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STAB beat Blue Ridge.
STAB vs PVI for State title on Saturday. |
This has to be the first time in a while where the VISAA final is more compelling than anything out of the DMV playoffs this year. |
| Who is going to the game to watch? |
ALL IAC GP (13-5, 4-1): IAC Champions Bullis (15-3, 5-0): IAC Regular Season Champions 1. Midfield (Penn) #28 2. SSDM (Hampton) #0 3. SSDM (Navy) #17 * POY 4. Defense #88 5. Goalie (Dickinson) #6 6. Fogo #25 Landon (10-6, 3-2): 1. Attack (GU) #2 2. Midfield (Vermont) #4 3. Midfield (Holy Cross) #8 4. Defense (Bowdoin) #27 5. Defense (Hopkins) #29 6. Defense (Dartmouth) #9 St. Albans (9-9, 2-3): 1. Attack (Bowdoin) #13 2. Defense (Brown) #51 3. Goalie #19 4. Fogo #14 EHS (11-7, 1-4): SSSAS (4-9, 0-5): |
| Prep has no one on the All-IAC team? |
No shit. STAB has never had a caliber of a coach like Nic Bell and has opened up their dorms to bring in kids from around the country. STAB has always had boarding, but it was primarily aimed at full-pay Asian families from China or Korea. If you are sleep under a rock, go look at the common denominator with teams ranked in IL National Top 25 right now. 50% of the teams ranked offer boarding, some even allow post-graduates (New England West) https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/q-collar-boys-high-school-national-top-25-cream-rises-to-the-top/247e89cd-f9c2-432d-8bc5-1aebaef942f7 |
Apparently no one knows. Schools have announced publicly who made it from their team. Having 4 FOGO’s (3 on 1st team ) is absurd. There are offensive players with very unimpressive season stats who were no shows in their playoff games that made it. Anyone who watched most of the league games this year will find many of the selections odd. |
Bell is a better recruiter than coach, and he’ll basically admit that. Even with the small size of the school and the town, there’s been an abundance of local talent that he inherited. He’s managed to supplement that by recruiting some boarders (mostly 3* types), but I don’t think STAB has enough to offer for him to maintain a full team of quality boarders on a regular basis, and the local talent will start running dry soon. |
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The VISAA Division I State Championship between St. Paul VI (PVI) and St. Anne’s-Belfield (STAB) is a heavy-weight rematch. When they met early in the regular season on March 11, PVI edged out a thrilling 13−12 victory.
Both teams enter the championship on absolute tears: PVI is fresh off a grueling WCAC championship win and consecutive dominant state tournament performances (14−6 over Collegiate and 12−6 over St. Christopher's), while STAB has been crushing opponents, including an 18−7 beatdown of Blue Ridge in the semifinals. Here are the keys to the game and what to watch for this championship showdown. Keys to the Game 1. Midfield Transition and Pace In their first matchup, 25 goals were scored in a track meet. STAB loves to play fast and build massive early leads (they scored 5 first-quarter goals against PVI in March). PVI, however, excels at methodical comebacks and wearing teams down late in the game. If STAB can dictate a chaotic, fast-break tempo, it favors them. If PVI forces settled 6-on-6 sets, the advantage tilts toward the Panthers. 2. The Faceoff X and Possession Control With two high-octane offenses, the battle at the faceoff dot is paramount. Extra possessions will heavily decide this game. PVI’s ability to clean up ground balls and prevent STAB from going on multi-goal runs off the whistle will determine if they can repeat their regular-season victory. 3. Weathering the Emotional Fatigue PVI is playing their fourth high-stakes game in less than a week, having just fought through the emotional peak of winning the WCAC tournament on May 11 before diving straight into the state bracket. STAB enters the game hungry for revenge and slightly more rested. PVI must dig deep and bring championship energy right from the opening whistle to prevent STAB from jumping out to an early cushion. Who to Watch St. Paul VI Panthers The Offensive Catalysts: PVI's attack is incredibly balanced, often spearheaded by elite playmakers who thrive under pressure. Look for their primary dodgers to test STAB's close defense behind the cage and hunt for skip passes to cutting midfielders. The Defensive Core: PVI’s defensive unit has tightened up significantly since March, holding state tournament opponents to just 6 goals per game. Their ability to slide effectively and protect the crease against STAB’s dynamic attackers will be the focal point of their game plan. St. Anne's-Belfield Saints The Saints' Multi-Headed Attack: STAB has been averaging nearly 18 goals a game over their last few contests. Keep your eyes on their leading attackmen—if they can establish their outside shooting early, it will pull PVI’s defense out and open up the middle of the field. The Verdict: Expect a chess match wrapped in a physical battle. STAB has been waiting for this rematch all season, but PVI has proven they know exactly how to win close, high-pressure games in May. |
Bullis (5 Sr, 1 Jr) Landon (3 Sr, 3 Jr) STA (1 Sr, 3 Jr) |
| There' s going to be at least 3 ssdm's on the all IAC team. Since when do the players who aren't good enough to shoot, pass or carry get so much shine. Any one of the halfway decent middies in the conference are better than almost every single d mid. |
| No love for the lefty from SSSAS? I thought he was one of the better players in the league despite the lack of talent around him. |
This might be the worst take on a thread full of bad takes. Congratulations, I guess? SSDMs are critical positions because they are so regularly challenged by opposing offenses. Many "halfway decent middies" aren't nearly athletic enough to be reliable, much less all-league caliber, SSDMs. In most games, SSDMs face more opposing dodgers than close defensemen or LSMs. Every coach of the IAC and WCAC teams would take an all-league caliber athlete at SSDM above several "halfway decent middies" because of how important the position is, and they might well take a premier SSDM over a premier #1 or #2 close defensemen. The #1 draft pick in the PLL this year was a SSDM - maybe the Archers should have taken a halfway decent O midi instead? |
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2026 WCAC Boys' Lacrosse All-Conference selections (most recent, posted May 12, 2026).
Player of the YearGavin Gilmore (PVI / Paul VI) Coach of the YearJeff Schwartz (PVI) First TeamAttack: Heath Holland (PVI), Brendan James (The Heights), JM Costa (Gonzaga) Midfield: Drew Demarinis (Good Counsel), Dylan Cruz (Good Counsel), Gavin Gilmore (PVI) Defense: Declan Devine (Good Counsel), Josh Shearer (PVI), Jayden James (St. John's College) FOGO: Dylan Kivett (DeMatha), Coby Cantor (St. John's College), Nate Moschella (Gonzaga) Dmid: Adam Corkhill (PVI) LSM: Joe Wheatley Goalie: Will Kovacs (PVI) Second TeamAttack: Will Mackey (Good Counsel), Eddie Chi (St. John's College), Colton Sirios (PVI) Midfield: Wyatt Douglas (St. John's College), Brendan DuFour (St. John's College), Chase Spahr (Good Counsel), KKaleb Smith (St. Mary's Ryken), Cam Weber (Gonzaga) Defense: Cooper Sinclair (Good Counsel), Mac Cronin (St. John's College), Michael Matan (Gonzaga) FOGO: Braylin Muldrew (Bishop McNamara) Dmid: Ellis Strongon (St. John's College) LSM: Chris Strycharz Goalie: Nick Montgomery (Gonzaga) |
LOL. The GP kid literally was told he wasn't going to see the field unless he switched to dmid. I'll take 55, 9, 22 and 99 over any d mid in the league on every single shift. BTW - the PLL doesn't take who is best, they take players who they think will play a few years because their outside earning potential won't have them quit the league right away. |