Six Who Shined: Hill School (PA) at St. John's College (DC)

On Wednesday afternoon, Hill School out of Pennsylvania traveled down to Washington, DC for a matchup with nationally ranked St. John's College HS (No. 11).   The first eight minutes of this game were chaotic as both teams either missed on quality scoring opportunities or simply turned the ball over. Then with 4:30 remaining in the 1st quarter, Hill School broke through when freshman [player_tooltip player_id='171511' first='Lach' last='Dumais'] dodged from X, turned the corner, and then deposited a jump shot into the net. That tally opened the flood gates as Hill received additional late 1st quarter goals from [player_tooltip player_id='129788' first='Chase' last='Aquino'] and [player_tooltip player_id='35704' first='Jace' last='Banks'] (Notre Dame signee). St. John's lone goal in the opening stanza came from [player_tooltip player_id='18845' first='Brendan' last='DuFour'] (Bucknell signee). Hill led 3-1 after the 1st quarter.         Banks and [player_tooltip player_id='16875' first='Isaiah' last='Barbee'] (Lehigh signee) scored for Hill in the 2nd Quarter to give the Blues a 5-2 halftime lead.   Hill took control of this contest in the 3rd quarter when they received two goals by junior [player_tooltip player_id='129780' first='Sullivan' last='Keith'] (Lafayette commit) and one by [player_tooltip player_id='174556' first='Adrien' last='Kosinski'] (Fairfield commit). Meanwhile, Hill's defensive unit and goalie [player_tooltip player_id='82283' first='Liam' last='Atkins'] (Georgetown signee) pitched a shutout in that stanza. Thus, the Blues led 8-2 after three quarters.   St. John's made things interesting with three goals in the 4th quarter, including one that came via an incredible individual effort by attackman Edward Chi (Towson signee). But that 4th quarter surge was not enough to overcome the six goal deficit. SJC never got closer than three goals, and Hill eventually captured the 9-5 upset win.     Below is a review of the prospects who impressed during the Hill School (PA) at St. John's College (MD) game.   Hill School    Atkins was outstanding between the pipes in this contest. The Georgetown signee limited SJC to two goals in the 1st half and put a doughnut on the scoreboard during the 3rd quarter. He stoned SJC on several perimeter rips destined for the top of the cage. Atkins also flashed jaw dropping agility on a number his drops that stopped low shots by SJC. On a couple of plays, Atkins scrambled out of his crease to secure possession of 50/50 balls. Atkins triggered a handful of transition opportunities for Hill with his accurate clearing passes. The Hoyas coaching staff will love the energy Atkins brings to the defensive unit.          Barbee's speed, athleticism and two-way midfielder skill set were on full display during Hill's win over SJC. In the 2nd quarter, Barbee picked up a GB in the defensive end and pushed the ball over midfield. When the field opened up in front of him, Barbee quickly recognized that space, kicked it into high gear and streaked to the net for an overhand finish on the crease. That spectacular play was just one of several solo clears that Barbee performed for Hill in this win. At the defensive, Barbee was a tenacious on-ball presence as he frequently got into SJC players early in the dodges. This Lehigh signee also did a fantastic job of beating SJC ball carriers to a spot and then turning them.       On Wednesday, Kastroll used his size, speed, and heavy stick checks to provide an imposing defensive presence for Hill. Kastroll was especially effective at creating turnovers down low as well behind the net. This Utah commit played with impressive physicality as he stopped numerous SJC dodgers by taking the body. Kastroll demonstrated throughout this win that he owns a deep understanding of team defensive concepts. He also displayed noteworthy quickness and an aggressive stick on a few ground balls he chased down. Kastroll was a vocal leader on the back end for Hill too. As a bonus to his defensive prowess, Kastroll flashed unexpected change of direction moves on two clears that he legged out.       The athletic and shiftyKeith (committed to Lafayette) recorded a hat trick in Hill's victory. His two goals in the 3rd quarter were key to Hill putting this game away early in the second half. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWXBQM1iXE0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">Keith's amazing first goal</a> in that stretch is posted all over social media. On that play, Keith cut down the middle of the field, and came wide open at the top of the crease. Hill attackman [player_tooltip player_id='35704' first='Jace' last='Banks'] saw Keith and fired a pass from the wing to Keith. The pass was behind Keith, so he reached back and made a spectacular one-handed catch. In the same motion, Keith then finished the play with a one-handed, sidearm flip shot.            St. John's College    DuFour (Towson) scored a beautiful goal where he dodged down the right-hand alley and at the last second, he dipped underneath his defender. DuFour then flipped his stick into his left hand and fired a shot into the back of the net. Even more impressive than that goal was the way DuFour quarterbacked the SJC offense all game. DuFour's quick burst and polished stick skills enabled him to put pressure on Hill's defense all day. His high IQ and field awareness were on full display Wednesday evening too. The Towson coaching staff is going to love DuFour's non-stop motor and ability to read a defense.     Hill School committed numerous turnovers in this game and a slew of them were because of the tenacious efforts of Phillips. This athletic and speedy pole used his active stick as well as his physicality to put the ball on the ground frequently. Plus, Phillips (Bucknell commit) broke up a few passes with his stick and deflected one or two shot attempts too. Phillips also snatched up several GBs in traffic and then delivered smart clearing passes or legged the ball out of the defensive zone himself. Lastly, Phillips repeatedly proved he could execute timely slides and double teams.

On Wednesday afternoon, Hill School out of Pennsylvania traveled down to Washington, DC for a matchup with nationally ranked St. John's College HS (No. 11).