Rivalry Renewed: St. Anthony's Moves Past Chaminade, 11-9

Ten months ago in the CHSAA title game, St. Anthony's trailed Chaminade by three at halftime before erupting for a 6–1 third-quarter run that carried the Friars past their longtime rival.   No trophy was on the line Wednesday, but the script felt familiar. Facing another three-goal halftime deficit, the Friars once again came out firing, using a 6-1 third-quarter surge to fuel an 11-9 win. Fueled by a big day at the face-off X by [player_tooltip player_id='45368' first='Robbie' last='Johnson'] (UNC) and Paul LoNigro (Wingate), who combined to win all but six, St. Anthony's completely dominated the groundball game, 30-12. Goalie [player_tooltip player_id='21434' first='Dylan' last='Rappaport'] (Loyola) and the defense, led by [player_tooltip player_id='165405' first='Ryan' last='Lasko'] (Boston U.) and five-star [player_tooltip player_id='17165' first='Ethan' last='Bramoff'] (Maryland), were excellent. Stepping into bigger roles as seniors, Hobart signee Patrick McCue thrived off-ball and by making the little plays, and [player_tooltip player_id='175345' first='Patrick' last='Heron'] (Navy) added a huge third-quarter goal and made some big-time plays. Offensively, UNC commit [player_tooltip player_id='16391' first='Charlie' last='Cacciabaudo'] led the way with four goals, while Heron, Johnson, Sean Ronayne (Rollins), five-star [player_tooltip player_id='17446' first='Jacob' last='Johnston'] (Hopkins), [player_tooltip player_id='17521' first='Dylan' last='Harrigan'] (Maryland), [player_tooltip player_id='45399' first='Danny' last='Rooney'] (Maryland), and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='166380' first='Aidan' last='Dale'] all added individual tallies. These five, however, were most deserving of being highlighted in-depth:    Putting together a preposterous performance, Cacciabaudo notched a hat trick exclusively on shovel shots, then added another – this time on a quick-stick finish – in the fourth quarter for good measure. A sensational off-ball player with a penchant for creative releases, the future Tar Heel is close to matching his 2025 production (9g/1a), having notched six goals in two games. He found the net on a shovel shot off a rebound in the first quarter, did so again in the second stanza after throwing a fake to move the goalie, then buried another in the middle of SA's third-quarter run thanks to a 15-yard assist from longtime LI Express teammate [player_tooltip player_id='17521' first='Dylan' last='Harrigan']. His game is rather unconventional, but he's always open, always at the end of the plays, and catches everything thrown his way.     Lasko's breakthrough into the lineup gives St. Anthony's the luxury of keeping five-star [player_tooltip player_id='17165' first='Ethan' last='Bramoff'] down at close defense, where he was able to limit [player_tooltip player_id='16504' first='James' last='Gillis'] on Wednesday. Lasko, meanwhile, turned in a stellar performance between the lines and showed plenty of signs of great things to come. He corralled interceptions, picked up key groundballs off the wings, and got the ball off the carpet on man-down to prevent the Flyers from getting into a rhythm. When Chaminade needed a possession to stop the bleeding, Lasko got his stick on the ball, smoothly collected it, and moved it upfield. Though he was seldom tested in coverage, he showed terrific instincts, a high motor, and an innate nose for the ball. Simply put, good things ended up happening when Lasko made big plays, and in a rivalry game like that, it made a massive difference.     Now a full-time starter role after splitting time a year ago, Rappaport kicked off the season by making 12 stops in a loss to Culver, then made seven saves in Wednesday's meeting with Chaminade. While yesterday's numbers may not jump off the page, his stout showing in net had everything to do with the timeliness and magnitude of those stops. Chaminade was held scoreless for almost 18 minutes between the midpoint of the second quarter and the five-second mark in the third quarter, and the Loyola commit was a big reason why. In the third, he split for a sprawling five-hole attempt, got a piece four minutes later from a similar spot of the field, then made another five-hole stop low-to-low that ultimately led to a beautiful pole goal by Navy commit [player_tooltip player_id='175345' first='Patrick' last='Heron']. Soon after, he moved back into position to get a piece of another to keep Chaminade off the board. In addition, he was rock-solid in the clear, as St. Anthony's was 10-of-10 on that front after struggling in the clearing department in the loss to Culver.     Even in a losing effort, Balsamo was arguably the most unstoppable player on the field for much of the game, posting four goals and an assist and often putting the team on his back. He got the scoring started when he slipped free in front of the cage and converted a feed from [player_tooltip player_id='143094' first='Brendan' last='Sim'], then added a pretty low-to-low tally on EMO early in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, he hitched and came off an excellent Sim pick to get his hands free, assisted [player_tooltip player_id='165193' first='Finn' last='Pizzo'] a few minutes later, then beat his man before netting a shovel shot on a dodge from X to come within two goals with under two minutes left. Every time Chaminade got on the board in the fourth quarter, Balsamo was involved in the scoring play, which tells you everything you need to know about what kind of competitor he is, along with his relentless riding display.     On a club team loaded with Top 100 talent, Bekiers initially flew a bit under the radar, at least until last spring. Boston University certainly took notice and secured his commitment a month into the recruiting period two falls ago, and the Terriers are getting an absolute dog of an SSDM in Bekiers. He may not pass the eye test per se, but there's no doubt that he's able to use his lack of prototypical size to his advantage to cause disruption. He did exactly that on Wednesday, constantly affecting passes and shots from Big 10 and ACC recruits and laying the body. Bekiers picked up an interception for two, legged it in the clear, and just generally made his presence felt all day.

Ten months ago in the CHSAA title game, St. Anthony's trailed Chaminade by three at halftime before erupting for a 6–1 third-quarter run that carried the Friars past their longtime rival.