TOP CORNER CLUB — Fordham Prep Lacrosse News and Updates

Another season of Fordham Prep lacrosse is behind us and it certainly was a memorable one to build on the program’s history. The 2023 squad made it to the CHSAA ‘AA’ semifinal game, unfortunately losing to Iona Prep. The Rams again faced a difficult schedule (here), including two teams that were nationally ranked during the season (Stepinac, Wilton) and two that went deep in the public school state tournaments (Rye - semifinals, Wilton - semifinals). The final record for the team was 9 - 9 and the season was the culmination of the Prep playing careers for eleven seniors, most of whom have been the nucleus of the team since they were sophomores. Big shoes to fill, but it leaves plenty of opportunity for a new crop of boys to step up next year. Returning next year will be the team’s leading scorer, PJ Cunningham ‘24 (Bronx) - 65G/17A, as well as faceoff specialist James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville) who won 60% of his faces (192 wins).

This year’s roster consisted of 29 boys from across Westchester, Manhattan, and Connecticut from a diverse 16 towns with Rye and Manhattan leading the way (roster). The team was led by captains Charlie English ’23 (Port Chester), Jack Freel ‘23 (Manhattan), Tommy Gies ‘23 (Rye), Lewis Moore ’23 (New Rochelle), Jack O’Leary ‘23 (Rye), and Jack Powers ‘23 (Manhattan).

Once again the team filled a trophy case of end of season awards. Leading the way were English ‘23, who was named the program’s 27th US Lacrosse All-American, and Cunningham ‘24, who was named CHSAA ‘AA’ Attackman of the Year. Eight Rams took home All-League honors. Cunningham ‘24 also set the program record for goals scored in a season with 65, surpassing Connor Nugent ‘06’s 63 in 2006. You can find program records and additional history on the Top Corner Club website (here) and in the 2023 Media Guide (here).

Two highlights of the season were the Prep hosting the inaugural New York Jesuit Lacrosse Classic and the team’s Spring trip down to North Carolina. The Jesuit Lacrosse Classic was a great success as Fordham hosted the teams from Belen Jesuit (Miami, FL) and McQuaid Jesuit (Rochester, NY). The teams played against each other over the weekend and all three came together for a dinner at the Prep Saturday evening. In March, the boys headed down to North Carolina to play reigning state champion, The Cannon School. It was great to see this annual trip tradition start up again post-pandemic, and it wasn’t all lacrosse as the team spent some bonding time eating BBQ and visiting the NASCAR Museum in Charlotte.

We were able to bring in seven time MLL/PLL all-star and gold medal winner for the USA National team Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian (bio) for a faceoff clinic, as well as Eric Greenberg of E-Lax Training to work on dodging and shooting skills (bio). We’ll look to do the same for next season, as well as a goalie specific coach.

The season was bookended by the induction in March of former Head Coach Len DeLucia P’09 into the Fordham Prep Lacrosse Hall of Fame (recap), and the family BBQ and alumni game in June (recap). You can check out all the on and off the field recaps and photos through the links below.

We would like to thank all those that helped continue the momentum the Top Corner Club has achieved the past few years and look forward to continuing to bring updates, news, and events to the Fordham Prep lacrosse community. We welcome all feedback and ideas for improvement, and encourage all alumni, parents, and friends who would like to help with the continued success of the organization to contact us at fptopcornerclub@gmail.com.

If you would still like to support the Top Corner Club and the lacrosse program, you can donate (here). Enjoy the summer and we’ll see you soon!!!

Season Recap:

The Rams began the season at home with a dominant 18 - 0 win versus St. Joseph’s by the Sea. The win was the first shutout for the Prep since 2014 and was a well rounded effort where eight players tallied goals, including PJ Cunningham ‘24 with four goals and Jack O’Leary ‘23 with two goals and three assists (recap). Fordham then split games as the host of the New York Jesuit Lacrosse Classic, beating Belen Jesuit in dominant fashion but coming up short to McQuaid Jesuit 11 - 8 (recap). Up next was a double OT win against St. Dominic’s with Jack Freel ‘23 netting the winner in a close and back and forth game from start to finish. A tough loss to Section 1 power Bronxville followed, as the Broncos dominated the second quarter to take a big lead the Rams could not dig out of (recap). The Prep then rebounded from the Bronxville loss with an impressive victory over Trinity and brought its record to 4 - 2. The Rams took a 12 - 0 lead in the first half and never looked back. Cunningham ‘24 led the charge scoring seven of the goals while Spring ‘23 won 11 of 14 draws at the faceoff X (recap). The boys then headed down to North Carolina to face defending state champion the Cannon School. With some key players out with injuries, the Rams found themselves in a 4 - 0 hole to start the game, but scratched back outplaying the Cougars in the second and third quarters to get within two at 8 - 6 after three quarters. Unfortunately, that was the closest the Prep got as Cannon took the 12 - 7 victory (recap).

The Rams then returned back north to face Lohud.com ranked #1 Stepinac. The Prep got into a 4 - 0 hole midway through the first quarter against the Crusaders, 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 Stepinac was able to find the back of the net with 1:09 remaining to take the win (recap). A solid rebound win against Hackley, on the back of Cunningham ‘24’s eight goals and Spring ‘24’s 19 for 22 faceoff wins, got the Rams back above .500 at 5 - 4 as they headed into tough contests against Lohud.com ranked #4 Iona Prep and #7 Rye (recap). The Gaels had the Prep’s number for most of the game winning the groundball and possession games and took a 13 - 6 victory while the Garnets overcame an early Ram lead to take a 9 - 7 halftime lead and then hold on for the win (recap).

Next up was Riverdale Country Day and a slow start by Fordham resulted in a 3 - 2 lead at the half, but the offense, led by Freel ‘23’s four goals/two assists, stopped letting the Falcons hang around. Scoring five straight in the third quarter the Rams put the game away for a 10 - 4 win (recap). A trip out to Long Island to face Kellenberg was the toughest loss of the season for the Rams as they came back from a sizable hole to take the lead late, only to lose by a goal at the end. The boys were “still on the bus” and got into an early 4 - 0 deficit and were down 6 - 2 at the half, but on the back of Spring ‘24’s 17 for 22 faceoff day and O’Leary ‘23’s five goals, the Prep stormed back to tie the game and take the lead 10 - 9 late in the fourth quarter. However, two straight in the waning minutes gave the Firebirds the 11 - 10 win (recap). The Rams picked themselves up and followed the loss by notching a three game win streak against Greenwich, Long Island Lutheran, and Kennedy Catholic. On Senior Day, the Prep had a back and forth game with Greenwich in the first half with the Cardinal taking a 7 - 5 advantage at the half. But the offense, including Freel ‘23’s six goals, fired off six straight in the third quarter as Trey Lalonde ‘25 kept Greenwich at bay with 14 saves. Greenwich made a late run which wasn’t enough as the Prep got the 14 - 10 victory (recap). Dominant wins over Long Island Lutheran and Kennedy Catholic brought the Prep’s record to 9 - 7 before a regular season finale showdown with Connecticut power Wilton (recap).

The Rams held their own against Wilton trailing by one, 7 - 6, at the half but the Warriors used a five to none third quarter to put the game out of reach and take a 14 - 8 win. However, the game was highlighted by Cunningham ‘24 breaking the Prep record for most goals scored in a season. The Prep’s season came to an end with a loss to Iona Prep in the CHSAA playoffs as the Rams hung tight for the majority of the game, staying within striking distance into the fourth quarter. Every time the Rams got close and closed the gap, Iona answered to keep the cushion between the two teams, holding a 10 - 4 score after three quarters. The Prep scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to get within four, 10 - 6, but the Gaels fired off four straight and ate up the remaining clock to take the 14 - 6 victory (recap).

PJ Cunningham ‘24 led the team in goals this season with 65, setting a new Fordham Prep single season record, while also leading the team in total points with 82 (65 goals and 17 assists), good for eighth all-time in a Prep season. James Spring ‘24 registered a 60% faceoff win percentage along with scooping up a team high 113 groundballs. Trey Lalonde ‘25 stopped 164 shots between the pipes. You can see the full set of season stats (here).

Five Rams notched their first career points during the 2023 season: James Batesky ’24 (Manhattan), Hudson Marciano ‘24 (Eastchester), Graham Meyer ‘24 (Pelham), Rory McGrath ‘25 (Rye), James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville).

The 2023 team picked up a plethora of end of season awards; deserving acknowledgements for the boy’s accomplishments on the field. The following were recognized for their performances this Spring:

USA Lacrosse Academic All-American - Charlie English ‘23

CHSAA ‘AA’ Attackman Of the Year - PJ Cunningham ‘24

CHSAA ‘AA’ 1st Team All-League: Jack Freel ‘23, Tommy Gies ‘23, Will Muccia ‘23, Jack O’Leary ‘23, James Spring ‘24

CHSAA ‘AA’ 2nd Team All-League: Charlie English ‘23, Trey Lalonde ‘25, Michael Semprevivo ‘23

Alumni:

We look forward to hearing about three of our newest alumni who will be continuing their playing careers. Charlie English ‘23 will be playing at Middlebury College, Jack Freel ‘23 at Haverford College, and Lewis Moore ‘23 at Oberlin College.

Five former Rams completed another collegiate season - James Corasaniti ’18 (Providence), Stephen Zupicich ’19 (Ohio State), Will Rice ’20 (Connecticut College), Sean Miller ‘21 (Holy Cross), Phil Thompson (Wentworth Inst. of Technology). Highlights included Corasaniti ‘18 being named Big East Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-Big East, and Rice ‘20 being named an Honorable Mention All-American and Second Team All-NESCAC. Zupicich ‘19 graduated from Ohio State but will continue playing as a grad transfer at Villanova.

The season kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame dinner and fundraiser where former Head Coach and longtime supporter Len Delucia P’09 was inducted (bio). In addition to honoring Len, through generous donations of our guests, silent auction donors, and our dinner sponsors, we raised significant funds to help cover Spring trip and coaching costs, as well as underwriting additional season expenses. Through your generosity we raised enough funds to sponsor three boys from Bronx Lacrosse to the Prep’s HAP summer program.

To close out the season we once again hosted the annual family BBQ and alumni game. The day began with close to 30 alums, representing graduating years from 1995 to 2023, participating in the alumni game. Post game everyone headed to Mentor’s Court for the BBQ and to catch up and get their hands on some of the available Fordham Prep lacrosse swag (recap and photos).