Fordham Prep Lacrosse 2026 Season Preview
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We’re excited to kick off another Fordham Prep lacrosse season and are looking forward to once again keeping the Prep lacrosse community abreast of all things FP lax related. In his second season at the helm, Head Coach Tom Prior, who along with returning Assistant Coach Connor Brown ‘09 and new Assistant Coach Courtney Fells, will lead the Varsity boys. JV Head Coach Paul McQuade, in his first season leading the underclassmen, looks to build on last year’s success where the Rams lost a close battle to Stepinac in the CHSAA semi-finals. Joining Coach McQuade are new JV Assistant Coaches Andrew O’Loughlin and John Barry. The staff and teams have already been putting in work with Fall Ball including two tournaments, off-season lifts, and a full slate of Winter training at the UnderDome in New Rochelle.
Coach McQuade, will be working with our goalies and has already been training with our keepers the past few months. A native of Somers, he played for the Tuskers in high school before playing at Siena University. Faceoff coach Dan O’Connell returns to work with our boys at the X, training a squad of five Rams. Coach O’Connell carried a top-10 faceoff win percentage during his college career at Holy Cross and Duke, winning an ACC Championship with the Blue Devils.
We would like to highlight that the Varsity team will be going on two trips this season; heading to Tampa, Florida over Spring Break to play in the Jesuit Classic and up to Rhode Island again in April to face the Providence area’s Moses Brown and Barrington HS. These annual Spring trips are a great bonding experience for the team and always generate lasting memories.
Our annual Season Kickoff and Hall of Fame Dinner was on Saturday, March 14th at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers. This year we inducted Anthony Marciano ‘90 into the Fordham Prep Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Over 120 lacrosse players and family, alumni, and alumni parents attended what is always a memorable evening each year. You can read about the night and see photos from the event (here).
Midseason we will be having the annual equipment drive, benefiting Bronx Lacrosse and CityLax, so keep your eyes out for that update. But remember, don’t donate everything…..you’ll need something to play with in future alumni games.
Any parents or alums who would like to help us with the Top Corner Club, please reach out at fptopcornerclub@gmail.com. If you would like to support the program, or learn more about the recently launched Lacrosse Endowment, you can donate (here). We are just below our initial $100,000 Endowment goal. So far this season, through the Endowment, the Top Corner Club has brought in the specialist coaches, subsidized the off-season training costs, and will be subsidizing Spring Trip and additional season expenses.
Please follow FP lacrosse on Instagram (@fordhampreplax), Twitter (@fordhampreplax), the Top Corner Club on Facebook, and subscribe to our distribution through the website if this was forwarded to you (www.fordhampreplacrosse.com).
Season Preview:
The Rams lost nine players to graduation, including the #2 scorer in 2025, accounting for over 26% of the Prep’s goal scoring. So there is lots of room for players to step up and contribute this season. Drew Pagen ‘26 (Rye), Dima Athanason ‘26 (Mamaroneck), Aiden Pymm ‘26 (Rye), and Ryan Bracchitta ‘27 (Scarsdale) are the returning leading scorers with a combined 91 goals and 39 assists in 2025. Cash Berner ‘27 (Rye) will be in the cage again, following his sophomore season where he recorded 218 saves, while All-CHSAA poles Jakob Gilbert ‘26 (Bedford) and Colin Waters ‘27 (Manhattan) lead the defense around him. This year’s roster consists of 29 boys from across Westchester, Manhattan, and New Jersey from a diverse 14 towns with Manhattan and Rye leading the way. Congratulations to this year’s captains: Dima Athanason ‘26, Ryan Bracchitta ‘27, and Jakob Gilbert ‘26. Announced at the season kickoff dinner, the recipient who will have this season’s honor of wearing the #41 jersey in tribute to Chris Duffy ‘96, will be Dima Athanason ‘26. This recent tradition will continue going forward as a player will be chosen to wear the #41 jersey each season.
The Rams look to build on their 8 - 10 2025 season, where after starting out 0 - 3 they put together a five game win streak in the second half of the season to head into the playoffs at .500. The schedule was certainly tough, facing national ranked Chaminade and NY Class A state champion Half Hollow Hills, eventual Section 1 champion and state quarter-finalist Bronxville, as well as the usual top level CHSAA foes. A highlight was the Rams taking two of three games on their trip to Rhode Island, beating Moses Brown and Bishop Hendrickson, and just missing a sweep, falling by a goal to Barrington High School. The season ended with a tough loss to Stepinac in the CHSAA semi-finals, with the Crusaders avenging their regular season loss to the Rams. 2026 presents another strong schedule including the games in Florida against Belen Jesuit, Jesuit High School - Tampa, and Rockhurst Jesuit, plus New Jersey power Bergen Catholic, Greenwich (CT), Long Island’s Port Washington, Section 1 stalwart Bronxville, and usual CHSAA foes Stepinac, Kellenberg, and Iona Prep.
The 2026 Rams looked solid in their only scrimmage, handling Hackley on St. Patrick’s Day. The season opens tomorrow in Tampa with the Jesuit Classic, where they’ll face Belen Jesuit (FL) first, followed by Jesuit High School - Tampa (FL), and Rockhurst Jesuit (MO). Upon returning home, the Prep defends Murphy Field against Kennedy Catholic before heading on the road to face Bergen Catholic (NJ) and Poly Prep and then Moses Brown (RI) and Barrington HS (RI) up in the Ocean State. Mid-April starts a gauntlet of the Duffy Cup versus Cardinal Hayes, Kellenberg, and Port Washington before hosting Bronxville and Guilderland. The boys will be battle tested and finish up the regular season with games against league rivals Stepinac and Iona Prep, as well as Cornwall and Greenwich (CT). Then it’s off to the playoffs.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Belen Jesuit (FL) is an opponent the Rams know well, having played four times the past few years including at home last year. The schools hold a 2 - 2 record against each other with Belen besting Fordham last year 9 - 7 in the Bronx. The early start down South has the Wolverines already at 11 - 0 on the year dominating local Florida competition. Jesuit High School - Tampa is a new opponent for the Prep, and like its Florida Jesuit brethren, is already deep into their season and stand at 6 - 3. Rockhurst Jesuit (MO) comes down to the Jesuit Classic at 2 - 0 after a strong 14 - 2 season last year. Home games, and some away games, will once again be streamed so be sure to check them out.
Alumni:
Best of luck to our alums playing in college as they continue their lacrosse careers at the next level - Sean Miller ‘21 (Holy Cross), Charlie English ‘23 (Middlebury), and Bobby Brock ‘25 (Oberlin). Alums and alumni parents please keep sending in updates so we can highlight them. We’re eyeing 5/30 or 6/7 for our annual Alumni Game, so keep those dates on your calendar.
Thanks again for all your support to Fordham Prep Lacrosse and good luck to all the players and coaches. We’ll see you on the sidelines!!!