It’s one of the top teams in the country the Chaminade Flyers coming in at No. 2 in our top 20 rankings. Like they do each year they will be fighting for the Catholic AAA Championship against long standing rival St. Anthony’s. The Flyers are coached by long time Head Coach Pete Moran who has been the head man of this program for 43 years, winning a total of 21 championships. Last year it took an overtime defeat in the championship game at the hands of the Friars, meaning that this season Chaminade will be looking to turn the tables. As they do each year they will be playing a national schedule and have plenty of senior leadership in their returning players.
This Chaminade offense is going to cause problems for their oppositions with the group they have returning between their attack and midfield. The attack features the returns of Gavin Creo (Richmond), Ryan Landolphi (Navy), and Brendan Reilly (Amherst). Last season Creo was their second leading goal scorer, finding the back of the net 36 times and he had a team high 26 assists totaling 62 points. He’s extremely savvy and shifty and has a knack for being able to score at difficult angles. Between Reilly and Landolphi the two combined for 27 points last season.
The Flyers midfield is filled with stud players across the board with the returns of Pat Flaherty (Navy), Jude Lynch (Holy Cross), Gary Correa (Stony Brook), Bradley Wyckoff (Monmouth), Aidan Lough (Navy), Ronan Loughman (Army), Logan Braddish, and Brian Knapp (Army). A tremendously deep midfield will see key contributions from each individual throughout the course of the season. Last year Correa and Lough combined for 45 points to lead the pack. The Flyers offense as a team could not be contained as they averaged 14.2 goals per game in 2022.
At the face-off X, between sophomore Quinn Ball and junior Alex Choi, this is a two-headed monster that serves as perhaps the best duo at this position on all of Long Island. Ball was a rarity last year, as he was a member of Chaminade’s 2022 team as only a freshman, and did more than hold his own against top tier upperclassmen on a national level. Choi is on the heels of a dominant winter, giving a preview of what is likely in store for his 2023 campaign.
On the defensive side of the ball they welcome back an abundance of high level defensemen that will live up to the Flyer’s reputation of having a hard-nosed physical defense. Their long poles Ben Caccavo (Boston U) Ben Fox (North Carolina) George Urich (Lafayette), and Jack Regan makeup an elite level defense that stacks up with the best in the country. One key player they will be without this season is Owen Murphy (LeHigh) due to injury, which will leave a void to be filled after the way he played in some of Chaminade’s biggest games last year. The last line of defense will be the combination of PJ Verdi the senior heading for Hopkins, and senior Matt McCarthy.
The Flyers have a number of sophomores and juniors across multiple positions who weren’t part of last season’s varsity team but could be in the fold this season to see some minutes. At attack sophomore Connor Kuttin is one that has the potential to see the field. At the midfield some of their soon-to-be household names are Hunter Kimball, Jack Connolly, John Tully, Peter DeBusschere, and Michael Cuddeback. Defensively some of their additions include Brendan O’Brien, Matt Marchetta, Paul Duran, Jack Tennant, and Sal Caputo in the net.
They will certainly need production from each player that steps on the field this season with loss of 2022 graduates Charles Balsamo, Justin McMahon, Matt Byrnes, Christian Alacqua, Jack Flaherty, Griffin Cole, and Colm Flynn.
To open the regular season it’s a rematch of last year’s epic championship game as the Flyers host St. Anthony’s on March 23rd. Throughout the season it is filled with top tier competition both on Long Island and nationally. Some of their matchups against Long Island opponents feature Ward Melville (3/25), Massapequa (3/29), St. Anthony’s (5/10), and Manhasset (5/13).
