NLF National Championships: 2025's That Impressed, Part 2

Following my Part I of <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2024/07/nlf-national-championships-2025s-that-impressed-part-1/">2025's That Impressed, </a>we continue to look at another set of athletes who put on a show in a class that is extremely deep with talent across the board. Here's a look at additional playmakers that stood out.    The Connecticut native did some outstanding work from the faceoff X in the two games I watched. In their semifinal game against West Coast Starz, he went 9-for-12 with one goal, and then in the championship, he showcased a dominant performance while also adding a goal early in the fourth quarter. He doesn't get called for violations too often and can usually win it cleanly forward to himself or through the legs to a teammate. On both goals he had, he was able to pinch-and-pop the ball to himself and storm straight ahead to the net, with good athleticism, a hard shot, and solid placement to beat the goaltender. He doesn't always look to push it, however. He has a high lacrosse IQ and won't force an opportunity that isn't there, rather, he stays patient, finding an offensive player and allowing the offense to set up.     Brescia was very involved in the Prime Time offense and displayed great hustle to loose balls and an ability to handle the ball in tight while getting pressured. The Loyola commit connected on four goals in their semifinal game and did his damage off the dodge, from distance, and from the inside, off nice looks from his teammates. He has a quick first step and is able to change directions on a dime, making it tough for any defender to stay with him. When dodging from X, he is able to absorb stick checks and then creates space while coming upfield for a shot. His speed and his ability to produce with his powerful shot make up for his smaller frame.     Having only seen a small sample size of Wehman's game, it was clear he was the leader on the Thunder. As an X attackman, he breaks down his defenders with a sneaky quick burst of speed along with good footwork and stick skills and either find an open teammate when the slide comes or turn the corner and get upfield for a shot. The Navy commit is also strong and able to take contact and pressure on his way to the net with his patient style of play. In the last game of his summer lacrosse career, I watched Wehman drop two goals in a 7-3 win against Cherries in a game that had mud flying everywhere due to rain. He's got a good step-down shot when the opportunity presents itself, changing planes on most of his shots and placing the ball off-stick side to make it hard on opposing goaltenders.     McCaffery displayed some good technique and quick hands from center X in this tournament. He dominated in his game against the Crabs, going 6-for-9 and showing patience with the ball in his stick, not rattled by defenders looking to cause turnovers. McCaffery went up against a lot of talented players and prevailed more times than not against them. As Leading Edge trailed at half and looking to make a comeback against West Coast Starz, the Quinnipiac-bound FOGO came out hot, winning the first four faceoffs easily and doing everything in his power to will his team to victory. He is strong and can recover when tied up even if he doesn't get the clamp off the jump and can play solid defense when caught on the field.     McKane did some really nice work in between the pipes for West Coast Starz. In their win against Leading Edge, McKane was seeing everything and came up with 10 saves. One of his saves came late in the first half, when Leading Edge had a 1-on-1 opportunity and the Notre Dame commit stood tall, making a terrific save and was seen pumping up his squad heading into the break. He uses his athleticism, reflexes and good recognition to make it tough on opposing players. He displayed quick hands on shots in tight and made some nice outlet passes to teammates looking to push in transition. In the semifinal loss to the eventual champions, Prime Time, he was able to collect 9 saves and even had an assist on a clearing pass to the Maryland-bound SSDM, Daniel Schaeffer down the middle of the field for a momentum shifting goal.     Another stud from the West Coast Starz club is the Denver commit who had an outstanding last couple of games for them. Totaling a hat trick against Leading Edge, he was able to find his shots and finish with authority. He has a hard step-down shot but is equally lethal shooting on the run off a dodge. Komenda is fluent with either hand and comes up clutch in big spots when his team needs him. When dodging, he is light on his feet and has a good mix of moves to try to get his defender out of position. In his semifinal game, he tallied two goals against Prime Time and was an integral part of his team's attempt to mount a comeback late in the game.     The Spalding product is a flat out playmaker for the Annapolis Hawks. He's a very intelligent player who makes the right passes and doesn't force opportunities that aren't there. Matassa is a crafty dodger from X, displaying the ability to generate offense, while keep his head up and always looking for a skip pass or a teammate cutting inside. If he likes his matchup, he's got the quickness and stamina to re-dodge if he feels like he's got a chance to make a play for his team. When shooting, he makes sure he's got a good angle and works hard to get upfield and and either inside roll his defender or create space to get his hands free. In his game against Eclipse, he finished with one goal and two assists. Committed to Bucknell, Matassa doesn't take any possessions off and has shown good hustle on the endline run-outs as well.

Following my Part I of 2025's That Impressed, we continue to look at another set of athletes who put on a show in a class that is extremely deep with talent across the board.

Here's a look at additional playmakers that stood out.