NLF Class of 2026 National Championship Breakdown and Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The NLF National Championship for the 2026 division featured a matchup against two rivals that have butted heads numerous times over the years. Team 91 Long Island Storm took on Long Island Express Channy at noon on Sunday and right off the bat, you knew this would be a physical game with many emotions. With college coaches lined up on the sidelines, everyone was hoping to make a positive impression and eventually hoist the trophy in front of friends and family.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BREAKDOWN:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Team 91 got off to a hot start with two goals on the first two possessions of the game courtesy of Nick Testa and Drew Maloney, while Ryan Cataldo made some nice early saves. However, LI Express wasn't going down without a fight and answered with back-to-back goals of their own late in the first quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='16504' first='James' last='Gillis'] beat his defender on a dodge from the wing and then as a penalty was expiring, Gillis found [player_tooltip player_id='17446' first='Jacob' last='Johnston'] on the backside post for an easy goal to tie the game at two goals apiece. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once again, Team 91 would score back-to-back goals to open the quarter, as Tyson Blalock won the first two faceoffs and Testa picked apart the Express defense with two assists early. One was to Maloney on a backdoor cut and another on the crease to Jack Sheridan, who finished past the goalie while taking a hit in the process. Just like the first quarter, LI Express fought their way back with goals from [player_tooltip player_id='17521' first='Dylan' last='Harrigan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='21894' first='Brody' last='Waxer']. Team 91's Hansen Peck would answer before the half ended by taking a shot from distance and using his defender to screen the goaltender to make it 5-4 at the break. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the bigger stories going into halftime was the number of penalties for Team 91. They had four penalties in the first half which consisted of illegal body checks and conduct fouls due to the intense nature of the game, but they knew they needed to clean it up if they were going to close out LI Express.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nick Testa would continue his outstanding game by scoring off a dodge from X to start the third quarter. Team 91 continued to bring the pressure offensively, but [player_tooltip player_id='42672' first='Kieran' last='Walsh'] would come up with a few big saves for LI Express to deny those scoring opportunities. Dylan Faison cashed in for his only goal of the day coming from X and it looked like Team 91 might start pulling away, until [player_tooltip player_id='17508' first='Brody' last='Richert'] hit [player_tooltip player_id='16388' first='John' last='Balsamo'] for a man-down goal on a fastbreak for LI Express.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A turning point in this game came when Peck created a turnover on a ride and went to shoot as defender Frank Filiberto came across the crease with a vicious cross-check to the head of Peck. This resulted in a minor scuffle which led to a double penalty on Filiberto and Faison for the antics after the play. LI Express would connect for a goal off a feed from [player_tooltip player_id='17446' first='Jacob' last='Johnston'] to [player_tooltip player_id='45379' first='Cameron' last='James'] in a 5-on-5 situation due to the double penalty with under a minute left in the quarter to cut the lead to just one goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once everyone calmed down, Team 91 put the pedal to the metal, shutting out LI Express in the fourth quarter and scoring four more goals. Peck, Ivancevic, and Sheridan would all score, and then Team 91 closed the door on a comeback with an open net goal to make the final 11-6. <br><br>It was a great scrap at the faceoff X all day between Tyson Blalock and [player_tooltip player_id='45368' first='Robert' last='Johnson'], with Blalock having the slight advantage in faceoffs won, but also, the goalies for both teams played great against high-caliber shooters from both sides. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["40426"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b49a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Testa was a workhorse for Team 91 in the championship. He rarely stays on the sideline for too long and his coaches were often running him onto the field almost every offensive possession to keep him involved as much as possible. He can dodge from up top but worked well from X with his ability to either dodge and beat him man or find an open teammate cutting inside. He has quick feet and a good change of direction when dodging and does so with his head up. He is a smart player and takes care of the ball. Testa finished with two goals and two assists in the game but created many other opportunities because of how active he is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["47688"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b55c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Maloney was also very active on offense for Team 91, using his speed and strength as well as a roll dodge to get his hands free for a shot or pass. He does a good job of finding the right matchups and exploiting their weaknesses and has a knack for drawing a slide to kickstart the offense. His first goal came when he beat his matchup with no slide coming, and he was able to take advantage of that opportunity. Finishing with two goals in the championship, Maloney is also constantly moving off-ball and even found himself a goal off an unsettled play when he cut back door on his man. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["45458"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b5ad"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ivancevic first stood out because of his ground ball skills on the wing. If Tyson Blalock wasn't able to win the faceoff cleanly, Ivancevic was right there to help out and either get the ground ball or make it tough on the opponent. He has good size and speed as an LSM and throws hard checks on his matchups when they attempt to dodge. He also does a good job in the clearing game and even scored a goal when he caught LI Express subbing guys out, he took that opportunity to walk right in front and finish past the goalie in a crucial spot in the fourth quarter. He can handle the ball and doesn't get himself out of position or find himself in the penalty box too much.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["47690"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b639"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The combination of Cataldo in the first half and David Xavier playing in the second half was fun to watch because both goalies had some remarkable saves for their squad. Cataldo only allowed four goals and saw a lot of shots. One of his biggest saves came when LI Express had a two-man advantage due to penalties and Cataldo stonewalled the opponent on that opportunity. Xavier came in for the second half and allowed two goals, with one coming on a 4-on-3 fastbreak and the other coming when it was 5-on-5. After that, he and his defense were able to shut out LI Express in the fourth quarter to prevent a comeback. He played well down the stretch saw the ball well and anticipated what kind of shot was coming from the opponent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["16504"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b682"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gillis was another guy who seemed to constantly be on the field when his team had the ball. He was very involved offensively and used his speed and footwork well when dodging a long pole to gain separation for a shot. He creates a lot of scoring chances for himself by finding soft spots in the defense and using stick fakes to his advantage. When he was working with the man-up unit, he kept his head up looking for skip passes or would take the step-down shot from a distance if they gave him some time and room. He has good stick skills and a quick release on his shot with good accuracy and I can only think that'll improve come 2025. Gillis ended the tournament with one goal and one assist in the championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["17521"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66955fcf4b6c4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Harrigan uses pure speed and solid shot placement when dodging and also has superior athleticism and is light on his feet which helps break down his defender. He is a tough kid and it showed when he took a big hit early and was clearly in pain, but battled back onto the field to try to help his team mount a comeback. He is fluent with either hand and his dodges usually draw slides which helps the offense get going. He is a smart player with the ball in his stick and doesn't look to force opportunities, but if he has a lane, he has no problem taking a hit or two on his way to the goal. He finished with one goal in the championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->