DANVERS — For the St. John’s Prep lacrosse team, facing their rivals from BC High in the postseason is becoming as inevitable as death and taxes.
With their afterburners on full throttle from the get-go Saturday afternoon, the second-seeded Eagles smoked visiting Winchester, 15-2, in the Division 1 quarterfinals at Glatz Field. That ensured that the five-time defending state champions will be facing their fellow Eagles for the sixth straight year in the playoffs, this time Tuesday in the state semifinals at Burlington High (time TBA).
St. John’s Prep defeated BC High in the state title game in 2021, 2022, 2023 and last year, winning 8-7 in overtime in the rain at Mass. Maritime. The Prep Eagles also prevailed when the two met in a 2024 state semifinal, 6-4.
In their two Catholic Conference games against each other during the regular season, BC High won on the road in April, 5-4, ending the Prep’s 52-game winning streak against Massachusetts foes. But the parochial school from Danvers got their revenge on their opponents from Dorchester with a 9-3 triumph in early May.
“When you play each other so many times,” head coach John Pynchon said, turning his attention to No. 6 seed BC High, “there aren’t many secrets.”
Saturday was the last home game in the career of the Eagles’ 16 seniors (plus their 6 student managers), but any worries about winning their finale at Glatz were put to rest early.
Wearing their alternative grey jerseys, St. John’s Prep led 6-0 just nine minutes in and ultimately scored nine straight before Winchester (18-3) tallied late in the second quarter. Winning of 15-of-19 faceoffs played a huge part in that, with future Providence Friar Will Crawford successful on 10 of his 12 attempts.
Defensively, stalwarts like juniors Sebastian Froeb and the hulking Kevin Doherty simply wouldn’t let the seventh seeded Red and Black get into any kind of offensive rhythm. When shots did find their way on target, senior goalies Max Putney (5 saves on 6 shots) and Mattheus Du Plessis (6 saves on 7 shots) gobbled them up in their respective halves of play.
“Offensively we were clicking really fast and they couldn’t keep up with us,” the Vassar-bound Du Plessis said. “Defensively we’ve been trying to advocate for really communicating with each other, and it worked really well in this one.”
Junior attack Beckett Lee, one of four Eagles who scored twice Saturday — and, like Du Plessis, is one of seven players who live in Winchester — echoed those sentiments.
“A lot of our guys went to bed early and got here early. We were prepared and came out fast and firing,” said Lee, second on the team in scoring with 32 goals and 16 assists.
The offensive production was, per usual, spread out, with 11 different players finding the back of the net. Lee and senior attack Thias Tolo both had two goals and an assist, with freshman Mac Crawford and the team’s leading scorer, Ryan McCarthy (48 goals) adding two snipes apiece. Josh Barton, Sam Kelly and Thomas Randall all contributed a goal and one assist, and solo scores came out of the sticks of Bo Minogue, Henry Bertrand, Brandon Ward and Will Quigley.
St. John’s Prep has outscored their three playoff foes by a combined 44-10. It has allowed just four goals over the last two contests.
BC High will now present St. John’s Prep its toughest test of the season. Pynchon acknowledged they not only have some excellent players such as USA Lax All-Americans T.J. Emsing in net and faceoff specialist/midfielder Jackson Ketchem, but recently got two key players back from injury — including Murphy Belvin, who scored twice in his team’s 8-7 quarterfinal victory over Andover on Friday night.
“They’re always a tough opponent that comes out to play,” said Lee. “We’ve got to do the little things right in practice and trust in our game plan. If they come out with a big punch in the face, we’ve got to keep our cool and know the work we put in will pay off.”
“It’s that constant communication that’s key,” added Du Plessis. “That really did it for us the second time we played them this season, especially in the second half. And there’s so much happening on a lacrosse field that if you can stick to the fundamentals, that gives you such an advantage.”