The USA Lacrosse Players of the Week recognize the most outstanding individual performances in high school boys’ lacrosse in each of the five regions — Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest and West — outlined in our high school coverage. The South Region has completed its season.
NORTHEAST
Andrew McAdorey, St. Anthony’s (N.Y.)
McAdorey was “Public Enemy No. 1” on Saturday at Chaminade’s Gold Star Stadium. The top-ranked player in the Class of 2021 by Inside Lacrosse heard boos from the stands every time he touched the ball, but the senior midfielder was the one celebrating a championship win and earning game MVP honors when all was said and done. McAdorey announced his intentions with the opening goal just 17 seconds into the game, jumping into battle and halting the momentum of the Flyers’ Division I faceoff duo of Will Lynch (Notre Dame) and Mac Rodriguez (Yale), sparking a brief fracas in the heated rivalry and really placing his stamp on the title win in the second half. Both of his assists came in the second half and his second goal of the game with 1:02 left in the third quarter gave the Friars their first lead since his 1-0 goal. It was a lead St. Anthony’s would not relinquish.
Also notable: Matt Minicus, Darien (Conn.); Liam Kessler, Fairfield Ludlowe (Conn.); Stephen DeStefani, Syosset (N.Y.); Sean Berrigan, Tappan Zee (N.Y.); Owen Kovacs, Rye (N.Y.); Jeff Lachenmeyer, Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)
— Dylan Butler
MID-ATLANTIC
Richard Checo, St. John’s College High (Md.)
Checo set the tone early in a showdown against Georgetown Prep (Md.) in the GEICO Summer Series semifinals on Sunday. The junior longpole had five caused turnovers and five ground balls in the first half, as St. John’s jumped out to a 6-3 halftime lead. Filling in on faceoffs because of an injury to the team’s normal specialist, Checo won four of them. He finished with nine ground balls and seven caused turnovers as the Cadets won 13-9 to remain unbeaten heading into the championship game Monday.
Also notable: Dakota Eierman, DeMatha (Md.); Peter Flannery, Georgetown Prep (D.C.); Will O’Connell, Summit (N.J.)
— Justin Feil
Nike/US Lacrosse High School Rankings
National Boys' Top 25 | National Girls' Top 25
Northeast Boys' Top 10 | Northeast Girls' Top 10
Mid-Atlantic Boys' Top 10 | Mid-Atlantic Girls' Top 10
South Boys' Top 10 | South Girls' Top 10
Midwest Boys' Top 10 | Midwest Girls' Top 10
West Boys' Top 10 | West Girls' Top 10
MIDWEST
Cam Curry, MICDS (Mo.) and OJ Morris, Dublin Coffman (Ohio)
MICDS couldn’t shake De Smet (Mo.) early on in the state championship game — at least not until Curry stepped up in the second half. It was much different experience than the last one when the Rams mauled De Smet 15-1. After leading by one goal at halftime, Curry exploded, recording three third-quarter goals to put MICDS firmly in the lead. He finished with five goals, accounting for half of the Rams’ total in a 10-6 victory.
Morris, the Shamrocks’ faceoff maestro, did everything he could to give Dublin Coffman a chance in its regional final loss to rival Dublin Jerome, going 32-for-36 at the X. That left him at 432 faceoff wins on the season — a national record, according to LaxRecords.com.
Also notable: Ethan Hall, Carmel (Ind.); Andrew Wynocker, St. Ignatius (Ohio)
— Jonah Rosenblum
WEST
Eric Nielson, Corner Canyon (Utah)
The senior tallied 15 points over the final two games to lead Corner Canyon to the UHSAA/Mountain America Division A title, capping a perfect season. Neilson had six goals, three assists and four ground balls in a 20-13 victory over Park City (Utah) in the final Saturday, a game in which the Chargers trailed 7-6 at halftime. In the semifinals, Neilson had five goals and one assist in a 17-3 win over Olympus (Utah).
Also notable: Jake Likes, Valor Christian (Colo.); Lucas Newton, Corona del Mar (Calif.); Jayden Warlum, Regis Jesuit (Colo.)
— Laurel Pfahler