also settled in well against a pressure ride from Prep, running away from a riding attackman when needed and hitting open players around the midfield line.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-663500f54859e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->