There is a competition in Pennsylvania for which senior ends up the Keystone State’s all-time leading goal scorer. Lewisburg senior Matt Fedorjaka is closest, but Upper Dublin senior Michael Mullen is coming on strong with 52 goals this season. Also today, Ponte Vedra and Lake Highland square on in the Florida Final Four and a Rockhurst Jesuit freshman kicks off his high school career.
While LaxRecords.com was started as a place to house the history of boys’ high school lacrosse, there are a lot of performances that do not make the lists. But those performances deserved to be highlighted.
Each Monday, I’ll highlight players, teams, coaches and games that caught my attention.
Want to alert me to a story I missed? Reach out to me via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or just good ‘ol email at mloveday@laxrecords.com.
Race for the record
Matt Fedorjaka
Lewisburg (Lewisburg, Pa.) senior Matt Fedorjaka is approaching the all-time Pennsylvania goals record. The attackman has 261 goals, which is just 15 shy of the current known record of 276 by Matt Rambo.
The Green Dragon’s star has 419 career points with his best season, so far, coming last year with a 126 point season.
Lewisburg has five games remaining on their regular season schedule. Fedorjaka would need to average three goals per game over the final five games to tie the record. The Fairfield commit is averaging 5.4 goals per game this season.
Right on Fedorjaka’s heels is Upper Dublin (Fort Washington, Pa.) senior Michael Mullen. Mullen has 245 goals this season, and with the help of Pennsylvania’s all-time leading assist man, Michael Sowers, is averaging 5.3 goals per game this season.
For Mullen to reach last year’s career-best 85 goals he’d need around seven games. The Cardinals have eight games left in the regular season, plus any playoff games.
Career
Wilson Nickles
Greenville (Greenville, S.C.) senior goalie Wilson Nickles is now the best known leader for career saves in South Carolina lacrosse history. Nickels, who has played in each of the past three seasons, has 557 career saves and surpassed Nash Via from Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.). Via had 406 career saves from 2013 to 2014.
Between the Pipes
Boys’ Latin (Baltimore) senior Jack Pezzula deserves a shout out this week after he helped the Lakers to a 6-5 win over Calvert Hall (Baltimore) on April 19.
The North Carolina commit made 17 saves, including two saves in the final 50 seconds of the game when the Lakers were a man down. The win improved the Lakers to 8-2 on the season and 3-0 in the MIAA A Conference.
On Fire
Christ Church Episcopal (Greenville, S.C.) junior Chase Poplin posted his fourth double-digit point game of the year on April 11 against Riverside (S.C.). Poplin scored eight goals and had two assists in the 14-11 win. He also has games of 12, 10 and 11 points this season and has 102 points on 72 goals and 30 assists this season.
For his career, Poplin has 219 points with 148 career goals. He is within reach of the current best known record of 200 career goals in South Carolina. Fort Mill (Fort Mill, S.C.) attackman Mitch Russell currently has the record. Russell tallied 434 career points from 2011 to 2014.
Starting Off Right
Rockhurst Jesuit (Kansas City, Mo.) junior Matthew Schrader made the most of his first varsity start on April 19 against Pembroke Hill (Kansas City, Mo.). Schrader scored six goals in a 16-8 win.
Schrader’s performance came in the same game as junior Reed Slaymaker’s 10-point game. Slaymaker dished out seven assists and scored three goals to help the Hawklets to victory.
What a Game
Joe Hawley’s nine points led the way as Klahowya (Silverdale, Wash.) rallied with eight third-quarter goals to down Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.) on Friday. Hawley now has 36 goals 33 assists for 69 points on the season.
The senior attacker was hot all night as he added four goals along with five assists to his already strong season totals as the Eagles rallied from a one-goal deficit at the half with eight third-quarter goals to take a 13 – 8 lead into the final quarter. Bellarmine Prep, wasn’t done, though, as the Lions outscored the Eagles 5 – 4 down the stretch, but were unable to overcome the powerful Klahowya third.
In the same game, David Vanderwal had nine goals and an assist for Bellarmine Prep.
The Final Four
Photo Courtesy: FloridaLacrosseNews.com
It’s defending state champion Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.) versus Ponte Vedra (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) in one half of the FHSAA state semifinals.
Ponte Vedra appears to be the favorite with a 22-0 record, which includes an 11-6 win over Lake Highland Prep on Feb. 15. Junior attackman Reid Smith leads the team with 123 points on 66 goals and 57 assists through the regular season. Junior Matthew Keeler is second on the team with 58 goals and 29 assists through the regular season.
The Highlanders struggled early in the year, sporting a 6-8 record on March 19 after a loss to Boys’ Latin. But Lake Highland has won six straight, including victories over Jupiter (Jupiter, Fla.), H.B. Plant (Tampa, Fla.) and Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Sophomore Christian Cisneros led the team with 78 points through 17 games.
The Sharks and Highlanders met in the semifinals in 2014 with Lake Highland coming out on top 14-9.