Prep Downed By Kellenberg and Mahopac, Look to Rebound Against St. Dominic

****The Alumni Game and Family BBQ is scheduled for Sunday June 12th at the Prep. We’d love to see a great turnout in the first year back from the two year COVID hiatus and the sooner we know numbers the better. To help with organizing and swag ordering for those playing, please register through the google form here.****

Fordham ended up only having two games this week as the contest against St. John the Baptist was postponed. The Rams had a tough 7 - 5 loss against Mahopac, but the matchup was the most complete game of the season for the Prep on both sides of the ball. The defenses played stellar in the first quarter as each team was only able to score once, but Mahopac had a slight edge in the second quarter and took a 4 - 3 lead into the half. The Rams fought back and took the lead mid-third quarter but the Indians came back to lead again at the end of the third. The Mahopac goalie got hot when he needed to late in the fourth and made several solid saves to keep the advantage and take home a 7 - 5 victory.

Similarly, against Kellenberg the Rams held tough for the first half trailing by one, 6 - 5 at halftime. A strong third quarter by the Firebirds, plus going five for six on man-up chances in the game, ended up being the difference. Kellenberg dominated possession and GBs in the third quarter and outscored the Rams five to zero which led to a six goal lead the Rams could not close and a 14 - 7 loss.

Congrats to Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye) who notched his 50th career point against Mahopac and Jack Powers ‘23 (Manhattan) who scored his first career goal. Last week Lohud.com published a piece on the hottest lacrosse rivalries for 2022 and included a list of the top traditional rivalries in the area. The Fordham Prep and Iona Prep lacrosse rivalry made the list (here). The Rams and Gaels meet once again next week.

The Prep heads out to Long Island tomorrow to face St. Dominic. The Prep is 4 - 0 all-time against the Bayhawks with the last meeting in 2018, a 12 - 9 Ram victory. However, this year St. Dom is 6 - 2 with five lopsided wins plus a 7 - 6 victory in overtime against Stepinac. The losses are to Chaminade 14 - 3 and to Long Island Lutheran 7 - 6. Then on Thursday Fordham hosts Rye at Holy Child…..basically a home game for both teams. So let’s fill the sidelines with a solid Fordham fan contingent. The Garnets have been one of the best teams in Section 1 the past few years and are ranked #3 in the Lohud.com rankings. Currently 6 - 3, Rye lost their opener to a strong Briarcliff team but have gone 6 - 2 since with impressive wins over Scarsdale, Yorktown, and Long Island’s Cold Spring Harbor, plus losses to CT power Ridgefield and an overtime loss to John Jay. Rye has won three in a row against the Prep with the latest in 2019, a double overtime victory by the Garnets.

Kellenberg Recap: L 14 - 7

The Rams looked solid coming out of the gate as Trey Lalonde ‘25 (New Fairfield) stoned the Firebirds on their first possession with an acrobatic one on one save. The energy was matched immediately on the other end of the field when Jack Freel ‘23 (Manhattan) caused a turnover on a Kellenberg defender with a hard check, gaining possession for the Rams. Off the restart Jack O’Leary ‘23 muscled past his defender and rolled inside to stick one past the Firebird keeper. Kellenberg knotted it up at one at the 7:28 mark and took a 2 - 1 lead a minute later. A great job by the man down defensive unit and Lalonde ‘25 saves kept the Rams within one until Jack Powers ‘23 scooped up a groundball off a failed Kellenberg clear and took it to the cage for a pole goal and 2 - 2 score. The Firebirds answered on their next possession taking the lead again with just over three minutes to go. But the Prep tied it up again at 1:03 off a clear and fast break by Charlie English ‘23 (Port Chester) who fed it to Patrick Cunningham ‘24 (Bronx) who then found Jack O’Leary ‘23 on the doorstep for the score.

The Rams regained the lead with 8:06 to go in the second on a Lewis Moore ‘23 (New Rochelle) crank from 12 yards out, placed just off the goalie’s hip. Both teams traded goals, including Jack O’Leary ‘23’s third of the day, making it 5 - 4 Rams with 3:37 to go in the half. Two Kellenberg goals in a row in the last two minutes gave them the 6 - 5 lead at the half.

The Firebirds owned the third quarter, which ended up being the difference in the game, as they netted five goals in the quarter versus none for the Prep. Kellenberg had possession the vast majority of the quarter and took advantage of penalties, going three for three in extra man opportunities and taking its lead to 11 - 5. Fordham ended the Firebird run when Lewis Moore ‘23 scored his second early in the fourth quarter when the Rams were man up. After a Kellenberg goal, Tommy Gies ‘23 (Rye) found PJ Cunningham ‘24 open on the crease who spun around and buried it to cut the lead to 12 - 7 with 4:26 to go. Unfortunately that was all the Rams could muster as the Firebirds scored the last two goals of the game and took home the 14 - 7 victory.

Stat Line: O’Leary ‘23 3G/1A, Moore ‘23 2G, Cunningham ‘24 1G/1A, English ‘23 2A/4GBs, Powers ‘23 1G, Gies ‘23 1A, Lalonde ‘25 12 saves

Mahopac Recap: L 7 - 5

The Rams defense clamped down on Mahopac for the first half plus of the first quarter before the Indians broke the ice at the 5:29 mark. Two and a half minutes later Hudson Pifer ‘23 (Croton-on-Hudson) fed from behind to Jack Freel ‘23 who found Jack O’Leary cutting for the lefty equalizer. Both defenses and goalies kept it even the rest of the quarter. Mahopac took the lead again at 10:42 remaining and extended the lead to 3 - 1 a minute later. Although the Rams possessed the ball for most of the next five minutes the Indians goalie made several saves and the Rams hit the pipe twice. Eventually Jack Freel ‘23 drove above the GLE from behind and cut the lead to 3 - 2 with just under six minutes to go. Mahopac extended to lead to two again on a man-up opportunity two minutes later. But the Prep cut it to one once again when Lewis Moore ‘23 drove down the alley from up top and stuck a shot off the keeper’s offside hip making it 4 - 3, where it stood at the half.

Fordham tied it up 4 - 4 early in the third when Jack Freel ‘23 threw a nifty no-look pass to Jack O’Leary ‘23, who had snuck under his defender and was wide open on the crease for a quickstick goal. The Rams then took their first lead of the game at the 8:34 mark when Jack Freel ‘23 swept past his defender up top and buried the ball past the Mahopac goalie. The Indians answered shortly after, tying it up again 5 - 5 with just over five minutes to go and then took the lead again with 13 seconds left in the quarter. At the 7:33 mark in the fourth Mahopac notched another goal to take the lead to 7 - 5. The Rams grinded until the end getting several chances but the Indians goalie made several nice saves to preserve the win.

Stat Line: O’Leary ‘23 2G, Freel ‘23 2G/2A, Moore ‘23 1G, Pifer ‘23 1A, English ‘23 1A, Gies ‘23 5GBs, Muccia ‘23 4GBs, Lalonde ‘25 11 saves