St. Anthony's boys lacrosse falls short against Archbiship Spalding in matchup of national powers

Robby Hopper unleashed just this unstoppable rocket from about 15 yards away that landed in the net before you could blink. It was a head-turning goal in a game-turning run.

Archbishop Spalding came up from Maryland to St. Anthony’s and showed Thursday why it's the nation’s No. 2 boys lacrosse team.

The Cavaliers posted a 12-8 win over the No. 4 Friars, who were No. 1 just last week in the USA Lacrosse rankings.

“They were better, (the) better team, and we made too many mistakes in crunch time,” St. Anthony’s coach Keith Wieczorek said after his team fell to 7-2. “They played better. We had opportunities to get back in it, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Friars have taken five straight NSCHSAA Class AAA and state CHSAA AAA titles. They will again be in the state final. St. Anthony’s and Chaminade are the only teams in this grouping.

So the goal is clearly defined.

“Definitely to beat Chaminade and win the championship,” said senior midfielder Gary Merrill, who scored twice, as did junior midfielder Jacob Johnston. “That’s always the goal.”

This team — which is also No. 8 in Inside Lacrosse’s top 25, one spot ahead of Chaminade — isn’t sweating over the national rankings.

“We could take easier games,” Wieczorek said, “but we chose to take the harder path here and play these national programs and get these kids college ready and then to be ready for the final.”

“I told them we have eight more opportunities left this year and I think six are against ranked opponents,” he added. “This was no knock on us today losing to that team.”

Brody Mollot, a Maryland-bound attackman, scored four goals and had an assist for the 12-1 Cavaliers. And Hopper was everywhere. The 6-5 long stick midfielder and Virginia commit displayed his offensive skills with two goals and an assist and his talent in riding, clearing, scooping ground balls and defending.

Spalding coach Evan Hockel used the word “special” in describing the five-star recruit.

“I play him in club all the time,” said Friars senior goalie Dennis Brady, who stopped 11 shots. “He’s really, really just a great player. I got him back twice. He had two goals and I had two saves against him.”

After St. Anthony’s grabbed a 5-2 lead, Hopper sent a feed inside to Grady Swidersky, who scored his second of four.

A 6-0 run had begun. Hopper’s hard shot highlighted it. So it was 8-5 at halftime.

It became a 7-0 eruption when Mollot scored early in the third. Ethan Bramoff then cut it to 9-6.

Later in the quarter, Alex Ruddy scored on the run for St. Anthony’s, slicing it to 10-7.

But Mollot built a five-goal advantage, scoring late in the third and early in the fourth.

“We definitely got out-toughed today,” Merrill said, pointing to transition goals and ground balls.

Hockel still compared them favorably with top-caliber Maryland teams.

“They’re big,” Hockel said. “They’re strong. They’re athletic. They’re skilled. They’re a really fantastic team.”