Milestones
500
Allatoona (Ga.) senior Sean Byrne recorded the 500th save of his career on March 20 in a 10-8 win over John’s Creek (Ga.). The Army commit made the career save early in the first quarter to help him reach the milestone. He made nine saves in the game and has 94 saves this season. He wrapped up the John’s Creek game with 508 career saves.
The goalie entered the 2021 season with 388 career saves and third among reported players for most in Georgia. Byrne is only the third reported player in state history with 500 career saves.
Byrne has been an anchor in goal for Head Coach Jonathan Wishon and helping lead a defense that has allowed only 50 goals in 11 games. The Buccaneers are 9-2 and the current No. 5 team in the state.
The senior made 151 saves as a freshman and followed that up with a 193-save season as a sophomore. In eight games as a junior, in the shortened 2020 season, Byrne made 70 saves.
150
Roswell (Ga.) Head Coach Bryan Wallace earned the 150th win of his career with a 15-11 victory over Walton (Ga.) on March 20. Wallace took over the Hornets’ program after coaching at Centennial (Ga.) from 2012 to 2019. Roswell is 9-2 on the season and No. 4 in the Georgia rankings. Hill Plunkett tallied seven points on five assists and two goals in the win over Walton. Alex Lobel scored five goals and an assist and Scott Stickles scored four goals and dished out an assist. Wallace has compiled a record of 150-47 with stops at Lassiter (Ga.), Centennial, and now Roswell. Wallace is 5th all-time among reported coaches in Georgia. He needs four wins to surpass former Roswell Head Coach Alex Chrzanowski for 4th.
North Carolina Playoffs
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) playoffs started last week and with the seeding this year, there were early matchups between teams vying for a state title.
In Class 4A, a pair of undefeated teams, Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.) and Middle Creek (N.C.) met in the second round with Gibbons coming out on top 12-7. Bryce Wojnovic, Ethan Grace, Griffin Cooling, and Caden Zadell each scored a goal in the third quarter to break a 6-6 tie and help solidify the win for Gibbons. The Crusaders improved to 14-0 with the win. Middle Creek suffered its only loss of the season to finish 12-1. Gibbons meets Fuquay-Varina (N.C.) in the third round on March 22.
An exciting quarterfinal meeting takes place Monday with 14 seed Lake Norman (N.C.) meeting 2 seed Ardrey Kell (N.C.). Lake Norman defeated 3 seed Page (N.C.) 16-9 in the first round, followed by 11 seeded Myers Park (N.C.) 13-1. Ardrey Kell is led by seniors Cade Caggiano and Jackson Price who are averaging 7.3 and 6.9 points per game, respectively.
The 14 and 15 seeds, Holly Springs (N.C.) and Ashley (N.C.) meet in another quarterfinal. Ashley is the lowest-seeded team remaining. Fuquay-Varina is the only No. 1 seed to make it to the quarterfinal round.
In Class 1A/2A/3A, there are no No. 1 seeds left. Mount Tabor (N.C.) lost in the second round, 20-2, to No. 9 Charlotte Catholic (N.C.). Cape Fear (N.C.) also fell in the second round, 19-11 to West Brunswick (N.C.). The highest seed left is No. 2 Orange (N.C.), which faces No. 6 East Chapel Hill (N.C.) on Monday.
Undefeated
There are 11 teams with undefeated records remaining in Florida: Ponte Vedra (Fla.), Oak Hall (Fla.), Lake Mary (Fla.), Newsome (Fla.), St. Andrew’s (Fla.), Jesuit Tampa (Fla.), Winter Park (Fla.), Belen Jesuit (Fla.), Oviedo (Fla.), Episcopal Jacksonville (Fla.) and Mitchell (Fla.). We’ve covered Ponte Vedra and Newsome in a previous post, so today it’s time to take a look at two more.
Lake Mary is coming off a 12-11 win over Lake Highland Prep (Fla.). The Rams’ defense has allowed 37 goals this season, posting one shutout and holding four teams to four goals or less.
St. Andrew’s is 9-0 and posted a 5-4 win over St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Anthony Borodiak scored three goals and Gunnar Schwarz made 12 saves for St. Andrew’s in the win. Nico Cash led Aquinas with two goals and Wade Lamon made five saves. Aquinas is the No. 1 team in the latest Florida state rankings by Laxnumbers.com. The Scots face the No. 2 team in the rankings, Jupiter, on April 6. St. Andrew’s is the No. 2 team in Class 1A, behind Oak Hall, which is 8-0.
Oak Hall is coming off an 11-1 win over Bucholz (Fla.) to improve to 9-0. Andrew Jimenez, Rocco Falisi, and Ben Moraski each scored three goals in the win.
Quick Hits
The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and Inter-Ac seasons started last week with Boys’ Latin (Md.) taking on Haverford School (Pa.). Boys’ Latin came out on top 13-10.
Haverford School rebounded from the loss with an 11-5 win over Academy New Church (Pa.). Avi Mehl tallied three goals and three assists in the win. Michael Bozzi (Cornell) has four goals through the first six games after scoring four against Boys’ Latin and two against ANC. The Fords take on Culver Academy (Ind.) on March 24.
Archbishop Spalding (Md.) continued the MIAA winning streak with a 12-10 defeat of Malvern Prep (Pa.) on March 21. Michael Weisshaar led the Cavaliers with six points (3 goals, 3 assists). Ryan Schrier led the way with five goals in the win. Spalding opens the season 1-0 with the win.
Dacula (Ga.) senior Matt Morgenroth is on a tear this season. The Anderson commit totaled 12 points on eight goals and four assists against Norcross (Ga.) on March 11. Morgenroth has 58 goals and 16 assists through 10 games. In the last two seasons, the attack/midfielder has put up 127 points on 104 goals and 23 assists.
Carmel (Ind.) teammates Jake Klein and Kyle Fedorcha are off to a hot start. Fedorcha has nine goals and an assist through two games. The sophomore scored five goals in a win at Guerin Catholic (Ind.) and followed that up with four goals and an assist at Noblesville (Ind.). Klein, a junior, has 11 goals and four assists. He tallied six goals and three assists against Noblesville after scoring five goals and one assist in the opening game of the season.
Be Included
The LaxRecords national notebook is published every Monday during the high school lacrosse season. It appears on LaxRecords.com and Laxnumbers.com.
Get a player considered for inclusion in the weekly notebook, by letting LaxRecords know about his performance.
Want to include a team or coach performance in the weekly notebook? Let me know about it by contacting Mike Loveday.