2025 Kirst Cup Final: Recap and Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is a new king of the hill in New Jersey high school boys lacrosse as top-seeded Seton Hall Prep wouldn't be denied against third-seeded Westfield in a Thursday night showdown at Kean University in Union, NJ to wrap up the 2025 lacrosse season. Both fan bases came in full force with excitement and energy, as did the players, delivering big hits on both sides with high intensity and bringing the juice as they put it all on the line for one final game of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game started with senior goaltenders <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/conor-keenan/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Conor Keenan</span></strong></a> (Lafayette) for the Pirates and <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/corey-gilford/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Corey Gilford</span></strong></a> for the Blue Devils both coming up with big stops on multiple man-up chances and keeping the game scoreless until senior attackman <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/garrett-ferguson/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Garrett Ferguson</span></strong></a> (Washington &amp; Lee) netted the first goal and then was able to find sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='120530' first='Koby' last='Waldman'] for a transition goal to extend their lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior attackman Joe DelMauro (Utah) opened up the scoring for Seton Hall Prep and cut the lead to one before fellow line-mate <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/nolan-sabel/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Nolan Sabel</span></strong></a> (Villanova) scored back-to-back goals within 14 seconds of each other to snag the lead for his squad. To finish the half, each team traded a goal, with junior midfielder Bryce Pfeffer (UMBC) tallying a goal for the Pirates and then Blue Devils senior midfielder <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/christian-gilford/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Christian Gilford</span></strong></a> (Sacred Heart) turned on the burners at X and did a good job of coming upfield for a good angle shot to cut the Pirates' lead to one at the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half started with some good defense being played on both sides before Seton Hall Prep middie, Charlie Killen (High Point), bullied his way into the middle for an easy goal. Shortly thereafter, the Blue Devils answered right back as the big lefty attackman, senior <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/player/colin-coyle/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Colin Coyle</span></strong></a> (Umass), split the double-team with a slick swim move and bounced it top-shelf. However the Pirates kept extending the lead as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='123945' first='Jack' last='Merklinger'] took it himself on the dodge and found his hands free for a goal, and then came the rain...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game was delayed for about an hour and a half due to severe thunderstorms in the area and after the break, both teams came out sloppy, with the conditions clearly playing a big part in the high turnover rates in the 4th quarter. The Blue Devils scored in transition as senior SSDM Gavin LaConti found junior Luke Spaide on a cut through the middle and then Sabel scored his third goal late in the game before Killen put the nail in the coffin with a minute and a half to go, leading 8-5. The Seton Hall Prep Pirates finish the season as the Essex County champs, the Non-Public state champs and now also the 2025 Kirst Cup champs, being the first non-public school to win the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["127076"],"_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-685b327d53ba9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sabel had a great year overall and an even better month of June as he went on a heater in the non-public state tournament and proved to be a handful for his Kirst Cup opponents as well, with a hat trick in the final. The Villanova commit is the facilitator offensively for the Pirates and has done a great job of finding his spots on the field and setting up his defender in order to get to those spots. He can crush you with time and room or on the run and has elite accuracy mixed with his athletic ability and stick skills. Even when he isn't the one getting the goals or assists on the stat-sheet, he is the one who kickstarts the offense with a dodge and is able to draw a slide to get the defense out of position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["16502"],"_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-685b327d53c52"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Keenan was a human wall in cage for Seton Hall Prep, totaling over 170 saves on the season and was a big reason why the Pirates were able to come back after an early lead by Westfield and hold onto the lead late into the game. I tallied 11 saves for the Lafayette-bound net-minder, but he does so much more for his team. He is a great communicator in cage and does a good job of helping in the clearing game and not being afraid to come out of the crease for a ground ball or throw a check on an opponent. When he makes a save, he's smart with the ball, not forcing too many passes, but if he's got an open guy downfield he's accurate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["127099"],"_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-685b327d53c0a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Coyle played a tremendous role for the Pirates in their deep playoff run this season, winning 27 face-offs at a 66% win rate during the state tournament. In the Kirst Cup final, I had Coyle winning 13 of 14 face-offs, with his only loss coming on an illegal procedure. He was dominant from the X, with the ability to win it cleanly or rough it up for a ground ball and get possession for his team that way. The Middlebury commit was able to push transition when the chance presented itself and he also did a good job of communicating with his wing players as far as positioning. He is a smart, tough player with good size and solid stick skills which should translate well at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["24388"],"_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-685b327d53c93"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gilford was amazing in cage for Westfield this season, totaling well over 230 saves on the year and helping his team win back-to-back state titles in his final two seasons, proving to be an integral part in that success. He recorded over 10 saves on the day and helped the Blue Devils get out to a 2-0 lead early in the game, denying multiple chances from the opposition and with the defensive unit playing solid man-down defense. Gilford tracks the ball well and doesn't give up too many easy goals and does a good job of turning players away on the doorstep as he did multiple times throughout the Kirst Cup games. He came up with huge stops vs. Summit in the semifinal as they won in 2OT and also made some big saves when he had to late in the final round to give his offense another chance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->