With a rash of injuries hitting both of their teams, Terry Crowley and Shane Rye have done masterful coaching jobs this year.  St. Thomas just had a quality road win against a talented Vero Beach team and Benjamin has gone to the final minute against the best in the state in tight losses.

Breaking down the Benjamin and St. Thomas personnel, here’s this writer’s view:

Goalies

Anthony Cicio of Benjamin (Manhattan) and Ben Tobin of St. Thomas are both superb.  Cicio may create a little more offense on clears.  Our Florida goalies stand on their heads every game.  Edge:  Benjamin

Face-Off

Attackman Andrew Packer (Maryland) has emerged as Benjamin’s face-off man.  Andrew had good success late in the Lake Highland game against Max Parker (Syracuse) and fared well against St. Andrew’s Alex Newhouse.  St. Thomas has two new leads at the X, Alec Cumella and Joey Guglielmo (and possibly others).  Edge:  Benjamin

Defense

Both are strong, with Jerry O’Connor (Yale) and John Dorsett (Gettysburg) leading Benjamin.  Patrick Monaghan (Ohio Wesleyan) and Anthony Petito are experienced and skilled.  Expect both Cole Hansen and Evan Schimek to contribute.  Edge:  Even

Midfield

St. Thomas has Revin Koss (Johns Hopkins) healthy and dominating.  Alex Tumminello has just committed to Maryland.  Cumella is an offensive threat in addition to his face-off skills.  Benjamin responds with Ryan Silvester, Colin O’Hare, McKenna Johnston and younger guns like Bobby O’Leary and 8th grader Will Nicklaus.  Edge:  St. Thomas

Attack

St. Thomas is a work in progress (but a pretty successful one) after losing JP Crowley (Towson) to injury and others to graduation.  JP’s younger brothers Kevin, Sam Khalil, and Jimmy Harrington will keep Benjamin’s defense busy.  Benjamin is led by the aforementioned Packer, Patrick Clancy, and Jeremy Stauffer.  Edge:  Even

Intangibles

It’s going to be a beautiful night for lacrosse.  These teams are evenly matched.