Panthers in Prime Time: Who Factored Into Paul VI’s Win vs. IMG

Starting its season with a bang, Paul VI (Va.) welcomed IMG Academy (Fla.) to its Chantilly campus and strung together an impressive 11-7 win that showed signs of big things to come in the 2026 season. These five players caught my eye:    Popping on film, Galaida stacked a ton of big-time plays all over the field while showing off his ever-present competitive edge. He hit opponents out of bounds, picked up GBs off the wing, caused turnovers on defense, and scored timely goals. The Christopher Newport commit scored in an unsettled scenario in the middle of the second quarter, then split-rolled his man and beat the slide before shooting offside low later on in the game. I was more impressed with what he did without the rock, however. When the ball was on the ground in a 50-50 scenario, it came up on Galaida's stick more often than not. He's such an important piece of the puzzle as the third guy on the first line because he does so many things well and doesn't need to make flashy plays to make his impact felt. Between Galaida and LSM [player_tooltip player_id='175131' first='Joe' last='Wheatley'], who also had a terrific game, CNU is keeping the PVI pipeline rolling in a major way.     Gilmore has become one of my favorite players in the DMV — there's just not much that he can't do on a lacrosse field, and his fingerprints were all over Tuesday's win. He contributed two goals and an assist, picked up huge GBs, shook players out of their cleats with his first step, and even won crucial face-offs to himself in the fourth quarter. It took just over a minute for the future Spider to make his presence felt, splitting two defenders before putting the ball in the back of the net. He had an assist in the second quarter after securing possession and creating transition, then added an empty-netter with the clock ticking down. Regardless of the situations he's thrust into, Gilmore is constantly factoring in and making winning plays, showing his high compete level, athleticism, and end-to-end skill set. Gilmore always draws the eyes of the opposition, which allows him to open things up for his teammates. I'd be shocked not to see him thrive as a freshman at Richmond next year, and he's a name we'll be hearing about for a while.     Holding five-star '27 [player_tooltip player_id='120556' first='George' last='Caldroney'] in check, I'm befuddled as to how Gutierrez is uncommitted at this time. He relied on fundamental position play and stick placement to limit the Princeton commit's explosive playmaking ability and made him more of a feeder than a goal-scorer without having to throw many checks. In addition, Gutierrez bumped up near the midline to harass ball-carriers and was a tremendous asset in the clearing game. He made some critical plays in the second line to help the Panthers retain possession, making two huge plays in the final minute of the quarter. Gutierrez has sound footwork and stick skills, and he's just as polished off-ball as he is on-ball. I wasn't familiar with his game, but I definitely liked what I saw and will be eager to see if he ends up playing college lacrosse.     Known to be adept as both a goal-scorer and a feeder, Holland's ability as a QB was on full display during his one-goal, five-assist outing against IMG. For whatever reason, the Ascenders seemed content leaving the High Point signee open with his hands free, and he went to work. Explosive and fast, Holland has drastically improved his right hand over time and can let it fly with either hand. He sees the field at an elite level and consistently makes the correct read, plus he's a constant factor on the ride, making IMG work in the clearing game and winning the ball back on more than one occasion. He was awesome in the second half, routinely finding cutters and putting the ball in tight windows. Set to stay a Panther at the next level, John Crawley got a good one in this dynamic and intelligent lefty.     Playing with a swagger, Sirois pumped in four goals in impressive fashion. The Towson commit is a true sniper from the wing, featuring a lightning-quick release and shot speed that challenges even the best goalies—like the top-ranked '27 netminder in this matchup. He converted on a catch-and-shoot early in the second quarter, found the top-right corner in transition early in the third, spun around and netted one while falling, then scored on an S-dodge after going left-to-right with just over five minutes to play. Extraordinarily precise as a shooter, he's confident with the ball in his stick and always keeps his feet moving without it to set himself up to be at the end of plays. Due to his athleticism and grit, Sirois is also an asset on the ride. He looks the part of someone who will compete for minutes early in his career at Towson, having flipped to the Tigers from Stony Brook back in the fall.

Starting its season with a bang, Paul VI (Va.) welcomed IMG Academy (Fla.) to its Chantilly campus and strung together an impressive 11-7 win that showed signs of big things to come in the 2026 season. These five players caught my eye: