Friars won the one that mattered most

Twice before during the regular season, St. Anthony's had faced its staunchest rival, Chaminade. Twice before, the Friars were beaten, once rather decisively. For Round 3, though, the stakes were higher.

"I told them before the game that we were still the two-time state champions," St. Anthony's coach Keith Wjeczorek said of the May 26 state CHSAA AAA championship game at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. "We were the champs until we lost, and I figured we had a puncher's chance."

Boxing metaphors are tossed around with regularity when it comes to the state's CHSAA boys lacrosse heavyweights. "It's always a three-round heavyweight fight with these two teams, and this is only Round 1," Chaminade coach Jack Moran said after a 10-5 victory April 5.

After another victory, 9-7, on May 11, Moran, fully aware that his team hadn't clinched a thing despite winning the first two games of the "series," accurately declared, "Someone gets a knockout in the last round."

Score it a one-round TKO for the puncher.

St. Anthony's, sparked by the return from injury of midfielder Charlie Raffa, a faceoff and ground-ball specialist, defeated Chaminade, 12-10, to win a third straight state title. There was no semifinal playoff game for either team in 2011 because the Flyers and Friars finished 1-2 in the league standings. As usual.

"Emotionally, both teams would agree that these games drain the heck out of you," Wjeczorek said. "It's always a war of wills with those guys."

SEE PHOTOSCHSAA final: St. Anthony's 12, Chaminade 10

As Chaminade star Matt Kavanagh, who scored 11 goals in the three Friars-Flyers affairs, noted, "We know these three games against St. Anthony's are the biggest games on our schedule every year."

The Friars were able to reverse those earlier losses in the title game with a balanced attack that featured seven goal scorers, led by Sean McDonagh's hat trick. Joe LoCascio scored a goal in the closing seconds of both the second and third quarters. Raffa contributed two goals and provided an emotional lift.

"Charlie came up big for us," defenseman Greg Danseglio said. "It was great to have him back. We all had May 26th circled on our calendars. Chaminade is a great team but we wanted a three-peat. It's always on your mind: You can't get swept by Chaminade."

The lure of a championship game against the Friars' top rival spurred Raffa to return from a variety of injuries, including a fractured jaw, concussion and split nose. "I knew it would be rough after not playing the last few weeks," Raffa said. "I ran a lot after practice because I was a little out of shape. I thought I was done for the season. This is a great feeling. We lost to them twice and that was definitely hanging over our shoulders. But only the third one counted."

The Friars, after taking two body blows from the Flyers, wouldn't stay down for the count.