Shawnee Downs Ocean City in New Jersey State Semifinal, 16-8

South Jersey's Group 3 state title game is set between Moorestown and Shawnee on June 5th, following Moorestown's 11-2 defeat of Clearview in the semifinal. Going into the Ocean City-Shawnee matchup, the big name to watch was Harvard-bound Patrick Grimley, the Shawnee star highlighted in our "<a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2024/02/new-jerseys-top-midfielders-to-watch-in-the-class-of-2024/">New Jersey's Top Midfielders to Watch in the Class of 2024</a>" post before the start of the season.   As the first quarter began, it wasn't Grimley who was being watched, it was the Shawnee offense because junior FOGO [player_tooltip player_id='31263' first='Lucas' last='Estevez'] was playing "make it, take it" and was extremely impressive all day against anyone the Red Raiders threw at him. Shawnee was up 3-0 with goals from Tyler Rotkowitz, [player_tooltip player_id='31265' first='Brett' last='Lundberg'], and Jack Creaney.   The Renegades were in a zone defense all game. Senior goaltender Danil Didden did some nice work in the cage, coming up with 13 saves. The strategy was to use a defensive midfielder to lock off Grimley, and even if Grimley cut to get open and set up a dodge, Shawnee would send a second double right away to make him pass it off. Ocean City would get their first goal from Nolan O'Kane with 3:22 left. Then, in an unsettled opportunity at the end of the quarter, Charlie Schutta found Grimley for a step-down rip to cut the deficit to one.   The second quarter was all Shawnee, not even allowing Ocean City to possess the ball on offense until halfway through the quarter due to their great work offensively and at the faceoff X. Red Raiders head coach Joe LaTorre eventually put Grimley on the wing on faceoffs to try to get him more involved. Still, Estevez was poised and controlled all day. For the Renegades, Cale Stielau, [player_tooltip player_id='31261' first='Thomas' last='McAneney'], and Grayson Santucci would all get on the board for their first goal, and for the Red Raiders, Charlie Schutta would also get on the board for his first goal off of a great screen from X by Grimley. But the Red Raiders were still down 7-3 at the half.   The third quarter started with Shawnee still on fire, scoring the first two goals. Ocean City attempted to fight back with a goal from senior Chayston LaBarre, a backhanded, diving goal from senior John Moyer, and then with time expiring in the third, Zio Wright found Schutta for his second goal of the day.   Tensions were high with Ocean City only down 3 goals headed into the fourth quarter.   Sophomore attackman [player_tooltip player_id='31261' first='Thomas' last='McAneney'] was lights out for the Renegades in the fourth, tallying four goals and one assist. Estevez was still dominating the X, making it extremely difficult for Ocean City to mount any comeback. Like clockwork, LaBarre and Schutta each scored again. With about four minutes left, Ocean City pulled its goalie for an extra defender, but the large deficit, late penalties, and turnovers ended the Red Raiders' season.   Shawnee advances to the South Jersey Group 3 State Final game on Wednesday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m. against top-seeded Moorestown.    McAneney is only a sophomore but played like a seasoned veteran on a big stage for Shawnee, producing five goals and five assists on the day. What stood out to me is how active he was whether at X or on the wing. He dodges with his head up, looking for cutters, but is also a threat to score. He leads his team in scoring with 69 goals and 38 assists.       Along with McAneney, Lundberg is another sophomore for Shawnee who plays like a veteran. He plays with confidence and has the strength, speed, and agility to make defenders pay. He finished the game with a hat trick and can do it off a dodge or with an outside shot. He has 28 goals and 18 assists on the year.     [player_tooltip player_id='31263' first='Lucas' last='Estevez'] had a great game, going 26-for-27. I had him down for at least 11 or 12 clean wins to himself, whether forward or through his legs, no contest. When he wasn't winning them cleanly, he was getting scrappy in the ground ball scrum, getting some help from his wing players. He's 211-of-312 (68%) on the year to go with four goals.     Grimley is a terrifying player for any opponent he faces, so Shawnee locked him off and packed in a zone defense. He scored one goal in the first quarter on his only open look of the game, but even while being face-guarded, he could still affect the game. He was fighting to get open, drawing the double, and then finding his teammates, but some good defense prevented some chances. He also was setting screens for his teammates and even helped Charlie Schutta score when he used the man locking him off as a double screen for Schutta to get upfield from X. He finished his senior season with 84 goals and 42 assists.     Finishing with three goals and two assists, Schutta stood out to me because of how active and assertive he was while Grimley was locked off. He is a quick and shifty dodger with great footwork and has the speed to get around his defender and finish. Schutta finished his senior year with 50 goals and 37 assists.

South Jersey's Group 3 state title game is set between Moorestown and Shawnee on June 5th, following Moorestown's 11-2 defeat of Clearview in the semifinal. Going into the Ocean City-Shawnee matchup, the big name to watch was Harvard-bound Patrick Grimley, the Shawnee star highlighted in our "New Jersey's Top Midfielders to Watch in the Class of 2024" post before the start of the season.