COMING THROUGH: Hun School boys’ lacrosse player Finbar Malloy, left, eludes a foe in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, post-graduate midfielder/attacker Malloy tallied three goals and one assist, including the game-winning goal, to help Hun edge Notre Dame High 8-7. The Raiders, who defeated the Pennington School 14-6 last Monday to improve to 4-5, play at the Blair Academy on April 22 before hosting Gill St. Bernard’s on April 25. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
With the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team knotted in a 7-7 tie with Notre Dame High in the fourth quarter last Saturday, Finbar Malloy got the ball on his stick and wasn’t going to be denied.
“I had the green light and I just noticed that my matchup who had been covering me all game got switched off of me on a pick,” said Hun post-graduate midfielder/attacker Malloy. “So I just reset and made the most of that opportunity. I let it rip. Coach [Joe Donnelly] said I was shooting low on the kid and he was starting to read it so I let it fly high.”
Malloy’s shot flew into the back of the net and proved to be decisive as Hun held on for an 8-7 victory.
The local battle featured some extra intensity. “The guys are really close location-wise, there is a little bit of a rivalry going,” said Malloy, who transferred to Hun from Fairfield Prep (Conn.). “We don’t play each other often but when we do, they know all of each other from the club circuit. People were saying it is a little personal, there was a little more oomph when you are playing them.”
Malloy set up the first goal of the day as he found Teddy Klepacki in the crease area.
“Coach preaches on ball movement and ball speed,” said Malloy.
“Every defense can play good for one dodge but when you keep moving it around and you keep spinning the ball, the defense’s head starts spinning and we start scoring goals.”
It hasn’t taken long for Malloy to develop a connection with Klepacki.
“We have been prepping it all offseason, the guy has a hammer of a shot,” added Malloy.
With Hun clinging to a 3-2 lead heading into the second half, the Raiders got clicking in the second half.
“Coach always talks about playing a complete game — offense, defense and the interior third on the faceoff,” said Malloy. “In different parts of the game towards the end, we all jelled together and made it happen.”
Good things have happened for Malloy since he came to Hun last fall.
“I was looking for a school where I could play football and lacrosse, because that is what I am going to do in college,” said Malloy, a West Point commit. “There is nothing like Hun. It is just a really great atmosphere here. I have had a great first year and excited to keep going.”
Malloy quickly found a home with both the football and lacrosse teams.
“Football season went great,” said Malloy, who starred at wide receiver for the Raiders, making 32 receptions for 604 yards and five touchdowns. “Then training with these guys all winter was great.”
That training has helped Malloy diversify his lax game this spring. “It is just being able to play both ways, offense and defense and continuing to become a complete player,” said Malloy. “We always preach on becoming a full player on offense, defense, and the middle third. It has been great continuing to develop here.”
Looking ahead to attending West Point, Malloy is fired up to develop on and off the field there.
“Just the honor it is to serve this great country and the values they stand for at West Point,” said Malloy. “It was a school where I could play football and lacrosse. I played wide receiver here but at Army they run a little bit of a different offense. I will be playing whatever they need from me there.”
Hun head coach Donnelly liked the way his squad played from the start against Notre Dame.
“It is just intensity and bringing it the right way, we have been off and on with our starts to the game,” said Donnelly. “This was one where there was a lot of familiarity even though we haven’t necessarily played them in a game. There is a lot of club connection between a lot of these guys so our guys were super excited to come out and play this game. Notre Dame came out excited and ready, you couldn’t ask for a better game.”
As the first half turned into a defensive struggle, Donnelly wasn’t surprised.
“We typically play the college rules so the shot clock speeds everything up,” said Donnelly. “So when we play the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) rules everything slows down a little bit, so that definitely contributes to it. Notre Dame has got a lot of firepower on the offensive end and that was something that we were prepping for.”
Junior goalie Will Hayes helped stifle the Irish. “Will played absolutely fantastic,” said Donnelly of Hayes, who ended up with eight saves on the day. “Not only just today, every game through and through. He is such a backbone for our team. I don’t think we would be in the places we are without having a guy like him in the net.”
Donnelly liked the way his team competed to the end as it closed the deal.
“That is where the intensity of it came through,” said Donnelly.
“One of the things that we are priding ourselves on here is that we are trying to play a super, super competitive game. We haven’t done that in a long time, having a win where backs are against the wall playing a really good team. I am very grateful that they guys are bought into everything we have got going on and we are moving in the right direction.”
The addition of Malloy has helped Hun move in the right direction.
“He is just a tremendous, tremendous athlete,” said Donnelly. “A lot of the guys are rallying around him, he is a good leader. He is smart and has an incredible motor. I think that is the biggest thing, it is go, go, go with him. Sometimes in practice, I tell Finbar, take a rep off and let’s get some other guys reps and he is coach I want to go in.”
Senior attacker Klepacki, who tallied two goals and an assist in the win, and junior midfielder Anthony Peterson, who chipped in two goals, both came up big.
“Teddy has been great,” said Donnelly. “He is adding a little bit of a dodging to his game. His normal strength is his off-ball movement. Now getting in the mixes with the dodges a little bit more and having some confidence, he is getting himself more open off ball because of what he is doing with the ball. Peterson is one of the grittiest kids we have on this team. He is a non-stop guy. He loves lacrosse, he loves the weight room. He is tough as nails, nothing really gets to him.”
Along with goalie Hayes, long stick midfielder Ben Klayman spearheaded the defense and also added a goal and an assist.
“Klayman has been great, he really thrives in that middle third of the field,” said Donnelly. “He found a lot of opportunities today to be successful, whether it is picking up ground balls on the offensive end or the defensive end. He definitely had one of his best games this year.”
With Hun going on to defeat the Pennington School 14-6 last Monday to improve to 4-5 and earn its third straight win, Donnelly believes his squad will be tough to beat down the stretch.
“We are starting to find a little bit more success,” said Donnelly, whose team plays at the Blair Academy on April 22 before hosting Gill St. Bernard’s on April 25. “I think we have settled into our identity as a team. We are playing some really good teams throughout the rest of the year where games are going to go either direction. Hopefully a win like this in a tight and competitive game leads to when we are back in those type games, we are on the other side of it now.”
In Malloy’s view, coming through against Notre Dame is a harbinger of good things to come for the Raiders.
“That is why people love coming to Hun because you play the best teams in the country,” said Malloy. “Winning down the stretch in some of these local games Peddie (a 12-8 win on March 15) and Notre Dame is going to be big for us as we keep going down the road.”