Owen Duffy, Andrew McAdorey help spearhead St. Anthony's comeback for CHSAA title

It’s a rallying cry that’s been uttered countless times across high school sports: Do it for the seniors.

But for this season’s St. Anthony’s boys lacrosse team, the common mantra came with a slight twist after losing the 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do it for last year’s seniors.

And the Friars certainly made them proud on Saturday afternoon. In a frenetic match that came down to the final possession, St. Anthony’s held on for a 12-11 victory over host Chaminade in the NSCHSAA Class AAA final.

"It’s just great," said Mike Leo, who had two goals and two assists for St. Anthony’s. "Our coach always preached to us how the 2020 seniors lost their season and to just remember them when we played in this game. And it was just a good team win."

Leo converted the final goal for St. Anthony’s (10-1) with 4:40 remaining to extend the lead to 12-10 before Charles Balsamo scored his third goal for Chaminade (9-2) with 12.1 seconds to go.

The Flyers won the ensuing faceoff and called timeout with 8.2 seconds left, but Chaminade’s final shot sailed wide to seal a second consecutive title for St. Anthony’s.

Andrew McAdorey, who was named the game’s MVP, also picked up two goals and two assists for the Friars, and Owen Duffy led in the scoring department with three goals.

"Being able to defend that championship from 2019 is huge," McAdorey said. "Being able to get it for those guys last year is a big thing for us and to be able to go out on top is, too."

Kevin Barrett, the Friars’ goalkeeper in the first half, made 12 saves. Will Snyder had four in the second half.

A goal from John Maccarone of St. Anthony’s tied the score at 6 with 5:19 remaining in the first half before Chaminade scored three of the final goals of the second quarter. Balsamo’s goal with 1:16 remaining gave the Flyers a 9-7 lead entering halftime.

St. Anthony’s came out with a strong response in the second half, outscoring Chaminade 3-0 in the third quarter and 5-2 in the half.

"Coming out of halftime, we definitely had a lot of energy," Duffy said. "We made a bunch of small plays that got us and our sideline going. We really just fed off that energy and capitalized."

Duffy provided one of those energy-inducing moments at the 6:27 mark of the third. After emerging from behind the left side of the net, he dove away from the goal and fired in a shot over his shoulder to cut the Chaminade lead to 9-8.

"I’m going to be honest," Duffy said. "I’m not really sure what went through my head on that one, but it went in, so that’s all that matters."

The Friars tacked on two more goals in the period to regain the lead for good.

"I think this gives us some closure after losing last season to COVID," St. Anthony’s coach Keith Wieczorek said. "Our seniors last year missed out and it was a big hole for everyone. And I think that made this even more important for everyone."