BY: MARC NARDUCCI

Photos/ Zamani Feelings, James Quinn & Mike Nance

Malvern Prep has recently been the dominant team in the Inter-Ac boys’ lacrosse race, winning three titles in a row and while the Friars will be among the favorites, there should be plenty of company.

Haverford School, Episcopal Academy and Germantown Academy have the talent to contend in this ultra-competitive league.

Penn Charter may lack depth but can be competitive with any team in the league and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, with a young team is looking for improvement.

In short, one of the great high school lacrosse leagues should be as talented as ever. Here is a look at each team in alphabetical order.

Junior midfielders TJ Lamb and Eddie Jones have made commitments to Cornell and Villanova respectively. Defender Reece Hickey will attend Hamilton and face off Will Hohn has committed to Monmouth.

Sophomore attack Dylan Jaszcz was the leading goal scorer last season with 29, while adding seven assists. Junior attack Lucas Slate adds punch to the offense and is considered by Bates a definite college prospect. Senior Mason Kline adds to the defensive depth.

Outlook: After a strong season a year ago, Episcopal Academy will again be in the hunt. This is a team with a great combination of youth and experience.

“Malvern reloads and will always be in contention, Haverford is very strong this year,” Bates said. “GA and SCH are much improved, and PC is always solid. We will be in the mix.”

Outlook: The Patriots have the look of an improved team. This season they opened with a resounding 12-1 win over Virginia’s Episcopal High School, which last season won Virginia’s private state championships. Luviano and Lee opened with five goals each while Delello had two goals and two assists in the impressive opening game performance.

While the Patriots may not be called the favorite, they appear to have the ability to contend.

Junior midfielder Wills Burt (Virginia) and junior attack Ryan DiRocco (West Point) are others who have made commitments.

Outlook: Pencil in the Fords as a contender.

“I think the league is really good and in the top end, Malvern and Episcopal have guys each year as good as anybody in the country,” Dawson said. “The kids who are seniors, who missed their sophomore year (due to the pandemic) showed great growth last year and I think now that we are really comfortable out there.”

The Fords reached the championship game before falling to Malvern Prep. A repeat appearance in the final is a reasonable goal.

Other key members are sophomore defender Lucca DiBartolomeo, senior midfielder Colin Krause, senior short stick defensive midfielder Ed Devine, sophomore defender Kyle Worsnup and sophomore attack Ennis Udo.

Outlook: The Friars have won three straight Inter-Ac titles but will be tested this year. A tough nonleague schedule will prepare them for the rigors of Inter-Ac competition.

“We lost a lot of experience and goals to graduation in 2021,” McEvoy said, “We really like the guys we have who return to varsity and the youth that we have added and coming in skilled and athletic.”

That said, this is a team that should be better after the first month of competition.

“They will need experience playing at a high level though,” McEvoy said. “We anticipate playing a lot of guys early to figure our identity, but we are confident we will be better toward the end of the season and moving forward.”

Outlook: The Quakers have a strong nucleus, but the one weakness is depth. If they can stay injury-free they will be competitive with this monster of an Inter-Ac schedule but won’t be listed among the favorites. Coach McDonough feels his team will be a strong face-off unit and solid defensively.

“We have a good group of senior leaders followed by a strong junior class,” McDonough said. “We aren’t very deep but have a lot of potential on both ends of the field.”

Penn Charter loaded up on a tough non-league schedule to prepare for the rigors of the Inter-Ac and that should also benefit the Quakers.

Sophomore Ross Prince is expected to be a key faceoff performer.

Key short stick defensive midfielders are seniors Luke Sonnet, and Tom Shellinsky and sophomore Robbie Brzezinski. Other key defenders include seniors Chase Newbold, and Caleb Zucker, junior Hunter Rexford, and sophomores Danny Reagan and Jake Laigaie.

The goalies are sophomore Hayes Schreiner and junior Charlie Erdos.

Outlook: This is young team which hopes to make strides.

“We have a young team and hope to improve on last year’s record,” Dougherty said. “We continue to play one of the toughest schedules in the country and hope to build the foundation for the future of the lacrosse program.”

As for the schedule, it is always so difficult in the Inter-Ac, but the players hope to improve by playing such difficult competition. It may not show up a lot in the win column, but this young group hopes to set the tone for future success.