St. Anthony's boys lacrosse's Billy Atkinson scores late goal in win over Philadelphia's Malvern Prep

St. Anthony’s boys lacrosse coach Keith Wieczorek called a timeout with 1:20 remaining and 63 seconds on the shot clock. Tied at 10 against USA Lacrosse’s No. 8 team in the country, Malvern (Pa.) Prep, St. Anthony’s tried to get Danny Rooney open off a pick from Billy Atkinson.

It made sense. Rooney’s third goal of the game — 44 seconds into the second quarter — came off an Atkinson screen. Only this time, Malvern Prep sent two defensemen to Rooney, who recognized it and flipped it back to Atkinson for an open shot. It went in with 42.4 seconds remaining.

“I saw the ball hit the back of the cage and I started going crazy with the boys,” Atkinson said. “It means everything. It was the best feeling in the world.”

St. Anthony’s, ranked No. 11 entering the week by USA Lacrosse, defeated Malvern on Saturday afternoon, 12-10, after Jacob Johnston added a sweetener into an open net with 19.7 seconds left. Rooney dominated with five goals and two assists.

St. Anthony’s senior and Maryland commit Danny Rooney had a day to remember Saturday against #8 Malverne Prep.

Five goals. Two assists, including one to Billy Atkinson for the go-ahead goal.

Here are four of his five goals 👇 pic.twitter.com/nefz2kDCXw

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) April 18, 2026

“He’s the best attackman on Long Island right now, in my opinion,” Wieczorek said. “He’s flying around the field and carried us for a good chunk of that game.”

Ethan Bramoff caused four turnovers and assisted on the first of Dylan Harrigan’s three goals. St. Anthony’s (6-3) jumped to a 5-1 lead through the first 14 minutes, but Malvern Prep (11-3) rallied to cut the lead to just two at halftime.

Without both of St. Anthony’s star faceoff specialists, Robbie Johnson (hamstring) and Paul LoNigro (hip), Malvern Prep chained possessions together and scored four consecutive goals to take its first lead of the game, 10-9, with 4:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“We have to keep the energy high, keep the bench going,” Rooney said. “Make sure they know that you’re still in this and you still have momentum, and you have to keep going.”

Johnston did just that with 2:40 left, diving away from the crease while flicking his hand back toward the net for the equalizer before Atkinson’s go-ahead score.

Ryan Lasko won his first faceoff of the game after Atkinson’s goal, all but sealing the win. Brody Richert scooped a ground ball and successfully cleared to kill a two-minute, man-down situation. Freshman Jake D’Orsa won 7 of 13 faceoff attempts despite practicing with the team only the day prior.

Highlights of St. Anthony’s 12-10 win over Malvern Prep:

Gavin Snyder eats a big hit to score.

Aidan Dale avoids his defender to assist Dylan Harrigan’s laser.

Jacob Johnston scores while falling, tying it at 10.

Billy Atkinson’s go-ahead goal, 11-10, with 42.4 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/WgeoSccnkT

— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) April 18, 2026

All those details embodied what Wieczorek called “a four-quarter win” for a team that felt a need to prove something following losses to Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) and La Salle College High School (Wyndmoor, Pa.) weeks earlier.

“We needed to win this one,” Rooney said. “We’ve dropped some that we shouldn’t have dropped. We need to make sure we’re still on top and let everyone know that.”