The reigning state champions are back in action this Friday vs. Cannon School in Concord, NC, at 7 pm. According to HighschoolOT’s preseason rankings, the Gators are the 5th best team in NC, while the Cougars come in at 9th. The Gators will have a tough task ahead of them on opening day. In last year’s matchup, Cannon won the game 14-11. They were one of the two teams that beat the eventual state champions last year.
Green Level is losing a lot of production from last year’s team. Starting with the seniors, the Gators are losing Jackson Spells (Duke Commit), Josh Smith (All-Time NC Faceoff Leader), Austin Hyrn (shot the game-winner vs. Lake Norman), Ethan Stein (goalie), Gus Maggio (responsible for 87 points), Brian Bracciante (1st team All-SWAC) and Cian LaBiche. They also lost Maryland Commit Jacob Fedich to an ACL tear in August. He will miss his entire junior year.
The Gators return 2 SWAC All-Conference performers from the previous year. Sr. Harrison Murray was the highest scorer last year, responsible for 92 points and 2.6 goals per game. Murray committed to Bentley University to continue his college lacrosse career.
I asked Harrison how they would adjust to losing their seniors. He said, “Obviously, losing a large part of our team is going to be hard for us to overcome, but I think it presents a good challenge for us, and having underclassmen and other kids who might’ve not had a big role last year to step up.”
They also return Sr. Kelan Moore, who averaged 2.3 goals per game and is committed to Towson University for the next 4 years. Coach Kyle Sopko is returning after winning USAL 4A East Coach of the Year and is looking to continue to build this program into a powerhouse.
The rest of their production is going to come from returning seniors such as Reid Castellanos, AJ Ahart, and new goalie Austin Conway. They also have 2 super talented sophomores in Sam Dickson and Connor Murray, who were key pieces as freshmen on a state championship team.
Friday will set the tone for the season and show what teams the Gators can compete with in this young season. Will they continue their success, or will they have a down year after reaching the mountain top the year prior? Cannon is the reigning champion of the NCISAA. I asked Sr. Austin Conway about the opportunity to play a great team in the first game.
Conway said, “It’s going to be a great matchup. Cannon is a good team, but so are we. We are going to embrace the challenge and show we can still compete with the best.”
