TOP CORNER CLUB — Fordham Prep Lacrosse News and Updates

Another season of Fordham Prep lacrosse is in the books and it was certainly a stellar one to add to the robust history of the program. The 2018 squad won the CHSAA ‘AA’ City championship for the first time since 2013, while also notching one of the most impressive wins in program history. Along the way several players and coach Hemsley picked up career milestones and a trophy case full of end of season awards. The final record for the team was 12 - 4 with the season ending against #10 nationally ranked power St. Anthony’s in the CHSAA ‘AA’ Downstate semifinals. The Rams finished ranked #5 by Lohud.com, #23 in the tri-state area, and #52 in the nation by Laxpower.com, the highest ranking since 2014 (#55). Thomas Marra ‘18 (Irvington) finished his career with 201 points (128G, 73A), third all time in program history.

The season was bookended by the induction in March of an additional three alumni into the the Fordham Prep Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and the the family BBQ and alumni game in June. You can check out all the on and off the field recaps and photos through the links below.

We would like to thank all those that helped get the Top Corner Club off the ground and look forward to continuing to bring updates, news, and events to the Fordham Prep lacrosse community. We welcome all feedback and ideas for improvement, and encourage all alumni, parents, and friends who would like to help with the continued success of the organization to contact us at fptopcornerclub@gmail.com.

If you would still like to support the Top Corner Club and the lacrosse program, you can donate here. Enjoy the offseason and we will see you in the Spring for the program’s 30th season!

2018 Season Recap:

The Rams opened the season with four straight wins versus Bishop Timon - St. Jude, Rye Country Day, St. John the Baptist, and Kellenberg. At Kellenberg, the Prep made a strong statement solidly handling the Firebirds 17 - 10 and avenging its season ending loss last year in the playoffs. During that stretch Thomas Marra ‘18 and Jack Dougherty ‘18 (Manhattan) registered their 150th and 50th career points, respectively.

The Prep then dropped two in a row versus Section 1 power Rye and a double overtime thriller to Wilton (CT) before rebounding with a victory over St. Dominic’s and an overtime win over rival #5 Iona Prep. The Iona Prep game was one for the ages and was televised on News 12 Varsity. You can check out all the media attention here and Jack Dougherty’s winning goal making News 12 Varsity’s 2018 lacrosse top plays.

The team then followed with a 13 - 7 loss to national power St. Anthony’s with James Murray ‘18 (Larchmont) notching his 50th career point in the game. Three more wins versus eventually Section 1 champ Pelham, Wappingers, and Stepinac brought the team’s record to 9 - 3. The Prep’s 10th win of the season came via a stellar all around team performance in a 6 - 4 upset over John Jay - Cross River, ranked #2 by Lohud.com and nationally #35 by Laxpower.com.

Highlighted by James Corasaniti ‘18 (Manhattan) registering his 500th career save, the Rams then beat Bronxville before heading into another showdown with Iona Prep for the CHSAA ‘AA’ City Championship. The Fordham/Iona rivalry doesn’t need added drama but this one saw the game get postponed due to weather in the second quarter and resumed the following day. On the back of Ryan Gilchrist ‘18’s (Crestwood) hat trick, Stephen Zupicich ‘19’s (Bronxville) defense, and James Corasaniti ‘18’s last second save the Rams took home the City Championship for the first time since 2013. The win was also Coach Hemsley's 50th as head coach.

As the #1 seed from the CHSAA ‘AA’ City division the Prep had a first round bye in the CHSAA ‘AA’ Intersectional playoffs with the Long Island teams. In the second round the Rams faced St. Anthony’s again who emerged as the victors 11 - 3. St. Anthony’s came into this game ranked #10 in the country by Laxpower.com; needless to say, the Rams were the underdog. Undeterred by the rankings, Fordham held off one of the best teams in the country for nearly half the game in what was a true celebration of a fantastic season.

The 2018 lacrosse team picked up a full trophy case of end of season awards; deserving acknowledgements for the team’s impressive season. The following were recognized for their performances this Spring:

U.S. Lacrosse All-American: Thomas Marra ‘18

U.S. Lacrosse Academic All-American: James Corasaniti ‘18

CHSAA ‘AA’ Midfielder of the Year: Jack Dougherty ‘18

CHSAA ‘AA’ Defenseman of the Year: Michael Bugniazet ‘18

CHSAA Coach of the Year: Chris Hemsley

Lohud.com All-County 2nd Team: Michael Bugniazet ‘18

Lohud.com All-County Honorable Mention: James Corasaniti ‘18, Jack Dougherty ‘18, Thomas Marra ‘18

CHSAA ‘AA’ 1st Team All-League: Michael Bugniazet ‘18, James Corasaniti ‘18, Jack Dougherty ‘18, Eddie Madden ‘18, Thomas Marra ‘18, Ethan Tym ‘19, Stephen Zupicich ‘19

CHSAA ‘AA’ 2nd Team All-League: Daniel Almeida ‘18, Carson Brown ‘18, Andrew Coyne ‘18, James Murray ‘18

NYC Mayor’s Cup CHSAA Team: Jack Dougherty ‘18, Thomas Marra ‘18

Alumni:

The season kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame dinner and fundraiser where Ben Andreycak ‘12, Geoff DeSoye ‘06, and Stephen DeVoe ‘01 were inducted (bios). In addition to honoring the accomplishments of these alums, through generous donations of our guests, silent auction donors, and our dinner sponsors, we raised significant funds to help cover equipment and season costs, as well as underwriting additional season expenses.

2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the 1993 team’s NY Metro League championship; the Prep’s first lacrosse championship and the only undefeated team in the program’s history. 17 alums from across the country and former coach and current Prep teacher, Steve Traendly, gathered together to reconnect, retell stories, and share photos from the season. Several 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.

In May, the Top Corner Club conducted an equipment drive to benefit the CityLax and Bronx Lacrosse organizations. The amount of equipment donated by alums, current players, and parents was outstanding and much greater than expected. The two beneficiary organizations were truly excited to receive the donated equipment which will be used to help give New York City students their first opportunity to play lacrosse.

During Memorial Day weekend all eyes were on Gillette Stadium for the NCAA Final Four tournaments where Colin Malarchuk ‘16 and the Wesleyan Cardinals defeated Salisbury to win the Division 3 National Championship. Congrats to Colin and best of luck for a repeat next year.

To close out the season we hosted a family BBQ, alumni game, and kids clinic at the Prep. The day began with an alumni led clinic for the kids from Bronx Lacrosse while close to 30 alums, representing 17 of the 29 graduating years of the program, participated in the alumni game. Post game everyone headed to Mentor’s Court for the BBQ and to catch up and get their hands on some of the available Fordham Prep lacrosse swag.