Rams Top Hackley, Fall 10 - 9 to Stepinac; Iona Prep and Rye This Week

The Prep played two solid games this past week, dominating in a win against Hackley, but falling just short by a goal in the last minute to #1 Lohud.com ranked Stepinac. The Rams got into a 4 - 0 hole midway through the first quarter against Stepinac, but battled back with a seven to one run over the next quarter and a half to take the lead 7 - 5 at the half. The teams traded goals the rest of the way until the Crusaders were able to find the back of the net with 1:09 remaining to take the win. Usually the goal scorers get the accolades but the Prep defensive unit and goalie Trey Lalonde ‘25 (New Fairfield) deserve the spotlight for a tremendous game and keeping the Rams in it. Fordham led early against Hackley and never looked back as the boys were beasts on the ride and groundballs, scooping up 42 to Hackley’s 20. PJ Cunningham ‘24 (Bronx) continued his recent tear with an eight goal game, Jack Freel ‘23 (Manhattan) netted five goals, and James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville): 19 for 22 and Tommy Gies ‘23 (Rye): 4 for 4, combined to win 78% of the faceoffs. The Hornets goalie had a solid game with 14 saves or the margin of victory would have been much higher.

This is a big week for the Rams as they face rival and #4 Lohud.com ranked Iona Prep at Murphy Field tomorrow, #7 Lohud.com ranked Rye HS away on Thursday, and host St. John the Baptist on Saturday. Any fan of Fordham Prep lacrosse knows the deep rivalry and history between the Rams and the Gaels and the significance of this game. Iona has had the Rams’ number the past few years with the Prep’s last victory a thriller in 2018 when James Corasaniti ‘18 preserved the one goal win with a last second save (recap). This year Iona is 6 - 3 including an 11 - 4 win and 9 - 7 loss to mutual opponents Bronxville and Stepinac, respectively. Rye is the reigning Section 1 champ and were state semi-finalists last season. Currently, they are 4 - 4 but two of their losses are to Long Island and Connecticut powers Cold Spring Harbor and Staples. The Garnets have solid wins over top Section 1 programs Mahopac, Mamaroneck, Lakeland-Panas, and John Jay. St. John the Baptist is 8 - 4 with a one goal loss to St. Dominic’s and a 13 - 3 win over St. Joseph by the Sea, both of whom the Prep beat earlier this season.

Shoutout to the JV Rams as they avenged an earlier season one goal loss to Stepinac with a 10 - 9 win this past week. The winning goal was scored by Paul Olivo ‘26 (Crestwood) with 35 seconds remaining in the game. We look forward to Paul’s lacrosse accolades overshadowing those of his father Paul, Class of 1994 and defensive middie extraordinaire of the Prep’s 19 - 0 1993 Metro NY Champion squad.

Stepinac Recap: L 10 - 9

Stepinac pushed early, scoring its first goal thirty seconds in off its first touch and after keeping possession off a strong ride made it 2 - 0 at the 9:56 mark. A goal off a save rebound a minute later took the Crusader lead to three. The Rams eventually got their first possession but a turnover had a fast break going the other way and with 6:56 remaining Stepinac made it 4 - 0. On the ensuing possession Charlie English ‘23 (Port Chester) drove down the middle from up top and dished off to Tommy Gies ‘23 who stuck it top corner to get the Rams on the board. The Prep defense held the Crusaders at bay the rest of the quarter but the Rams came away empty handed on a man up situation with 1:30 left, leaving the score 4 - 1 at the end of the first.

A minute and a half into the second quarter PJ Cunningham ‘23 found Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye) all alone sneaking on the crease for the Rams second goal and a minute later a Stepinac dropped ball up top, and heads up ground ball from Charlie English ‘23, started a fast break and O’Leary ‘23 scored to make it 4 - 3. Both sides battled it out over the next five minutes, with the Prep close D and middies shutting down Stepinac and gobbling up groundballs. At 4:23 Jack Freel ‘23 drove from X and muscled past his defender to dump the rock in the cage and tie it up 4 - 4. On the next possession English ‘23 took a few steps towards the cage from up top and bounced one past the Crusader keeper to give the Rams their first lead with 3:20 to go in the quarter. Less than a minute later Stepinac tied it back up but the Rams answered when Freel ‘23 found Lewis Moore ‘23 (New Rochelle) hanging in front of the crease for a quickstick goal. The Rams finished the quarter out by scoring with 14 seconds left as English ‘23 drove from up top again and found Cunningham ‘23, who whipped in a score to make it 7 - 5 Rams at the half.

A nifty back door goal by Stepinac two minutes into the second half brought it back to a one goal game until the Prep got a man up situation at 7:05 left and Freel ‘23 deposited an absolute rip to the top corner from a dozen yards out. After a few minutes of back and forth Stepinac cut the lead to 8 - 7 and then tied it up again at 1:57 remaining.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter a bad Stepinac pass set up a coast-to-coast clear by O’Leary ‘23 who took it all the way to the house to break the tie again. But Stepinac followed that up immediately with their own tally to make it 9 - 9. Both sides kept grinding, keeping the score knotted up, until the Crusaders found the back of the net with 1:09 left. The Prep offense got the ball back with thirty seconds to go but ran out of time as the Crusaders took home the 10 - 9 victory.

Stat Line: O’Leary ‘23 3G, Freel ‘23 2G/1A, Cunningham ‘24 1G/2A, English ‘23 1G/2A/3GB, Gies ‘23 1G/1A/8GB, Moore ‘23 1G, Lalonde ‘25 14 saves

Hackley Recap: W 16 - 7

A tenacious ride by the Prep attackmen set the table for the Rams first score as the turnover allowed Jack Freel ‘23 to net the first goal of the game at the nine minute mark. A Ram fast break off the ensuing faceoff made it 2 - 0 off a Jack O’Leary ‘23 score, and another fantastic ride and turnover a minute later made it 3 - 0 Prep. A man up opportunity by Hackley was successful to take the score to 3 - 1 but the Rams answered soon after with a PJ Cunningham ‘23 rifle top corner at 3:12 left in the quarter.

Hackley cut the lead to 4 - 2 early in the second quarter but Cunningham ‘24 extended the lead to three again four minutes through the quarter. The Hornets continued to hang around scoring again to bring it to 5 - 3, but a three goal burst by the Rams made it 8 - 3 late in the second quarter. Cunningham ‘24 then scored his fourth and fifth of the game to finish up the half 10 - 3 in favor of the Rams.

Cunningham ‘24 couldn’t be stopped as he scored again to open the third quarter, but the Hornets broke their drought a minute later to take it to 11 - 4 and then 11 - 5 with five minutes to go in the quarter. Hackley dominated possession in the third and added one more score to make it 11 - 6 at the end of the third quarter. But the Prep took back the momentum in the fourth quarter as two from Cunningham ‘24, two from Freel ‘23, and a behind the back score from O’Leary ‘23 took the lead to 16 - 6. A late goal by the Hornets made it a 16 - 7 final.

State Line: Cunningham ‘24 8G/1A/4GB, Freel ‘23 5G/2A, O’Leary ‘23 2G/1A, Gies ‘23 2A/5GB, Pifer ‘23 2A/3GB, Moore ‘23 1A, Spring ‘24 1G/1A/14GB/19FOW (86%), Lalonde ‘25 3 saves, Ross ‘23 2 saves