Chaminade boys lacrosse goalie Kieran Walsh saves the day in Flyers' first win over St. Anthony's since 2021

All that stood between Chaminade boys lacrosse’s first win over St. Anthony’s since spring 2021 were the 14.1 seconds showing on the clock at Cy Donnelly Field.

Chaminade senior goalie Kieran Walsh admitted to feeling the tension. After all, the Flyers led by four goals until a late Friars surge saw the score flip to a one-goal advantage all within the final seven minutes.

St. Anthony’s junior Jacob Johnston started with the ball and battled against Chaminade senior Louis D’Agostino before flipping it to star senior midfielder Gary Merrill. The UNC commit rolled to his right off a pick and ripped a shot on goal.

The Friars have enjoyed countless moments against Chaminade in one of the country’s best rivalries. But this moment was owned by Kieran Walsh.

“The nerves were going,” Walsh said. “But I knew there were going to be rapid shots. I was just throwing my body at the ball and trusting my defense that they were going to be right in front of me.”

The senior smacked aside the shot before saving a follow-up effort off and within seconds, the Flyers rushed the field to celebrate their first win over the Friars since May 20, 2021. That game ended with the same score as Thursday’s CHSAA road win for Chaminade, 11-10.

“For the upperclassmen, I was the happiest for them because they’ve been through this and they’ve lost,” Walsh, who finished with 12 saves, said. “It’s just a surreal feeling, winning for them and for the alumni before us.”

St. Anthony’s and Chaminade entered the week as the 13th and 14th ranked teams in the country by USA Lacrosse, and both showed why as neither team led by more than one until the fourth quarter.

Faceoff specialist Quinn Ball was dominant, winning a remarkable 22 of 25 faceoffs. The senior also netted Chaminade’s final goal right off his 19th faceoff win, good for the Flyers’ third goal in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter.

“We came out here firing on all cylinders,” Ball said. “Walsh played absolutely phenomenal and out of his mind.”

D’Agostino and junior defenseman Gavin Duran impressed at close defense, but senior long-stick midfielder Gavin Fitzpatrick was impossible to ignore. He forced a game-high four turnovers as he disrupted shots and passes alike.

Junior James Gillis scored a game-high five goals, including three in the second half. He and Balsamo make for a seemingly unstoppable duo, especially with talented feeders like Connor Kuttin and senior Gavin Lynch setting them up.

“I think this is the most tight-knit group we’ve had,” Gillis said. “ . . . Knowing that we haven’t beat them in a while fueled the fire.”

St. Anthony’s has now lost three games in a row, a rare sight albeit against Maryland’s now No. 1 Archbishop Spalding and New Jersey’s No. 5 Delbarton prior to Thursday’s loss to Chaminade. Long-stick junior midfielder Ethan Bramoff provided terrific two-way ability in launching the transition for the Friars as nine players scored for St. Anthony’s. The Friars will get a chance to right the ship Saturday against No. 2 Lawrenceville.

The Flyers (9-1) know the job isn’t done. Chaminade will meet St. Anthony’s (7-4) again on May 15 for the state CHSAA Class AAA and league title, a game that is sure to bring just as many fireworks as ever after Thursday’s result.

“We know we’re going to see them in three weeks,” Ball said. “We have to bring the exact same energy.”