Seton Hall Prep junior Elijah Rippey looks to shoot during the loss to St. Augustine in the Non-Public A North semifinals on May 28.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep lacrosse team completed its season winning two of three games last week and posting a final record of 18-4.
On Monday, May 23, at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field, the Pirates defeated Caldwell, 18-2, to capture their eighth Super Essex Conference–American Division title. Senior Matt Wrede led the scoring with three goals and one assist, while fellow seniors James Bailey and Billy Black, junior Aidan Donovan, and sophomore Christian Schweiger each scored two goals.
Seniors Max Racich and Quinn Spillett; juniors Matthew Pepe, Elijah Rippey and Andrew Daly; sophomore Christian Schweiger; and freshman Theodore Coyle each scored a goal. Coyle was also 12-of-12 on face-offs, while senior Will Giarrusso was 7-of-8 and sophomore Luigi Pantano was 3-of-3. Senior John “Jaz” Zanelli had one save, while fellow senior Jake Small did not have a save, and junior Ryan Conroy had two saves.
On Wednesday, May 25, the second-seeded Pirates hosted No. 7 seed Pope John XXIII (Sparta) and defeated them, 17-3, in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Non-Public A quarterfinal round. Spillett led the scoring with seven goals and two assists, while Wrede scored three goals and four assists. Racich, Black, Bailey, Donovan, Pepe, senior JP Meyo and senior Michael Magnier each scored one goal. Giarrusso was 11-of-14 on face-offs. Zanelli had four saves, while Conroy did not record a save.
On Saturday, May 28, the Pirates dropped a heartbreaking game to No. 3 seed St. Augustine, 9-8, in the semifinal round. In the first half, the Hermits had a 5-2 lead when a two-hour weather delay with 2:35 left in the second quarter stopped the game. When the teams came back on the field, they completed the second quarter with no scoring.
In the third quarter, the Pirates dominated the Hermits 6-1, to take an 8-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. St. Augustine clamped on the defense as they scored three goals and shut out the Pirates for the quarter.
Racich and Spillett each scored two goals, while Bailey, Wrede, Schweiger and Meyo each scored one goal. Wrede had three assists. Giarrusso was 5-of-11 on face-offs, while Pantano was 4-of-8. Zanelli had eight saves.
Photo Courtesy of Rich Morris/SHP.
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