Undefeated 1993 Championship Team Celebrates 25th Anniversary
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Members of the Fordham Prep 1993 undefeated (19 - 0) NY Metropolitan League championship team recently got together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their historic season. 17 alums from across the country and former coach and current Prep teacher, Steve Traendly, met at JC Fogarty’s in Bronxville to retell old stories, laugh at their 1990s era equipment, and share photos. A highlight was flipping through game recap clippings from the old Westchester Journal News (remember those days!!!). Including a favorite quote from Coach Traendly referring to a 22 - 4 win: “We were up 4 - 3 after one,” Fordham Prep coach Steve Traendly said, “and I wasn’t too happy with our play. I guess the kids got the point.”
In only the fifth year of existence, the Fordham Prep lacrosse team earned 19 victories with five shutouts while outscoring opponents 226 to 48. The Rams defeated the Portledge School 7 to 6 in the championship game to earn the title. The 19 wins began what became a 35 game consecutive win streak as the 1994 team won its first 16 games before falling to Iona Prep in the championship game. It still remains one of the longest win streaks in high school lacrosse history. The six sophmores on the team ended their lacrosse careers with a record of 49 - 6, a testament to the upperclassmen they learned from during those years.
Four players from the 1993 team finished the year within the Journal News top 20 points scoring rankings (Dan Cunniffe ‘93, Scott Alberi ‘94, Brendan Higgins ‘94, Ryan Jennings ‘93). Three members of the team would eventually earn All-American recognition during their careers (Brendan Higgins ‘94, Scott Alberi ‘94, Tom Maxwell ‘95), and several players went on to represent Fordham Prep on the field in the Empire State Games and at various D1 and D3 colleges. Dan Cunniffe ‘93 was one of nine area players named to the Journal News All-Star team, alongside Paul Carcaterra (Yorktown/Syracuse), Brian Kuczma (Yorktown/Johns Hopkins), Rob Kavovit (Yorktown/Syracuse), and Darren Mahoney (Mahopac/Virginia).
1993 team members have been recognized with induction into the Fordham Prep Lacrosse Hall of Fame and are among the top ten of the program’s career and single season record books. Coach Traendly was the first inductee into the Hall of Fame and finished his coaching career with 200 wins.