Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published 5/20/26

For the third straight year, the Falcons lacrosse team had the pleasure of throwing their helmets and rushing the field after winning the GMC final. The Falcons took down South Brunswick 17-6 on Tuesday, May 19th, to clinch the three-peat and cement themselves in history.

Prior to the game, several Falcons received awards for their performances this year. The list is as follows…

• Nick Zaneto ‘27

• Brayden Negvesky ‘29

• Wayde Smith ‘27

• Franco Reinoso

• Matt Comer ‘27

• Zach MacDougall ‘27

• A.J. Shearer ‘26

• Aidan Paris ‘26

Paris and Zaneto were named All-Americans in their phenomenal seasons. Paris will continue his lacrosse career at Pace University. 

The Falcons went down 3-1 early, but after an eight-goal opening quarter, the Falcons ran away with the win. The Falcons led 13-4 at the half. Smith and Comer led the Falcons in goals with four. Negvesky and MacDougall each had three goals. Negvesky had an impressive seven assists in the matchup. Jake Gil ‘29, Dylan Patterson ‘27, and Assuncao ‘28 each had a goal. Assuncao won 24 of his 25 faceoffs, not losing one until the fourth quarter. Goalie Zaneto made three stops in goal. 

“Without them, I wouldn't be who I am right now,” Zaneto said after the win, regarding his defense, giving them credit after the strong performance and tournament. Key members of the defense in front of Zaneto include Paris, Shearer, Reinoso, and Jaxon Diaz ‘28. Watch the full interview with Zaneto here. 

“I feel like our game plan worked. My teammates, I couldn't have scored those four goals without them,” Comer added after the win. Watch the full interview with Comer here. 

The Falcons will now gear up for the state tournament, looking to add another title to the already impressive season. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- May 18th, 2026. 

With the Falcons' 17-1 victory in the GMC tournament semi-finals over Old Bridge, the Falcons have punched their ticket to the GMC finals, looking to win the county for the third consecutive season. The Falcons will take on South Brunswick in the final on Tuesday, May 19th, at 7 pm at North Brunswick High School. 

The boys are adequately prepared for the high-stakes tournament following a regular season playing amongst the state's top competition, including four teams from the most recent NJ.com state top 20 rankings. The Falcons, now with an 11-7 record, have won five of their last six games, averaging eleven goals per game in that stretch while just allowing an average of 6.5 goals.

In the blowout semi-finals win on May 16th on the Brenner Family Field, Wayde Smith ‘27 led the team in goals with four. The junior has 34 goals on the year and has tallied three or more goals in five games this season. Fellow juniors Zach MacDougall ‘27 and Matt Comer ‘27 added three goals apiece in the domination of Old Bridge. 

“I think we learned my freshman year that it is not given to you,” said MacDougall. “We can't take any opponent lightly, so we've got to come out there and dominate,” MacDougall said in an interview prior to the game. Watch the full interview with MacDougall here. 

“We have played a tough schedule the whole year to prepare moments later in the year, like the GMC tournament, and are looking to bring home our 3rd straight,” Comer added. 

Sebastian Assuncao had two goals while winning his faceoffs at an 88% clip. Brayden Negvesky ‘29, Luke Politi ‘28, Kenny Noonan ‘27, Ryan MacDougall ‘28, and Evan Azzinaro all contributed a goal. Nick Zaneto ‘27 faced just five shots in goal and stopped four of them, allowing only one score. The limited number of shots he faced was a strong reflection of the Falcons’ dominant defensive performance.

The Falcons defense is anchored by Aidan Paris ‘26, a Pace University lacrosse commit who surpassed 200 career ground balls this season and is a captain. Paris, alongside fellow senior AJ Shearer ‘26 and Chris Kachurick ‘27, has been stellar all season, posting eight games allowing five or fewer goals. 

Standing as back-to-back GMC champions right now, the Falcons defeated East Brunswick 11-0 in last year's final and two years ago took down Monroe 7-5. 

Top-seeded Falcons will square off against third-seeded South Brunswick in the GMC championship game on May 19 at 7 p.m. at North Brunswick. The Vikings, who hold a 9-7 record, advanced to the final after knocking off No. 2 seed Monroe, 8-5, in the semifinals.

The two teams clashed earlier this season, with the Falcons plowing through South Brunswick 17-2. Zaneto only needed to make one save in the win, where MacDougall led with four goals, followed by Smith and Negvesky, who both scored three. The Vikings have a 2-2 record in the GMC Red Division. They are led by senior Cameron Gray, who has 42 goals on the year. Following him, both standing at 32 goals this season are junior T.J. Mascicki and senior Ian Taylor. Their goalie, senior Jacob Gerold, has racked up over 300 saves on the year. 

After another commanding performance, the Falcons have positioned themselves one win away from a third consecutive county title. All eyes now shift to North Brunswick, where the championship will be decided.

The game will be broadcast live on Saint Joe's Media. Find live updates, highlights, interviews, and more on the Saint Joe's Media Instagram Page.  

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- May 15th, 2026. 

With the regular season coming to an end, the Falcons lacrosse team is gearing up for the GMC tournament, looking to win its third consecutive title. Being the top seed in the tournament rewards the Falcons with a two-round bye. They will begin their tournament run in the semifinal round, taking on Old Bridge, the fourth seed, at home on Saturday, May 16th at 1 pm. The winner between the Falcons and Knights will move on to the final round to take on the winner of Monroe vs South Brunswick on Tuesday, May 19th, at North Brunswick High School. 

With four teams remaining in the tournament, the Falcons have faced all three and have a +37 goal differential in just those three games alone. The Falcons faced Old Bridge in late April, dominating in a 15-4 victory behind five goals from Zach MacDougall ‘27. They also faced both teams on the other side of the bracket, who they would possibly meet in the final round if they move on. Saint Joe’s rolled past the tournaments two seed Monroe, 13-2, led by Matt Comer ‘27 with four goals. They also knocked off the third seed South Brunswick, 17-2, with four goals coming from MacDougall. 

Standing as back-to-back GMC champions right now, the Falcons defeated East Brunswick 11-0 in last year's final and two years ago took down Monroe 7-5. 

The Falcons are coming into the tournament hot, winning four of their last five games. The boys are adequately prepared for the high-stakes tournament following a regular season playing amongst the state's top competition, including four teams from the most recent NJ.com state top 20 rankings. The team currently stands at a 10-7 record and is 4-0 in GMC division clashes. 

The Falcons were on a four-game winning streak prior to the loss to Westfield in their most recent game. During the streak, the Falcons got past East Brunswick, Manalapan, Haddonfield, and Holmdel. 

The Falcons' offense is led in goals by MacDougall, a Quinnipiac University lacrosse commit who hit an impressive milestone of 100 career goals in the team's victory over Haddonfield. MacDougall has 35 goals on the season. 

“I think we learned my freshman year that it is not given to you,” said MacDougall. “We can't take any opponent lightly, so we've got to come out there and dominate,” he added. 

Watch the full interview with MacDougall here. 

Trailing him by just a single goal is Matt Comer ‘27, who is a key contributor and a part of a junior class that has been dominant throughout their entire high school careers, having a huge impact on the Falcons' recent success and back-to-back county titles. 

“We have played a tough schedule the whole year to prepare moments later in the year, like the GMC tournament, and are looking to bring home our 3rd straight,” Comer said. 

The team is averaging nine goals per game. Other key scoring catalysts include Brayden Negvesky ‘29 and Wayde Smith ‘27.

The Falcons defense is anchored by Aidan Paris ‘26, a Pace University lacrosse commit who surpassed 200 career ground balls this season and is a captain. Paris, alongside fellow senior AJ Shearer ‘26 and Chris Kachurick ‘27, has been stellar all season, posting seven games allowing five or fewer goals. 

In net for the Falcons is the team's backbone, Nick Zaneto ‘27, who has just shy of 200 saves on the season, and is playing a huge part in keeping the Falcons in games against tough competition. The junior is among the top goalies in the state. “Going into the tournament, we need to approach each game with the mindset to dominate the other team.  Doesn’t matter who it is.  Always ready to do whatever it takes to win,” Zaneto said. 

Taking faceoffs is star Sebastian Assuncao ‘28, winning his faceoffs at a 66% clip. Assuncao has found the back of the net 13 times this season in a strong sophomore campaign. 

Now it’s win or go home, and the Falcons are ready for the pressure. They enter the tournament focused on one goal: a third consecutive GMC title.

If the Falcons are to advance to the tournament's final round on May 19th, the game will be broadcasted live on the Saint Joe's Media YouTube page. Live updates, highlights, and more can be found on the Saint Joe's Media Instagram page. 

Written by: Eric Kautz '27

Published- April 13th, 2026. 

After starting off the season with two losses, the Falcons lacrosse team is on a three-game winning streak with wins over Mainland, Monroe, and Cranford. 

After the Falcons' tough loss to Ramapo and out-of-state loss to Marple Newton, they travelled to Stockton University to take on Mainland. The Falcons got in the win column with a 12-5 victory, where the offense came alive. Wayde Smith ‘27 exploded for five goals and an assist in a dominating performance. The junior has nine goals on the season. Quinnipiac lacrosse commit Zach Macdougall ‘27 and Matt Comer ‘27 both added hat tricks while Brayden Negvesky ‘29 recorded a goal. In goal for the Falcons, Nick Zaneto ‘27 tallied 12 saves. 

After returning to Plainfield Ave following the team's spring break trip, the Falcons took on their first GMC opponent in Monroe with a dominant 13-2 win. Comer put four goals into the back of the net, continuing his strong season, where he now stands at 12 goals. Smith and Negvesky both added a hat trick of their own. The Falcons' defense was on full display, protecting Zaneto, only allowing him to see seven shots, five of which he saved. 

In the team's most recent game against Cranford, Sebastian Assuncao ‘28 netted a goal late to give the Falcons their winning goal in the 8-7 victory. The sophomore won his faceoffs at a 95% clip in the contest. Comer and Macdougall both tallied two goals alongside goals from Smith, Negvesky, and Dylan Patterson ‘27. Zaneto made seven saves.

Next, the Falcons will take on South Brunswick at home on April 14th, looking to extend their winning streak. 

Written by: Casey Fugere

Published- March 30th, 2026.

Saint Joe's Lacrosse begins its 2026 season as two-time defending GMC champions, undefeated in the county over the last two seasons, and enters the year as serious contenders in the Non-Public bracket.

Head Coach Anthony Calandra left public school powerhouse Chatham to take over a struggling program that went 7-9 in 2021, and hadn’t won a GMC championship in 9 years. He has since won the 2024 GMC Coach of the Year, and has advanced multiple players to play at the Collegiate level, such as Nick Hengerer 25’ (Ursinus College) and Colin Brockman 24’ (Arcadia University). 

The Falcons return a sound defense that only allowed 4.9 goals per game. Junior goalie Nick Zaneto starts in the net for his third season, along with Pace University commit Aidan Paris, and senior LSM AJ Shearer. 

 Paris, a four-year letter winner and shutdown defenseman, looks to grow on a strong last three seasons. “I’m in a position (as a senior leader) that I looked up to (three) years ago, and it makes me want to work even harder for those guys who came before me, and the younger guys on this team.” 

Paris and Shearer look to anchor a defense that needs to replace Walter Scott ‘25 and Enrique Mercado ‘25 due to graduation. There are many guys looking to crack into the stout defensive lineup, including senior Dylan Pierce, a short stick defender, as well as LSMs Jaxon Diaz ‘28 and Harrison Misyan ‘29. Regardless of who is out there, the Falcons' same hard-nose style of defense will be a problem for opposing teams. 

Offensively, the Falcons return all starters except midfielder Nicholas Hengerer ‘25. Zach Macdougall ‘27, a Quinnipiac commit and the team’s points leader heading into the season, says he feels “no difference” heading into this season compared to his last two. 

“The only thing that feels different is I don’t have to stress over the recruiting process,”  said Macdougall. “This year I’ll definitely step up and be more of a leader, especially with as young a team as we have.”

 The Quinnipiac commit will return as one of the best midfielders in the state, along with an incredible supporting cast of Wade Smith ‘27, Dylan Patterson ‘27, and Kenny Noonan ‘27 on the offensive end. With 191 points returning from this strong nucleus, the Falcons' offense should only explode this season. With all of this, many promising underclassmen are still vying for playing time, including Brayden Negvesky ‘29. 

Key returning sophomores include two multi-sport athletes in Sebastian Assuncao and Franco Reinoso. Assuncao, a linebacker on the football team, had the second most faceoff wins among all NJ Freshmen, and was the state leader in Groundballs for 2028s with 137. Franco Reinoso, a Defenseman on the hockey team and Safety on the football team, looks to improve on a stellar freshman season and looks to take over as the team’s clearing expert with Tyler Digraci’s graduation.

 “Replacing Ty will be hard, but I am incredibly grateful to have played beside him and learn what it takes to play box to box at such a high level,” said Reinoso. 

The Falcons look to continue their dominance in the Greater Middlesex Conference. With many top 20 teams scheduled, including Ramapo, Westfield, and CBA, to go along with national powerhouse Marple Newton of Pennsylvania, expect the Falcons to be competitive when state playoffs roll around.  Watch as Calandra and the Falcons look to flip the New Jersey lacrosse world on its head. 

The Falcons are one game in and have fallen to 0-1 after a tough loss to Ramapo, and will look to bounce back against Marple Newton of Pennsylvania on April 2nd.