The Northeast Region preview, presented by LaxRecords.com features a four-part series. Part four is the Top 10 teams and the justification for each.
Northeast Region Preview: Pt. 1: Milestones | Pt. 2: The Big Picture | Pt. 3: Random Region Notes | Pt. 4: Top 10
Preseason Top 10
1. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.)
2. Chaminade (N.Y.)
3. Brunswick School (Conn.)
4. Darien (Conn.)
5. Manhasset (N.Y.)
6. Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)
7. Mt. Sinai (N.Y.)
8. Victor (N.Y.)
9. Smithtown West (N.Y.)
10. Lincoln-Sudbury (Mass.)
Also Considering (alpha order): Bishop Guertin (N.H.); Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.); Franklin (Mass.), Garden City (N.Y.); Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.); John Jay-Cross River (N.Y.); Massapequa (N.Y.); New Canaan (Conn.); Ridgefield (Conn.); Ward Melville (N.Y.); Xaverian Brothers (Mass.); Yorktown (N.Y.)
The Justification
1. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.)
The Friars boasts a lineup with 19 players committed to college, including the No. 1 player in the nation, Brennan O’Neill (Duke). The Friars also have the No. 1 junior in Andrew McAdorey (Duke). Head Coach Keith Wieczorek led St. Anthony’s to a 15-1 record and posted wins over Darien, Loyola Academy (Ill.), St. Ignatius Prep (Calif.), Manhasset, Delbarton (N.J.) and McDonogh (Md.). This season, Head Coach Keith Wieczorek has scheduled games against Delbarton, St. Ignatius Prep, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.), Yorktown (N.Y.) and New Canaan (Conn.) along with rival Chaminade.
2. Chaminade (N.Y.)
The Flyers have 17 players already committed to college and returning for Head Coach Jack Moran. The Flyers won 12 straight to start last year, but back-to-back losses ended their season. That final loss was to rival St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) in the CHSAA-AA championship. Chaminade and St. Anthony’s go back-and-forth winning the conference championship. The last time St. Anthony’s won back-to-back titles was the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Chaminde returns Cornell commit Alex Zepf in goal along with defenders Brendan McCabe (Michigan), Robbie Booth (Navy), Michael Guerriere (High Point) and Patrick Noonan (Denver). Yale commit James Ball returns to lead the face-off. The season kicks off with a game at Delaware power Salesianum (Del.). Early games against Massapequa (N.Y.) and road games against Ward Melville and St. Anthony’s all take place before April 10. They also have St. Ignatius Prep, Gonzaga (D.C.), Darien, Manhasset and Delbarton on the schedule.
3. Brunswick School (Conn.)
The Bruins return 13 players committed to Division I programs from a team that went 16-3 last season. Colin Mulshine is the No. 20 defender in the Class of 2021, according to Inside Lacrosse. The Bruins boast several players among the Top 100 in both the classes of 2020 and 2021. The talent will be put to the test with their conference schedule, which includes Deerfield Academy (Mass.) along with road games at St. Paul’s (Md.) and Darien (Conn.) along with games against Haverford School (Pa.) and Hill Academy (Canada).
4. Darien (Conn.)
The Blue Wave is the defending Class L champion and returns eight players from last year’s team, including goalie Andy Demopoulos (Johns Hopkins) and senior captain Michael Minicus (Colgate) at attack. The Blue Wave will once again participate in the GEICO Showcase in April and take on Manhasset (N.Y.) and Chaminade (N.Y.). They also travel to Yorktown (N.Y.) and Ridgefield (Conn.) this season. The offensive tallied 337 goals last season while Head Coach Jeff Brameier’s defense allowed just 117.
5. Manhasset (N.Y.)
The Indians bring back seven players from last year’s 17-3 season. The Indians’ season ended with a one-goal loss to John Jay-Cross River. The defense should be strong with Ed Arnold (Penn), Timothy Barrett (Boston), and Jake Tolentino (Georgetown) returning. Last year, the defensive unit allowed only 122 goals and surrendered more than nine goals twice. The attack unit boasts Peter Lapina (Dartmouth) and Matt McAree (Scranton). Aidan Mulholland (Michigan) is one of the best midfielders in the Class of 2021. Head Coach Keith Cromwell plays Garden City on the road this season in addition to taking on Darien and Chaminade during the regular season.
6. Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)
The Wildcats boast Xavier Arline (Navy for football) and Johnny Schwarz (UNC) who accounted for seven of the Wildcats 12 goals in the state championship game last season. The duo helped lead an offense that tallied 266 goals last season. Arline enters the season with 359 points after scoring 137 points last season. The attackman should become the 29th player in New York history to reach 400 points with a shot at reaching 500. The defending Class C championship get Garden City at home while traveling to play West Islip (N.Y.). The rematch with Mt. Sinai occurs on May 15 to end the regular season.
7. Mt. Sinai (N.Y.)
The Mustangs are loaded this season with six players who are either juniors or seniors heading to Division I programs. And that does not include super sophomore Joey Spallina who was among the Top 5 scorers in New York last season as a freshman. The Mt. Sinai offense scored 257 goals while the defense proved the key to the team’s success after allowing only 104 goals. The Mustangs did not allow any team to scored more than nine goals against them until Shoreham Wading River scored 14 in overtime in the playoffs. Mt. Sinai gave Shoreham-Wading River their closest game of the year last year in the Suffolk Class C final - taking the Wildcats to overtime. They open their season against Manhasset and wrap up the regular season against Shoreham.
8. Victor (N.Y.)
Victor has a trio of Albany commits to kickstart the offense this season. The Blue Devils offense scored 252 goals last year and return Camden Hay (Albany) and Joey Pezzimenti (Albany) at attack and Regan Endres (Albany) at face-off. Defensemen Cam Germain (St. Bonaventure) and Ethan Roberts (Seton HIll) also return. Head Coach Jim Andre has led Victor to four state titles and 127 wins since taking over the program in 2013. Victor plays Lincoln-Sudbury on April 10 in their second game of the year. They host Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.) on May 2.
9. Smithtown West (N.Y.)
Smithtown West lost three games by a combined three goals last season - two of those in overtime. The Bulls bring back 11 college commits, including Conor Calderone (Maryland) at face-off and Danny Caddigan (Colgate) at attack. The offense scored 268 goals last season while the defense only allowed two teams to score more than nine goals against them. Ten goals was the max the defense allowed and both those goals occurred in the overtime losses to Garden City and Ward Melville. They were the No. 5 team in New York, according to Laxnumbers.com. The Bulls open the season on the road against Garden City and play Lincoln-Sudbury on March 28. Head Coach Bob Moltisanti Jr. also has a late-season road game against Ward Melville (N.Y.) on the schedule.
10. Lincoln-Sudbury (Mass.)
Lincoln-Sudbury won its fourth state championship in five years last year and returns 10 players committed to play in college. The defense should be Head Coach Brian Vona’s strength this season with Wilson Sneath (Vermont), Kyle Manherz (Hamilton), Jack Malon (LSM) and Andrew Vona (Hobart) all returning. Brian Vona has 320 career wins since 2000 and leads an experienced squad this season. The Warriors go on the road to take on Smithtown West on March 28 in their second game of the season. They also take on Victor, Pinkerton Academy (N.H.), Longmeadow (Mass.), Duxbury (Mass.) and La Salle Academy (R.I.) during the regular season.