Chaminade defeats St. Anthony's 12-11 in OT

Alex Fox - Chaminade

Game Photos

(5/22/08 @ Hofstra) Alex Fox scored the winning OT goal as Chaminade defeated St. Anthony's 12-11 to capture their fourth straight CHSAA championship. Chaminade's Steve Chmil scored with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 11-11.

BY DARREN SANDS -Newsday Staff Writer -11:26 PM EDT, May 22, 2008

Alex Fox, Chaminade's left-handed midfielder, went to his right, leaped and bounced a shot for the ages.

Fox's sudden death overtime goal gave the Flyers a 12-11 victory over St. Anthony's Thursday night at Hofstra for Chaminade's fourth consecutive CHSAA boys lacrosse title.

The goal not only capped a comeback in the game, it also capped a season full of injury, uncertainty and transition.

St. Anthony's (15-4) won the faceoff in overtime, but Nolan Hickey cleared the ball after making a point-blank save on a shot by All-American Mike Chanenchuk.

St. Anthony's was called for its sixth offside penalty with 2:44 left in overtime, and though the Friars killed the 30-second penalty, Fox got the ball in his possession from the top of the key, where his hard lefty shot has caused opponents fits all spring and did so again Thursday night.

St. Anthony's had exploded for four goals by four different players in the third quarter to build an 8-6 lead. With the score tied at 5, Willie Manny scored with 6:21 remaining in the third. Dante Fantoni made it 7-5 off a feed from Tom Schreiber, who then scored with 3:22 left to put the Friars up by three.

But Matt Johnson scored with 2:32 left in the third quarter to bring the Flyers within 8-6, and John Hannan scored to make it 8-7 with 10:33 left in the fourth.

After goals by Tim Schawlje and Pat Fiorvanti gave St. Anthony's a 10-7 lead, goals by Fox (9:38) and Steve Chmil (7:58) pulled Chaminade to within one, and Anthony Piazza scored to tie the score at 10 at 4:36

St. Anthony's Dante Fantoni scored his third goal with 1:23 left in the fourth for an 11-10 advantage. Then Steve Chmil, the junior attack, tied the score at 11 for Chaminade with 17 seconds left in the game to force overtime.

And so Thursday night, Chaminade answered the call by coach Jack Moran that his team lay claim to its legacy. Hickey, the Navy-bound goalie, was not always the fixture he was this season between the pipes.

Rick Mole, the team's cerebral starting senior defenseman, was a reserve last year.

Billy Coughlin returned after a serious leg injury. Michael Pratt suffered a displaced collarbone fracture and Matt Gibson has never completely got over a hamstring pull.

"We're a team that's overcome a lot of adversity," Hickey said.