Seton Hall Prep lacrosse’s rally falls short vs. No. 1 team in the nation in season opener

WEST ORANGE, NJ — On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, March 29, the Seton Hall Prep lacrosse team opened the 2025 season under first-year head coach John Svec, hosting the No. 1 team in the country, St. Anthony’s (South Huntington, New York), at Brendan P. Tevlin Memorial Field in West Orange. The Pirates lost a very tough 7-6 decision to the Friars.

Trailing 6-1 with 6:56 left in the third quarter, the Pirates went on a ferocious comeback, outscoring St. Anthony’s, 5-1, to fall just short. Senior Clark Rich made it 6-2 with 3:52 left on an assist by junior Sean Hayes. Rich scored an unassisted goal with 1:34 left to make it 6-3. Just :14 later, the Friars scored to make it 7-3, before senior Charlie Killen scored an unassisted goal with :27.9 left to make the score 7-4. Senior Nolan Sabel scored two unassisted goals in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 7-6.

Following the game, Sabel, who finished with three goals and one assist, said, “We wanted to play to our strength in the second half and we did, but fell just short.” Rich, who finished with two goals, said, “When we turn on our offense as we did in the second half, no one can beat us.”

Svek said, “It was a great way to start the season against a great opponent. Our philosophy is to play hard every possession and we did that, especially when we were down 6-1 in the third quarter, but fell just short.”

Senior goalie Conor Keenan finished with five saves, as the Pirates outshot the Friars, 35-22, and picked up 23 ground balls.

Notes – Seton Hall is currently ranked No. 2 in New Jersey in the NJ.com Top 20 poll. The Pirates will travel to Chester to take on West Morris Central on Saturday, April 5, at 2:30 p.m.

  Seton Hall Prep lacrosse