Rams To Face Iona Prep Tomorrow in CHSAA Playoffs

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****We’re pleased to present the 2023 Fordham Prep Lacrosse Media Guide.  In it you can find information on this year’s teams as well as the history, records, Hall of Fame, and past success of the Fordham Prep Lacrosse program.  There is also lots of information on Fordham Prep and its athletics and facilities.****

The Prep went 2 and 1 on the week with dominant wins over Long Island Lutheran and Kennedy Catholic before falling on Saturday to Wilton (CT).  After leading 9 - 5 at the half, the Rams used a 6 to 1 third quarter to pull away from LiLu in the second half as the defense shut down the Crusaders, only allowing two scores in the final two quarters.  Similarly against Kennedy Catholic, Fordham used a five goal run in the second quarter to build an 8 - 2 halftime cushion, which it grew in the second half to put the game out of reach for the Gaels.  The Rams did a solid job in both games clearing the ball, going 30 for 34, and winning the groundball battles.  After the Prep took a 6 - 5 lead late in the first half, Wilton was just too much to handle as they took over in the second half for a 14 - 8 victory.

Tomorrow Fordham faces Iona Prep in the first round of the CHSAA “AA” playoffs in New Rochelle.  Iona comes into the game 14 - 4, having beaten the Prep 13 - 6 earlier in the season.  Since the April matchup the Gaels had won seven straight before losing 10 - 8 to Delbarton (NJ) last week in their regular season finale.  The winner of the Fordham/Iona game goes on to play Stepinac for the CHSAA “AA” City title.

Congratulations to PJ Cunningham ‘24 (Bronx) who broke the program season goal scoring record with his four goal performance against Wilton (record list).  Cunningham ’24’s 64 goals this season surpassed Connor Nugent ‘06’s 63 in 2006.   Congrats also to Jack Freel ‘23 (Manhattan), Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye), and Cunningham ‘24 who have all recently tallied their 100th career points.  Additional recent milestones include Tommy Gies ‘23 (Rye) tallying his 300th faceoff win and 250th groundball of his career, as well as Trey Lalonde ‘25 (New Fairfield) registering his 350th career save.  Additionally, Hudson Marciano ‘24 (Eastchester) scored his first career goal in the Kennedy Catholic game.  

Long Island Lutheran Recap:  W 16 - 7

Jack Freel ‘23 opened up the scoring in the first thirty seconds and followed up with his second on the Rams next possession.  A Hudson Pifer ‘23 (Croton-on-Hudson) crank from up top gave the Prep a 3 - 0 lead at the 9:12 mark until LiLu got on the board at 5:02 left.  A Jack Freel ‘23 dish to James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville) at 3:43 extended the lead again to three and twenty seconds later PJ Cunnngham ‘23 made it 5 - 1.  Two straight from the Crusaders in the last two minutes made it 5 - 3 at the end of the first quarter.

LiLu scored a minute in to cut the lead to one, but off a nice clear by Lewis Moore ‘23 (New Rochelle) found an open Tommy Gies ‘23 on the high crease who made it 6 - 4.  Jack O’Leary ‘23 followed up on the Prep’s next possession with a tally, but LiLu took advantage of a man up situation to bring the score to 7 - 5 with six minutes to go in the half.  Cunningham ‘24’s second of the game and another from Freel ‘23 took the lead to 9 - 5 at the break.

Both teams played tight the first four minutes of the second half until the Rams dropped one in to make it 10 - 5 at the 7:32 mark, but the Crusaders answered immediately to cut the lead again to four.  A man up advantage at six minutes remaining in the quarter led to Moore ‘23 depositing a higher bouncer past the LiLu keeper and off the ensuing faceoff Cunningham ‘24 found Freel ‘23 sweeping from behind the cage to make it 12 - 6.  Two straight from Cunningham ‘24 over the next minute plus gave the Rams their largest lead at 14 - 6 with 4:44 left in the quarter.  A Spring ‘24 coast-to-coast clear set up another Cunnigham ‘24 goal at 1:47 and a 15 - 6 lead at the end of the third quarter.  Four and half minutes of back and forth play kept the score where it was until LiLu notched its eighth goal at 7:34 left.  A Graham Meyer ‘24 (Pelham) inside roll score at nineteen seconds left gave the Rams the 16 - 7 victory.

Stat Line: Freel ‘23 4G/5A, Cunningham ‘24 6G/1A, O’Leary ‘23 1G/3A, Gies ‘23 1G/2A/5GB, Moore ‘23 1G/2A, Spring ‘24 1G/1A/5GB, Pifer ‘23 1G/1A, Meyer ‘24 1G, Lalonde ‘25 7 saves, Ross ‘23 6 saves

Kennedy Catholic Recap:  W 15 - 7

After stopping the Prep on its initial possession Kennedy scored on its first opportunity with the ball, but PJ Cunningham ‘24 got the Rams on the board at the 7:02 mark.  A Jack Freel ‘23 inside roll move made it 2 - 1 15 seconds later and an ensuing over two minute position led to Freel ‘23 finding Will Leddy ‘24 (White Plains) up top to deposit the Prep’s third goal.  Fordham held possession for a majority of the rest of the quarter but hit a few pipes before the Gaels cut the lead to one with 2:28 left for a 3 - 2 score at the end of the quarter.  

The Rams took over in the second quarter with a steady cadence of five goals across the quarter from Lewis Moore ‘23, Jack O’Leary ‘23, Cunningham ‘24, and Freel ‘23.  The close defense of Will Muccia ‘23 (Rye), Michael Semprevivo ‘23 (Port Chester), Jack Lucchese ‘24 (Somers), and the defensive middies including Patrick O’Driscoll ‘24 (Manhattan) and Matt Battista ‘24 (Manhattan) shut down the Gaels allowing no goals and preserving an 8 - 2 halftime lead.

Both teams had trouble finding the back of the net in the third quarter until Freel ‘23 drove from behind the cage and took the lead to seven midway through the quarter.  A Cunningham ‘24 bouncer made it 10 - 2 before Kennedy finally broke their drought with 2:10 left in the quarter.  The fourth quarter saw the Prep extend its lead to nine in the first two minutes before Kennedy scored to bring the tally to 12 - 4.   Hudson Pifer ‘23 answered immediately after, off a Gunnar Leonard ‘23 (Larchmont) feed from X, and Hudson Maricano ‘24 made it 14 - 4 off a clear with 7:50 remaining.  The Gaels notched three straight before  Grahan Meyer ‘24 scored the Rams final goal to solidify the 15 - 7 win.

Stat Line:  Cunningham ‘24 5G/1A, Freel ‘23 3G/1A, O’Leary ‘23 2G/1A, Moore ‘23 1G, Pifer ‘23 1G, Leddy ‘24 1G/3GB, Meyer ‘24 1G, Marciano ‘24 1G, Semprevivo ‘23 1A/3GB, Leonard ‘23 1A, McGrath ‘25 1A, Lucchese ‘24 3GB, Spring ‘24 8GB/13FOW (65%), Lalonde ‘25 6 saves