Rams Fall to Hackley and Stepinac, Kennedy Catholic Up Next

****The FP Lacrosse car magnets are finally in, as well as stickers. If anyone would like to purchase, just send us an email at fptopcornerclub@gmail.com and we’ll drop them in the mail to you. Magnets are $10 and the stickers are $5 for two (one each of Ram logo and shield logo)****

The Prep had a tough opening week, losing both their contests to Hackley and Lohud.com ranked #6 Stepinac. Tommy Gies ‘23’s (Rye) dominance at the faceoff X winning 21 of 28, Trey Lalonde ‘25’s (New Fairfield) solid debut performance with 12 saves, and Jack Freel ‘23’s (Manhattan) four goals were not enough to down Hackley. The Hornets took advantage of Ram turnovers and executed on five of six man up opportunities to hang around, never trailing by more than two goals and used a late fourth quarter run to win 13 - 12. Stepinac came out of the gates strong taking a 6 - 0 lead on the Rams, a deficit the Prep couldn’t dig themselves out of. Fordham beat the Crusaders in ground balls (34 to 27), time of possession, turnovers, and significantly improved their clearing game, however ran into one of the top goaltenders in the area who locked down the Rams with 19 saves.

Congratulations to Jack Freel ‘23 and Patrick Cunningham ‘24 (Manhattan) for scoring their first career goals versus Hackley.

The Rams have a full plate this week with three games. They will look to rebound on Tuesday versus Kennedy Catholic, who the Prep beat last year 10 - 5 (recap). The Gaels come into the game at 2 - 1 with a loss to Horace Greeley and wins over Xavier and O’Neill. On Thursday the team heads up to Connecticut to face Wilton, who have won the past two meetings, including the most recent in 2018; a 9 - 8 double OT result (recap). It will be Wilton’s first game of the season. Saturday brings reigning Section 1 champs and Lohud.com #7 ranked Bronxville. The Rams and the Broncos have split the past six meetings since they began playing annually in 2016. Bronxville got the better of the Prep last year and are currently 1 - 1 including an OT win against Iona Prep. They will also face Stepinac and Irvington earlier in the week before Fordham. The games will continue to be streamed live.

The Top Corner Club is gauging interest and looking to sponsor alumni teams for local leagues and tournaments. Depending on interest and numbers, we’re happy to create teams for open (18+) and/or masters (30+) age divisions. There are lots of great weekend tournament opportunities and no better way to represent your alma mater and get back on the field with your former teammates and other alums. Spread the word and shoot us (fptopcornerclub@gmail.com) or James Werner ‘16 (jameswerner328@gmail.com) an email if interested.

Hackley Recap: L 13 - 12

The Rams opened up the scoring early as Charlie English ‘23 (Port Chester) found Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye) wide open on the crease on their first possession. Jack Freel ‘23 put the Rams up 2 - 0 a minute later, coming around from X and depositing the ball stick side high on the Hackley goalie. The Rams defense did a solid job keeping Hackley’s possessions short and forcing outside shots until the Hornets found the back of the net at the 6:20 mark. Patrick Cunningham ‘24 answered with a rebound off a nice save of a Lewis Moore ‘23 (New Rochelle) shot, dumping it over the keeper’s head to make it 3 - 1. Jack Freel ‘23 netted his second of the day and a couple Trey Lalonde ‘25 saves kept the lead at three until the Hornets scored a late goal ending the quarter at 4 - 2.

Both defenses and goalies clamped down the offenses for the first seven minutes of the second quarter until Hackley cut the lead to one with 5:40 remaining in the half. But the Rams took the lead back to two on the ensuing faceoff as Lewis Moore ‘23 cut through the defense with a nifty hitch move and lefty score. The Hornets hung tough and scored two goals in the final three minutes to make it 5 - 5 at the half.

On the first possession of the second half Charlie English ‘23 scored unassisted with a rocket from 12 yards out to give the Rams the lead again and Jack O’Leary ‘23 took the lead to 7 - 5 with a strong lefty move from behind the cage. Hackley cut it to one once again before Charlie English ‘23 scored his second from up top to make it 8 - 6. A last second goal from Hackley made it 8 - 7 as time expired in the third.

Jack Freel ‘23 opened up the fourth quarter scoring, dumping a loose ball in front of the crease into the back of the cage one minute in. But five unanswered from Hackley gave them its first lead of the game and a comfortable three goal lead with under three minutes to play. Tommy Gies ‘23 then cut it to a two goal lead with a lefty snipe with 2:43 remaining. Hackley extended the lead to 13 - 10 at the two minute mark but Jack Freel ‘23 responded, netting his fourth off a Tommy Gies ‘23 feed. Shortly after, Lewis Moore ‘23 backed up his defender and skipped a shot past the Hornet keeper to cut the lead to one with 50 seconds to go. The Prep had two solid looks at the cage in the last seconds but the Hackley goalie came up big for the 13 - 12 final.

Stepinac Recap: L 15 - 7

Stepinac set the tone early with aggressive and relentless defense and strong goalie play, which led to several fast break opportunities off saves. The Prep long poles did a solid job against the Crusaders set offense but the transition game gave Stepinac a 4 - 0 lead after the first quarter. The Crusaders upped their lead to 6 - 0 before Tommy Gies ‘23 juked his defender up top and ripped a shot top corner, getting the Rams on the board. Stepinac answered 20 seconds later taking its lead to 7 - 1 before netting another tally to make it 8 - 1. But at the four minute mark the Crusader defense gave too much cushion to Jack Freel ‘23, who stepped up and buried the ball in the back of the net to cut the lead to six. Two great saves by the Crusader keeper in the final seconds of the half left it at 8 - 2.

The Prep defense did a great job stopping the Crusaders on their first two possessions but they added to their lead with four straight notches to make it 12 - 2 with four minutes to go in the third. Tommy Gies ‘23 then took the ensuing faceoff all the way down and deposited the ball over the Crusader keeper’s shoulder to cut the lead to nine. The Rams then made it an eight goal deficit off a Tommy Gies ‘23 feed from up top to a cutting Patrick Cunningham ‘24 who scored with a quick sidearm shot to end the quarter 12 - 4. Fordham opened up the scoring in the fourth on an extra man opportunity with Patrick Cunningham ‘24 stuffing a rebound off a Crusader save. Both teams then swapped goals, including Jack Freel ‘23’s second of the day when the Rams were man up, taking the score to 13 - 7. Two in a row by Stepinac made it 15 - 7 before Tommy Gies ‘23 stuck one more in the top corner with 14 seconds remaining making it a 15 - 7 final.