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VIEW FROM THE TOP Boys’ Lacrosse Wins National Prep Championship

Heading into the final games of the regular season, Lawrenceville’s boys’ lacrosse team had already reached a rather lofty perch: No. 1 in the country. After racing out to a 15-1 record, Big Red occupied the top spot in both the Nike/USA Lacrosse High School Boys’ National Top 25 and the Inside Lacrosse National High School Power Rankings during the week of May 8. Head coach Jon Posner’s squad had also clinched the top seed in May’s National Prep Lacrosse Championship.

They were just getting started.

After winning their final two regular season games, Big Red stormed through their first game of the national tournament, routing Deerfield, 16-8, to set up an epic matchup against Brunswick in the finals. It did not disappoint. Lawrenceville came back from a threegoal halftime deficit to force one overtime, then another, before scoring with 3:06 remaining in the second overtime for a 14-13 win and the national championship.

Posner said he was “honored to have the great privilege of leading such an incredible group of young men.

“At the beginning of this school year, this team was focused on being successful, and they put that work in together from day one,” he said of his team, which finished 19-1. “From captains’ practices to team lifts, pre-season scrimmages and every game this season, they gave their all in everything they did.”

According to USA Lacrosse Magazine, Lawrenceville had six players with at least 28 goals, and four players had 26 or more assists. Hunter Chauvette ’23 and Chris Matia ’24 led the team with 82 and 79 points, respectively, while Robert Simone ’23 won 59 percent of his faceoffs. Timmy Piacentini ’24 stopped 59 percent of the shots on goal he faced. Ten members of this year’s team will compete collegiately next year.

“To see their hard work pay off and achieve their goal together is so rewarding,” Posner said. “I’m proud of them for their commitment to working hard on behalf of their team and the School.” n