(Full game video by Evan Deede)
MILTON – Since we changed the format of our All-American game to ISL vs. MIAA, it’s usually what you’d expect.
Competitive and a nightmare for goalies.
The 11th edition of the game at Curry College on Wednesday night – a day late after being postponed on Tuesday – was the antithesis of the previous handful of matchups.
St. John’s Prep goalie Matthues DuPlessis and St. Sebastian’s goalie Chandler McClements each earned MVP honors for their team with the ISL squad winning 14-5. The goaltending as a whole was incredible for an All Star game. BC High’s TJ Emsing had a ridiculous save for the highlight of the night and a strong performance during his time in the cage.
Noble & Greenough’s Colin Kenney and Tedy Frisoli from St. Seb’s had hat tricks.
All proceeds from the event go to the Ryan Kilian Memorial Fundraiser for his wife and children. The game is routinely played in honor of both Ryan and BostonLax founder Bruce Lerch.
“Great game out there. Nice being under the lights. Great being with all my Seb’s guys again one last time. It was great,” said McClements.
“I really enjoyed it,” added DuPlessis. “It’s always fun to come out and play, especially at this high of a level and especially with the boys. It’s awesome. It’s an awesome atmosphere and a really cool setting. When you play well it’s just a cherry on top. It’s awesome (playing with different teammates). It shows how many connections you can grow through this game. I love just chopping it up with the boys on the sideline. It’s just really nice and everyone was so kind.”
For Team MIAA and Billerica head coach Ryan Nickerson, his staff, Kam Tremblay and Adam Priest, it was a special finish to the incredible state championship season.
“It was a lot of fun. It meant a lot to me and the rest of my coaching staff to be here,” he said. “I remember Bruce Lerch and remember this game. I remember sitting at The 99 listening to them talk about this game and I was young too. I was an assistant coach and I remember sitting at The 99 with the old Billerica Athletic Director and Bruce Lerch and it was kind of when this game was just starting to come out. It’s awesome.
“Ryan Kilian…I remember seeing his kids at this game and thought that was really, really cool. It’s great what BostonLax does for the lacrosse community. I’ve coached other sports, but I don’t think there’s anything just like this. I think our lacrosse tradition in Massachusetts is top notch and what BostonLax has done for the lacrosse community is unbelievable.”
Tabor Academy head coach Connor Gordon and a few members of his staff as well as Leo Kavey and Grady Alger came out on the winning side Wednesday night after a wild run to the ISL title game.
“You can see the talent on the field on both sides the whole game. It’s pretty incredible to be a part of,” said Gordon. “It was fun. It was something I was looking forward to the whole time…I didn’t know (Bruce or Ryan) personally, but I obviously knew their story and followed this game for the past few years.
“Obviously, they had such a big part in Massachusetts lacrosse…it’s incredible what this game has become to honor them.”
As for the game itself, DuPlessis set the tone in the first minute with one of his nine first quarter saves. Both he and McClements shined early, while team ISL took a 2-0 lead after one on goals from Middlesex’s Johnny Price and Nobles’ Tuck Gilbaine.
It was TJ Emsing’s turn to put on his highlight reel performance in the second quarter, at one point stopping a shot from his knees that he had no business being able to stop. Tedy Frisol (Seb’s), Preston Evans (Belmont Hill), Kyle O’Leary (Nobles) all scored to push the lead to 5-0 while McClements made seven of his 13 saves.
Team MIAA finally got on the board in the final seconds of the half when SJP long pole Ryan Delucia put home a shovel shot on a rebound to cut it to 5-1 at the break.
Kenney started and completed his hat trick in the third quarter while Ty Chouinard (Thayer) and St. Seb’s pole Ryan Farley added one too to make it 10-1. Tremblay found Andover’s Jack Cooper for a goal late to cut it to 10-2 heading to the fourth.
Gilbaine potted one early from Ty Curry (Seb’s) before Frisoli finished a quick stick from O’Leary to make it 12-2. Norwell’s Oliver Rice, Cooper and Mansfield’s Cole Hogencamp all scored to make things a bit more respectable on the scoreboard. Curry and Frisoli capped the scoring in the final two minutes before the final horn sounded, followed by a handshake line and group photo with both teams, as is tradition.
After a year full of trash talk back and forth on social media, the MIAA and ISL rivalry was renewed with the heart and soul of Boston Lax on everyone’s minds.
“Honestly, no, not really,” DuPlessis said with a smile when asked if there was any on-field trash talk. “As I said, everyone was so kind. Everyone’s nice to each other, so just having fun playing this great game.”
