TOP CORNER CLUB — Fordham Prep Lacrosse News and Updates

***The coaching staff will once again be holding its lacrosse summer camp Monday 7/15 to Wednesday 7/17 and it is open to rising 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. Spread the word as it’s a great opportunity for future Rams to meet and learn from the staff, check out our facilities, and see all that the Prep has to offer. Lacrosse legends Rob Pannell and Brennan O’Neill will be attending and coaching as well. You can find the details here.***

Another season of Fordham Prep lacrosse is behind us and it certainly was a memorable one to build on the program’s history. The 2024 squad made it to the CHSAA ‘AA’ semifinal game, unfortunately losing to Stepinac. The Rams again faced a difficult schedule (here), including two teams that were nationally ranked during the season (St. Anthony’s, Chaminade) and two that went deep in their public school state tournaments (Rye - semifinals, Wilton - quarterfinals). The final record for the team was 8 - 8 and the season was the culmination of the Prep playing careers for eight seniors, some of whom have been on the varsity team since they were underclassmen. Big shoes to fill, but it leaves plenty of opportunity for a new crop of boys to step up next year. Graduation takes leading scorer PJ Cunningham ‘24 (Bronx) - 38G/13A, faceoff specialist James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville) who won 65% of his faces (200 wins), and several defensive stalwarts.

Returning next year will be three of the team’s five leading scorers, Sebastian Zarkowski ‘26 (Hastings-on-Hudson) - 13G/16A, Drew Pagen ‘26 (Rye) - 17G/9A, and Will Freel ‘26 (Manhattan) - 6G/10A. This year’s roster consisted of 30 boys from across Westchester, Manhattan, and Connecticut from a diverse 19 towns with Manhattan and Rye leading the way (roster). The team was led by captains Jack Lucchese ’24 (Somers), Will Leddy ‘24 (White Plains), and James Spring ‘24.

Once again the team filled a trophy case of end of season awards. Leading the way were Spring ‘24, who was named the program’s 29th US Lacrosse All-American, as well as CHSAA ‘AA’ Co-FOGO of the Year, and Cunningham ‘24, who was named CHSAA ‘AA’ Attackman of the Year for the second time. Eight Rams took home All-League honors. Cunningham ‘24 leaves the program ninth all-time in points (157) and fifth all-time in goals (118), as well as the record holder for goals scored in a season with 65 in 2023. 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 Battle of the Bronx for the Duffy Cup and the team’s Spring trip down to Florida. The Duffy Cup was a great success as Fordham hosted Cardinal Hayes of the Bronx, taking the victory behind Spring ‘24 going 15 for 20 at the faceoff X and tallying five goals and an assist. The Duffy Cup in honor of John Duffy P’95, P’96, P’99 and the Duffy Family. John is a Hayes alum, as well as Prep parent, sending three sons (two lacrosse players) to the Prep and has been a long-time supporter of both schools and athletic programs. In April, the boys headed down to Miami to play Jesuit brethren Belen Jesuit and Christopher Columbus, falling 6 - 4 to Belen but beating Columbus 10 - 9 with seconds left. It wasn’t all lacrosse as the team spent some bonding time together and headed to a Miami Marlins baseball game.

The season was bookended by the induction in March of Steven Piacente ‘00 into the Fordham Prep Lacrosse Hall of Fame (recap), and the family BBQ and alumni game in June. 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 solid 11 - 7 win versus Bethlehem Central led by PJ Cunningham ‘24’s five goals and three assists, followed by the inaugural Battle of the Bronx for the Duffy Cup versus Cardinal Hayes. Fordham went down early 2 - 0, and the game was tied 4 - 4 at the half, before the Prep woke up in the second half and took a 14 - 8 victory (recap). The boys then headed down to Florida to face Belen Jesuit and Christopher Columbus. The Rams found themselves on the wrong side of a hot Belen goalie, who made 18 saves, and after scratching back in the second half ran out of clock in the 6 - 4 loss. Fordham bounced back two days later against Columbus, winning a thrilling 10 - 9 game with Cunningham ‘24 scoring the game winner with three seconds remaining (recap).

The Rams then returned back north to face Poly Prep and Riverdale Country School. The Prep and Poly played a tight game, with Fordham never having more than a two goal lead and Poly tying the game in the fourth quarter. On the back of one of James Spring ‘24’s program record 24 faceoff wins, Ryan Bracchitta ‘27 (Scarsdale) gave the Rams the lead late. Griffin Cooleen ‘26 (Briarcliff) preserved the win with a big save with seven seconds left. The Prep then handled Riverdale 10 - 4 taking the season record to 5 - 1 (recap). The Rams then entered the toughest part of the schedule with seven straight games against top competition. Loses to Section 1 power Bronxville, #21 nationally ranked Chaminade, and CHSAA rival Iona Prep brought the record to 5 - 4. The boys rebounded on Senior Night against Kellenberg, securing a 6 - 4 victory under the lights. Cash Berner ‘27’s (Rye) 13 saves and the defense were the difference as the team played its best all around game of the season (recap).

The Prep then dropped contests to #5 nationally ranked St. Anthony’s, Greenwich, and Stepinac before taking a dominant win against St. Dominic at historic Gaelic Park at Manhattan College. After taking a 4 - 0 lead, St. Dom’s stormed back to tie the game but the second half was all Fordham as they built a lead and won 12 - 6 (recap). Up next was Connecticut power Wilton, which turned out to me the most memorable game of the season for the Rams. Cash Berner ‘27 (Rye) and James Spring ‘24 (Bronxville) were the difference makers with 14 saves and going 11/12 on faceoffs and also netting the winner in OT. Wilton entered the second half with a 3 - 1 lead but the Prep stormed back in the third quarter to tie the game at 3 - 3 and both teams smacked each other around in the fourth quarter and found themselves tied up at 4 - 4 at the end of regulation. Spring ‘24 took the OT faceoff straight to the cage and fought through some serious stick checks to muscle off a shot to win it 5 - 4 (recap, video).

The Prep then faced Stepinac in the CHSAA playoffs and the Crusaders ended the Rams’ season before beating Iona Prep in the finals and eventually winning the CHSAA state title. Stepinac came out strong taking an early 4 - 0 lead in the first few minutes before the Prep settled down to cut the lead to three. Two more from the Crusaders made it 6 - 1 at the end of the first quarter and Stepinac extended the lead to six before the Rams made it 8 - 2 midway through the second quarter. Fordham couldn’t close the gap in the third quarter as both teams traded goals, but the Rams won the fourth quarter outscoring the Crusaders, however ran out of time as the final whistle blew a 14 - 8 final.

PJ Cunningham ‘24 led the team in goals this season with 38, following his Fordham Prep single season record 65 in 2023, while also leading the team in total points with 51 (38 goals and 13 assists), good for ninth all-time points in a Prep career. James Spring ‘24 registered a 65% faceoff win percentage along with scooping up a team high 154 groundballs. Cash Berner ‘27 (Rye) and Griffin Cooleen ‘26 (Briarcliff) ‘26 stopped 100 and 64 shots, respectively, between the pipes. You can see the full set of season stats (here).

Twelve Rams notched their first career points during the 2024 season: Eamonn Curry ’24 (Harrison), Sebastian Zarkowski ‘25 (Croton-on-Hudson), Michael Nalepka ‘25 (Greenwich), Jackson Gafner ‘25 (Manhattan), Justin Vilani ‘25 (Thornwood), Carter Remhild ‘25 (Manhattan), Drew Pagen ‘26, Dima Athanson ‘26 (Mamaroneck), Parker Kortye ‘26 (Manhattan), Nicholas Marciano ‘26 (Eastchester), Will Freel ‘26, and Ryan Bracchitta ‘27.

The 2024 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 - James Spring ‘24

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

CHSAA ‘AA’ Co-FOGO Of the Year - James Spring ‘24

CHSAA ‘AA’ 1st Team All-League: PJ Cunningham ‘24, Nick Dimitri ‘24, Jakob Gilbert ‘26, Jack Lucchese ‘24, James Spring ‘24

CHSAA ‘AA’ 2nd Team All-League: Cash Berner ‘27, Bobby Brock ‘25, Sebastian Zarkowski ‘26

Alumni:

We look forward to hearing about our newest alum, PJ Cunningham ‘24, who will be continuing his playing career at top-ranked University of Tampa.

Three former Rams completed their collegiate careers - James Corasaniti ’18 (Providence/Fairfield), Stephen Zupicich ’19 (Villanova/Ohio State), and Will Rice ’20 (Connecticut College). All three finished with many accolades in their respective careers, including Zupicich ‘19 being named a USILA All-American and First Team All-Big East, 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. Sean Miller ‘21 (Holy Cross), Charlie English ‘23 (Middlebury), Jack Freel ‘23 (Haverford), and Lewis Moore ‘23 (Oberlin) registered additional college seasons.

After leading the nation in caused turnovers this season, Zupicich ‘19 was drafted #22 overall by the Maryland Whipsnakes in the Premier Lacrosse League and is the first player from the program to play in the professional ranks.

Congrats to Jay Hill ‘96, head Varsity coach at the King School (CT), on finishing 17 - 0 and winning the New England Prep School Class B title over Berwick Academy (ME). Jay got to win the title with his son Charlie, a three time First Team All-Fairchester Athletic Association and two time All-NEPSAC defenseman, who will play at Wesleyan next year.

The season kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame dinner and fundraiser where Steven Piacente ‘00 was inducted (bio). In addition to honoring Steven, 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 two 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 2024, 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.