College Lacrosse

Brett Manney will always have the courts this summer down the Shore in Ocean City, N.J. But it was hard for the 6-foot-3 Holy Ghost Prep senior to accept the fact that he played his last high school basketball game last night in the PIAA Class AAA state championship game against Moon High School. Manney's hopes of graduating with a state championship evaporated in a 52-50 loss to Moon at the Giant Center. But Manney, a forward, will certainly have a lot of good memories after scoring a game-high 20 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

South Jersey high school graduates are anchoring the midfield for some of the nation's top women's college lacrosse teams. Megan Skahan, a senior midfielder who graduated from Shawnee High, scored nine goals and contributed four assists in the first 10 games for the University of Virginia. The Cavaliers were ranked fourth among NCAA Division I schools in the most recent Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. Moorestown graduate Janice Petrella is a junior midfielder for fifth-ranked Princeton.

Matthew James Davis, 28, of Kennett Square, an account manager with Verizon Communications, a lacrosse player, and an Eagle Scout, died Saturday, March 17, of injuries suffered when he was struck by a car on Baltimore Pike near his home. Mr. Davis was trying to retrieve his dog, Bella, who had run across the road. He had raised the three-year-old American Staffordshire terrier since she was a puppy, his father, Jim, said. He loved animals and, when he was growing up, helped raise many dogs, cats and rabbits, his father said.

They all had a story - a reason why they were involved. When PPL Park hosts the inaugural Fall Brawl for a Cure college lacrosse tournament in October, it will be for more than just pride for the four teams involved. To them, it's another major step in efforts to eradicate cancer. Villanova, Stony Brook, Loyola (Md.) and Siena College will highlight an all-day tournament benefiting the American Cancer Society on Saturday, Oct. 22. Youth games will be played on adjacent fields set up around the stadium starting at 9 a.m., before the pairing of Stony Brook and Loyola at 3 p.m., followed by Siena and Villanova, currently ranked eighth in the nation.

Trevor Walker and Tim Muir - great friends, teammates in three sports, and boys' lacrosse captains at Episcopal Academy - will play college lacrosse within one hour of each other. Walker has decided to accept a partial scholarship from Georgetown University in Washington, while Muir has picked Johns Hopkins University, a perennial national power located in Baltimore. Details of Muir's financial package are still pending. Both athletes have played midfield and attack for the Churchmen, and both were Inter-Academic League first-team selections last season, when Episcopal tied Haverford School for the league title.

A few days after Shawnee sophomore Kyle Borbi made an oral commitment to attend Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, the enormity of the moment hit him. And then he came to an unusual realization. "It was exciting for a few days after I committed, but I realized I haven't played my sophomore season yet," Borbi said. Welcome to the new world of recruiting. Actually, Borbi is downright late in making his decision compared to David Sills, the quarterback from Delaware's Red Lion Christian.

Unionville's Kelly Haggerty and Jenkintown's Kelly Barnes have more in common than their first names - brown hair, brown eyes and a friendship the long distance between their schools cannot erode. Each girl loves lacrosse, a common interest that kindled a friendship between the two 17-year-old seniors who first met when teammates on the PA Express lacrosse club team. "We were roommates at a [club] tournament a few years ago and we just hit it off," said Barnes, who invited Haggerty to a Halloween costume party at her school; the duo dressed as the Doublemint Twins.

It's certainly not rare to see the best South Jersey girls' lacrosse players move on en masse to top-tier college lacrosse programs, and this season is no different. All eight seniors on this year's Inquirer first team are set to play in college. Ten of the 12 first-team selections are Division I recruits. Stephanie Toy, a junior Notre Dame recruit, finished 2011 with 72 goals, 52 assists, and 45 ground balls. She is one of four Moorestown Division I recruits on this year's first team.

Growing up in a household with seven brothers and three sisters turned out to be perfect on-the-job training for Chris Corr, now a budding scorer for the Archbishop Carroll boys' lacrosse team. For any lacrosse attackman, the ability to operate in cramped quarters, namely the crease, is an important attribute. Crowds around the goalmouth aren't a problem for Corr, because, as he joked, "Sometimes it's even crowded in the hallways in our house. " Oddly, Corr has made a slight departure from the others in the hall.

It's certainly not rare to see the best South Jersey girls' lacrosse players move on en masse to top-tier college lacrosse programs, and this season is no different. All eight seniors on this year's Inquirer first team are set to play in college. Ten of the 12 first-team selections are Division I recruits. Stephanie Toy , a junior Notre Dame recruit, finished 2011 with 72 goals, 52 assists, and 45 ground balls. She is one of four Moorestown Division I recruits on this year's first team.

Matthew James Davis, 28, of Kennett Square, an account manager with Verizon Communications, a lacrosse player, and an Eagle Scout, died Saturday, March 17, of injuries suffered when he was struck by a car on Baltimore Pike near his home. Mr. Davis was trying to retrieve his dog, Bella, who had run across the road. He had raised the three-year-old American Staffordshire terrier since she was a puppy, his father, Jim, said. He loved animals and, when he was growing up, helped raise many dogs, cats and rabbits, his father said.

WITH THE START of the men's college lacrosse season just over a week away, the quality of the local programs is as good as it's ever been. Adding to the excitement, Villanova will host the inaugural Big East Tournament, and Drexel will be the host school for two NCAA Tournament quarterfinal games May 20 at PPL Park. "It will be great exposure for Philadelphia-area lacrosse, with top teams coming in here," Villanova coach Mike Corrado said. "I hate to say it as a Long Island guy, but along with New York and Maryland, this area is becoming one of the country's premiere hotbeds of lacrosse.

A few days after Shawnee sophomore Kyle Borbi made an oral commitment to attend Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, the enormity of the moment hit him. And then he came to an unusual realization. "It was exciting for a few days after I committed, but I realized I haven't played my sophomore season yet," Borbi said. Welcome to the new world of recruiting. Actually, Borbi is downright late in making his decision compared to David Sills, the quarterback from Delaware's Red Lion Christian.

A few days after Shawnee sophomore Kyle Borbi made a recent oral commitment to attend Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, the enormity of the moment hit him. And then he came to an unusual realization. "It was exciting for a few days after I committed, but I realized I haven't played my sophomore season yet," Borbi said. Welcome to the new world of recruiting. Actually, Borbi is downright late in making his decision compared to David Sills, the quarterback from Delaware's Red Lion Christian.

It's certainly not rare to see the best South Jersey girls' lacrosse players move on en masse to top-tier college lacrosse programs, and this season is no different. All eight seniors on this year's Inquirer first team are set to play in college. Ten of the 12 first-team selections are Division I recruits. Stephanie Toy , a junior Notre Dame recruit, finished 2011 with 72 goals, 52 assists, and 45 ground balls. She is one of four Moorestown Division I recruits on this year's first team.

It's certainly not rare to see the best South Jersey girls' lacrosse players move on en masse to top-tier college lacrosse programs, and this season is no different. All eight seniors on this year's Inquirer first team are set to play in college. Ten of the 12 first-team selections are Division I recruits. Stephanie Toy, a junior Notre Dame recruit, finished 2011 with 72 goals, 52 assists, and 45 ground balls. She is one of four Moorestown Division I recruits on this year's first team.

They all had a story - a reason why they were involved. When PPL Park hosts the inaugural Fall Brawl for a Cure college lacrosse tournament in October, it will be for more than just pride for the four teams involved. To them, it's another major step in efforts to eradicate cancer. Villanova, Stony Brook, Loyola (Md.) and Siena College will highlight an all-day tournament benefiting the American Cancer Society on Saturday, Oct. 22. Youth games will be played on adjacent fields set up around the stadium starting at 9 a.m., before the pairing of Stony Brook and Loyola at 3 p.m., followed by Siena and Villanova, currently ranked eighth in the nation.

The Fall Brawl for the Cure college men's lacrosse tournament will be held in October at PPL Park. Chester mayor Wendell Butler, Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz and other brass will be on hand at an 11 a.m. news conference today to officially announce the four-team, 1-day tournament, which will feature Villanova, Loyola (Md.), Stony Brook and Siena College competing on Oct. 22. This season, Villanova (11-3) is eighth in the nation in RPI. Stony Brook (9-3) is 12th, Loyola (8-4) is 16th, and Siena (11-4)

The Northwestern Wildcats were the No. 1 women's college lacrosse team in the nation before last night's semifinal game of NCAA Division I championship game against host Penn. There was little doubt left as to the worthiness of that ranking by the time Northwestern finished with the Quakers in a 12-2 rout at Franklin Field. Seeking its third straight national championship, Northwestern (20-1) jumped to an eight-point lead by halftime, making it moot as to whether Penn could pull an upset on its home field.

Unionville's Kelly Haggerty and Jenkintown's Kelly Barnes have more in common than their first names - brown hair, brown eyes and a friendship the long distance between their schools cannot erode. Each girl loves lacrosse, a common interest that kindled a friendship between the two 17-year-old seniors who first met when teammates on the PA Express lacrosse club team. "We were roommates at a [club] tournament a few years ago and we just hit it off," said Barnes, who invited Haggerty to a Halloween costume party at her school; the duo dressed as the Doublemint Twins.