Prep Beats St. John the Baptist, Fall to Kellenberg and #1 St. Anthony's
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The Rams started the week with a 13 - 4 loss to Kellenberg before rebounding with a 14 - 10 win over St. John the Baptist and then dropping a 17 - 3 contest to US Lacrosse #1 nationally ranked St. Anthony’s. The Prep was slow out of the gate against Kellenberg and found themselves in a decent hole early as the Firebirds held possession for virtually the entire first quarter. Sean Miller ‘21 (Rye) had a fantastic game in goal registering 20 saves, including 11 in the first quarter. Miller’s 20 saves were the most by a Fordham keeper since 2018 when James Corasaniti ‘18 tallied 16 and 15 in wins against Stepinac and John Jay. The game was closer than the score makes it appear as the Rams played well but every rebound and bounce seemed to wind up in a Kellenberg stick. Complimenting Miller’s day in the cage was the defense which had 16 forced turnovers. Good thing the boys get another stab at the Firebirds in a couple weeks.
The game versus St John the Baptist was back and forth in the first half before the Rams pulled away in the second half. Miller ‘21 had another outstanding game with 17 saves while Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye) had four goals and an assist. The man-up group was a highlight as they took advantage of Cougar penalties scoring seven times on nine opportunities. The Rams were also stronger with their clearing game going 12 for 17 on the day. The St. Anthony’s contest went about how you would think playing the top team in the country stacked with college level talent. The Friars jumped ahead early and never looked back coming away with a 17 - 3 win.
Congratulations to Will Aventuro ‘21 (White Plains), Jack O’Leary ‘23, CJ Sowarby ‘21 (Manhattan), and Sean Miller ‘21 who all made the Lohud.com Boys Lacrosse season statistical leaders list (here).
This week the Rams get some well deserved “rest” as they get a week between games and face Bronxville on Saturday afternoon. Bronxville is 6 - 2 and currently ranked #7 in the latest Lohud.com Boys Lacrosse local rankings. The Broncos are one of the better teams in Section 1 with a solid win over John Jay and a loss to Lohud #4 Briarcliff. As for mutual opponents with the Rams, they have a win over Stepinac 15 - 8 and a loss to Iona Prep 16 - 8. Fordham is 3 - 2 against Bronxville in its last five meetings and have won the past two, including a 7 - 2 win in 2019.
Kellenberg Recap: L 14 - 3
Sean Miller ‘21 opened the game stoning Kellenberg with an up close save on an inside roll followed by a tough bouncer save in the first minute. The Firebirds then go man up and Miller stops them again with an off stick high save before Kellenberg dumps it in to make it 1 - 0. The first chance for Fordham’s offense was man up at the eight minute mark but Kellenberg picked off a pass and brought it downfield, but after another great save the rebound fell right into a Kellenberg attackman’s stick who netted their second, 2 - 0. Kellenberg dominated possession, holding on to the ball, getting ground balls, and backing up its shots. Miller ‘21 continued to stand on his head making several more saves but the bounces kept going Kellenberg’s way and they put three straight in. The one minute mark was the Rams’ first real possession when Charlie English ‘23 (Port Chester) swim dodged from behind the net to get above the goal line and snuck it in between the goalie’s legs with 30 seconds to go, cutting the lead to 5 - 1.
The second quarter saw many more possessions and opportunities for the Rams as they hustled to maintain possession and win groundballs, however the Firebirds goalie wouldn’t let any in. Both teams played solid defense until a nice Kellenberg strip led to a fast break goal and a 6 - 1 lead. Fordham answered on a man up situation when Will Aventuro ‘21 got a feed from Thomas Gies ‘23 (Rye) and launched a rocket from up top to make it 6 - 2. At the seven minute mark a lefty crank by Lewis Moore ‘23 (New Rochelle) from five yards inside the restraining box hit the top right corner of the net and the Rams were only down three, 6 - 3. The defense made a nice stand and another Miller ‘21 save at the 20 sec mark led to a Ram fast break but the shot as time ran out was just wide and it was 6 - 3 at the end of the half.
Kellenberg opened up scoring early in the second half to go up 7 - 3 and following another rebound off a nice close up save by Miller ‘21 to widen the lead to 8 - 3. Another goal with eight minutes to go made it 9 - 3. Fordham then answered as Moore ‘23 drove down the right alley and ripped a laser pass to a wide open diving CJ Sowarby ‘21 who somehow caught it inches off the ground and deposited it in the goal making it 9 - 4. Kellenberg then had a fantastic steal on a ride that set up a fast break and one on one which Miller ‘21 saved point blank, keeping the Rams in striking distance. Then a nice ground ball and clear by Nicholas Athanason ‘21 (Mamaroneck) drew a penalty but the Rams couldn’t deliver as they hit the pipe and the Kellenberg goalie made two nice saves. The Firebirds then put one more in with 30 secs left in the third and followed that up with three straight in the fourth to make it 13 - 4 with nine minutes remaining. The Fordham defense shut Kellenberg down for the rest of the quarter and the Rams couldn’t convert on a couple man ups solidifying a final score of 13 - 4.
Stat Line: Moore ‘23 1G/1A, Aventuro ‘21 1G, Sowarby ‘21 1G, Gies ‘23 1A, Lucchese ‘24 5GB, English ‘23 4GB, Miller ‘21 20 saves
St. John the Baptist: W 14 - 10
For the first half of the quarter both teams had several possessions and good looks but neither team could find the back of the net as both defenses and goalies wouldn’t give anything up. At the six minute mark St. John’s opened the scoring with a quick feed to a cutting middie who put them up 1 - 0. Two minutes later Charlie English ‘23 made a nice dodge to draw a slide and dump it to Ryan Suarez ‘21 (Briarcliff Manor) who evened it up 1 - 1 but the Cougars answered immediately to take the lead again. Jack O’Leary ‘23 and Lewis Moore ‘23 each got on the board before St John’s evened it up 3 - 3, where it stood at the end of the first.
Early in the second Moore ‘23 found a wide open English who unloaded a hard low worm burner past the Cougar’s goalie and a 4 - 3 Rams lead. Despite a handful of saves by Miller ‘21, St John’s was able to score twice before Moore blew past his defender on a sideline restart and put it right above the keeper’s shoulder to make it tied 5 - 5. A CJ Sowarby ‘21 tally and a nice feed from Sean Robichaux ‘21 (Stamford) to a cutting O’Leary made it 7 - 5 Rams. The teams exchanged goals and after several more Miller ‘21 saves the score was 8 - 6 at the half.
Three minutes into the second half Jack O’Leary ‘23 cranked a lefty shot just wide of the goalie’s off-stick hip to take the Ram lead to three and Will Aventuro ‘21 put two in a row to make it 11 - 6. Both teams took advantage of several man up situations to register tallies and the third quarter ended with the Rams up 13 - 7. St John’s drew first blood in the fourth quarter scoring three in a row to cut it to 13 -10 with six and half to go in the game. The Rams netted their last goal off a great clearing sequence from William Muccia ‘23 (Rye) to Charlie English ‘23 to Lewis Moore ‘23 who found Jack O’Leary ‘23 on the Cougar doorstep putting it in top shelf and cementing the 14 - 10 win.
Stat Line: O’Leary ‘23 4G/1A, Aventuro ‘21 3G/1A, Sowarby ‘21 3G/5GB, Moore ‘23 2G/2A, English ‘23 1G/1A, Suarez ‘21 1G, Robichaux ‘21 1A, Gies ‘23 1A/8GB, Miller ‘21 17 saves
St. Anthony’s Recap: L 17 - 3
The game went about as you would expect playing the top team in the country. St. Anthony’s got two quick goals to start things off before Lewis Moore ‘23 scored an unassisted goal to make it 2 - 1. The Friars then followed up with 10 straight over the next quarter and a half before Moore ‘23 threaded a pass to a cutting WIll Aventuro ‘21 who deposited a high bouncer past the St. A’s goalie. The Friars added a couple more and took the 14 - 2 score into the half. St. A’s spent most of the second half working the ball around its offense as the Rams defense kept the majority of their shots to the outside. Just under the five minute mark in the fourth quarter Moore ‘23 netted his second, rolling off his defender and cranking a lefty shot top corner from a dozen yards out. Three more Friar goals at the end made it a 17 - 3 final.
Stat Line: Moore ‘23 2G/1A, Aventuro ‘21 1G, Miller ‘21 13 saves