Photos: Kathy Leister & Mike Nance
By: Marc Narducci
VILLANOVA, PA – It’s the grunt work that is one of the most difficult tasks in a sport known for its toughness, Getting down on the ground and trying to win a faceoff, takes sheer strength, determination and skill.
And it is something that Haverford School senior Griff Meyer thrives on.
It was Meyer’s work on faceoffs that helped lead Haverford School to a 12-11 comeback win over Malvern Prep during yet another classic between these two Inter-Ac titans in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) state championship game at soggy Villanova Stadium.
Meyer, who has been selected to play in the July 26 New Balance All-American Lacrosse Senior game at Towson University and will attend the University of Virginia, didn’t win all the faceoffs. Nobody does that.
Haverford School senior Griff Meyer #32 - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister
Yet he won a majority of them, especially when Haverford School trailed 9-6 past the midway point of the third quarter. For the game Meyer was successful on 16 of 25 faceoffs (64 percent) and had eight ground balls, a stunning effort to end a spectacular high school career.
He is a bulldog on the faceoffs, always scrapping, fighting and doing his darndest to win the draw.
For good measure his backup Gavin Morrissey was 2 for 2 on faceoffs.
“It’s like a cheat code, we’re blessed to have him this year,” Haverford School coach Brendan Dawson said of Meyer. “Since he has come back from injury in the beginning of the year, he’s been doing that all year and we’re lucky to have him and going to miss him a whole lot.”
Meyer knew he had to keep grinding, especially when things didn’t go his way.
“They would win two or three and I would win two or three, (had to) clutch up for those last couple,” Meyer said.
Malvern Prep senior Logan Turley scored on a great feed from classmate Dan Riely to extend the Friars’ lead to 9-6 with 6:53 left in the third quarter.
A few minutes later, Haverford School sophomore Danny Kinnard scored the first of six unanswered goals for the Fords, with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Fellow sophomore Conor Morsell, who had a sparkling effort with three goals and two assists, then made it 9-8 with 36.4 seconds left in the quarter.
Haverford School vs. Malvern Prep 2025 PAISAA Highlights - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Congratulations to Haverford School on winning the 2025 PAISAA Championship - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Meyer then won the ensuring faceoff and senior Evan Large, whose last name describes his performance, scored with 10.5 seconds left in the third quarter, tying the game at 9-9.
Large, a Rutgers commit, contributed five goals, many of the spectacular variety. He pointed to Meyer’s work as one of the keys of the comeback.
“Griff got possession, the defense held strong, and we knew we had to chip away at it one at a time and knew we couldn’t get it all at once,” Large said. “I had one, some other guys stepped up, and it was an all-around team effort.”
2025 PAISAA Championship Gallery by PSD's Kathy Leister
Large, sophomore Chris Burnetta and Morsell scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter for a 12-9 lead with 7:19 left.
Of course, anybody who knows the makeup of Malvern Prep, realized the game was far from over.
These two teams seem to play nothing but nail-biting classics.
On April 15, Malvern Prep won 10-9 in overtime at Haverford School in one of the most exciting games of the season.
The result was reversed on May 1 when Haverford School won 9-7 at Malvern Prep.
True to form, the Friars started applying serious pressure. Junior Dan Riely, who had a team-high four goals, scored with 6:49 left, cutting the lead to 12-10. Then Turley knocked in a rebound with 59.1 seconds remaining.
Malvern Prep would make a steal with about 25 seconds left and Jake Bickel, who scored the overtime game-winner in the aforementioned 10-9 win, unleashed a rocket of a shot from about 12 yards out that Haverford School goalie Colin Decker saved with seconds remaining and the Fords were able to run out the clock and then run to their fans in celebration.
Whew!
This was only the second year of the PAISAA boys’ lacrosse state tournament. Westtown beat Episcopal Academy, 14-13 in last year’s state final.
Neither top seeded Haverford School nor second seeded Malvern Prep entered the PAISAA tournament last year.
This season Haverford School, Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy all shared the Inter-Ac title with 8-2 league records. Each team was 1-1 against the other.
In the PAISAA championship, these two played like they were among the best teams in the country, which they are. In the most recent USA Lacrosse national high school rankings, Malvern Prep was 11th and Haverford School 13th.
“What else can you ask for then just leaving everything on the field,” Malvern Prep coach Matt Mackrides said. “I’m extremely proud of the effort they game, I always am, and tonight was no different.”
Mackrides said that what stands out about his team is the way they always compete to the end, regardless of the opponent or the situation.
Haverford School senior Griff Meyer talks about the intensity in every match-up vs. Malvern Prep - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Haverford School senior Evan Large talks about overcoming a 3-goal deficit - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
“It doesn’t matter the stage, the guys come out and they give everything they have,” he said. “It definitely hurts to see that senior group not get their goal and our team not to reach their goal and accomplish what they set out to do.”
Still, Mackrides couldn’t say enough about his team.
“One thing we can do is hold our head high and understand that we are very proud of our guys’ effort,” he said.
Besides setting up a couple of goals with great passes, Riely who is a Cornell commit, led Malvern Prep with four goals. Turley, who headed to Harvard, scored a hat trick. Owen Mears (Duke) had two goals, while Mike Ortlieb (Duke) and Bickel (Georgetown) each scored one goal.
Besides the other above-mentioned goal scorers, Haverford School received single goals from senior Reece Childs (Penn) and junior Jack Rischitelli.
Haverford School ended its season 16-4, while Malvern finished 18-7.
“This is our first time winning our last game of the season since I have been at Haverford and it is just a sick feeling now,” Meyer said.
Haverford School vs. Malvern Prep - 2025 PAISAA Gallery by Mike Nance
And it’s always special when these two hook up, whether it is in the regular season or in a state championship setting.
“It’s always awesome game and feels unreal in the moment,” Large said. “We knew it was going to be a battle, and we got the job done.”