BURLINGTON — One of the best rivalries in recent years has been between BC High and St. John’s Prep in boys lacrosse, and the latest chapter delivered everything and more.
Princeton commit Jake Vana finished with a hat trick, scoring the game-clinching tally with 1:07 left in regulation, as top-ranked St. John’s Prep punched its ticket to the Div. 1 title game with a thrilling 6-4 victory over No. 4 BC High.
“I think maybe the last thousand times I’ve played them the last four years, there have only been a couple of games where it hasn’t been that close,” said Vana. “But that’s what you expect. A lot of seniors going into the game, we knew it was going to be scrappy. Their goalie Charlie McCullough might have played his best game, maybe of his career … it was a great game. That’s exactly what we want. That’s what the playoffs are all about.”
In each of the prior three seasons, these two Catholic Conference heavyweights saved their theatrics for the Div. 1 state championship. Junior midfielder Madden McGowan and Vana struck for consecutive goals in a 37-second span, as St. John’s Prep (20-2) seized a 2-0 lead out of the gate with 8:46 left in the opening quarter.
However, BC High (14-8) had a response, as Marshall Rice netted a goal, before Nick Emsing found the cage to even things at 2-all with 3:46 to play in the frame.
Then, as the second quarter rolled along, St. John’s Prep regained control, as Brendan Powers sniped a highlight-reel goal. Vana notched his second 15 seconds later and the Eagles had a 4-2 lead at intermission.
After Powers registered his second goal to give St. John’s Prep a 5-2 lead with 8:48 left in the third, BC High began to chip away. Sophom*ore Tripp Schuwerk netted a goal to close the frame, before Emsing buried his second tally with 11:08 left in regulation. Suddenly, it was a 5-4 nail-biter.
After forcing a crucial turnover with about two minutes remaining, St. John’s Prep attempted to bleed out the clock. McCullough left the net to try and challenge on a double team for BC High defensively, and Vana was able to slip free. The senior uncorked a shot which whistled into the open cage with just over a minute to play, sealing things for his team.
McCullough finished with 16 saves to keep BC High in contention.
St. John’s Prep will now attempt to win its fourth straight Div. 1 crown.
Needham advances
Senior captain Sean Reilly finished with a game-high four goals, including the game-winner in the waning minutes as seventh-seeded Needham upended No. 3 Acton-Boxboro, 9-8.
“This was like a (game) where you just don’t blink,” said Needham coach David Wainwright. “If you blink, it’s over. Everyone had to stay focused, because this game was going back and forth, to the point where no one really took absolute control. There was no run. It was give and take.”
For much of the first half, the Rockets baited the Revolution (19-4) into their style of game, as Reilly netted a pair of goals in the opening quarter to provide Needham a 3-2 lead through one quarter.
A-B’s Christian Maranian and Matthew Chimento registered goals before Ethan Fennel potted his second goal with 56 seconds left in the quarter to put the Revolution ahead, 5-3.
Junior Reis Conway had an answer for the Rockets (17-5), as he scored with eight seconds remaining in the half as Needham cut it to a 5-4 deficit by the break.
Needham rallied to take a 6-5 lead with 6:17 to play in the third off goals by Reilly and freshman Matt Ledbury. But Maranian and Trey Clayton found the cage within 21 seconds to give Acton-Boxboro a 7-6 advantage entering the final quarter.
Locked in an 8-8 war with 3:22 remaining in regulation, Reilly caught a pass by the opposing net, and the defense began to converge. He braced for impact, and just threw the ball at the goaltender. “I caught it, and the two guys jumped me,” said Reilly. “I honestly didn’t see them coming. I just felt them, and I threw it around my body, just hoping it was going to go in.”
When he spun around, the senior let out an elated yell, as his shot skipped home for the go-ahead goal.
“That’s one of those glorious moments that is going to be special for us,” said Wainwright. “It’s going to live in infamy for us, because we’re still going to be talking about it for days. How’d (Reilly) do that? Turned himself into a pretzel to get that shot off. Usually, if he did that at practice, I’d be yelling at him. But you know what? It paid off.”
