This Chaminade boys lacrosse team is already soaring high — and there’s motivation behind the Flyers’ recent success. After being excluded from preseason polls and media rankings, the teammates want to show they’re part of a squad to be reckoned with.
The Flyers found the back of the cage early and often Saturday afternoon in a statement 14-3 season-opening win against host Ward Melville. Nine different players found their way to the stat sheet, all scoring goals in the first victory for last season’s Catholic High School Athletic Association championship runner-up.
“We want to show what we’re capable of,” said junior midfielder Aidan Lough. “We play with grit — going for every ground ball and are not afraid to lay down a body. We also show a lot of poise, because teams tend to be shaky and play tense the first few games of the season, but I think our boys handled it super well and we were able to capitalize on it.”
Junior Gavin Creo, who finished with three goals and two assists, did that early when he put away back-to-back shots in the game’s opening minutes. The shifty Richmond-bound attack, who stepped into a bigger offensive role this season, raced around the back of the cage and shot from the left side across the net into the high right corner for a 2-0 advantage just seconds after his first goal.
“It was a perfect way to start the season off. The feeling was surreal,” Creo said. “I know I put a couple of points on the board, but I couldn’t have done it without the guys who got all those ground balls, [Colm] Flynn making those saves in net and the effort the defense put up.”
“Our tenacity was there,” the junior attack continued. “Everyone shared the ball, and we moved it really fast — Ward Melville couldn’t keep up with it. We kept the Patriots on their toes. It was my first time being on a varsity field, and to top that off with a win like that was amazing.”
Chaminade senior midfielder Jack Flaherty (one goal, one assist) catches a high pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Back-to-back stops by senior Colm Flynn (seven saves), the first Ward Melville opportunity coming off an Aidan Toomey pick, were made before his team racked up seven straight more from the middle of the first to the top of the second.
“Colm Flynn played lights out in the cage,” Lough added.
Senior Griffin Cole and junior Matthew Bové limited the Patriots’ scoring opportunities as part of the solid defensive unit, and junior goalie PJ Verdi also came in to make three saves.
Jack Flaherty, a tall senior midfielder and Navy-commit, helped the Flyers start off the second like they did the first. With his strong field vision, he rocketed a good goal into the netting from 20 yards out just 40 seconds in for a 7-0 lead. He also had an assist in the win.
Attackman Charles Balsamo, who racked up 25 goals and 16 assists last season, is also off to a strong start this season. The Duke-bound senior, who finished with three goals and one assist, made it 3-0 with seven minutes left in the first, capped Chaminade’s 9-0 run in the second and rolled one in at the 10:11 mark of the third for a 10-goal advantage, 12-2.
Ward Melville (0-2) received goals from senior midfielder Jason Flynn, his younger brother Tyler and senior midfielder James Araneo. Tyler Flynn is a Providence-bound junior midfielder who scored 10 goals last season and also excels on defense.
Senior attack and Navy commit Matt Byrnes finished with one goal and two assists for Chaminade, junior midfielder Gary Correa contributed one goal and one assist and senior midfielder Christian Alacqua, who is headed to Notre Dame; junior attack Ryan Landolphi, committed to Navy; and attack Justin McMahon, a University of Pennsylvania-bounds senior, each added one goal.
“Most of us have played on travel and showcase teams for a good amount of years, so our chemistry is definitely strong,” Lough said. “We also run an offense that allows us to be creative. They were playing very open, so my teammates and I took advantage when we had a matchup.”
Balsamo, who scored three goals in a narrow 12-11 loss to St. Anthony’s in last year’s CHSAA championship, is hoping his Flyers can avenge that loss this season. Lough said that’s the goal, too.
“We’re ready to start our revenge tour,” the junior said. “That was a tough loss last year, and we can’t let them slide again. We have a strong roster with a lot of depth, good coaches and lots of energy. We have something to prove to the doubters, and we are going to have our minds set on that the whole entire season.”
