The Mount Rushmore of St. Anthony’s lacrosse players has a new name.

Andrew McAdorey joins the likes of Tom Schreiber and Brennan O’Neill. And while Friars coach Keith Wieczorek debates who else is among that elite company, there’s no question of McAdorey’s place among St. Anthony’s greatest players.

He’s also among the nation’s best in 2021. McAdorey is the USA Lacrosse Northeast and National Player of the Year after propelling the Friars to a No. 1 national ranking with an 11-1 finish that included splitting games with Chaminade (N.Y.) before winning the rubbermatch in the CHSAA Class AAA championship.

“As an all-around player, Andrew is definitely in the top tier, and you could make arguments he would be in the top two or three,” Wieczorek said. “Andrew is in the dialogue as one of the best to ever come out of our program just for his all-around ability and play.”

The senior midfielder continues a pipeline from St. Anthony’s to Duke that includes O’Neill, the ACC Freshman of the Year, as well as Aidan Danenza and Jake Naso. McAdorey is the top-ranked player in the Class of 2021 by Inside Lacrosse.

But his numbers this season — 21 goals and 27 assists in 12 games— aren’t eye-popping. McAdorey’s impact is felt in other ways.

“Andrew is not a stats-driven kid, which for a superstar is odd,” Wieczorek said.

It’s always been that way. In the third grade, McAdorey and Danenza joined a loaded Team 91 Crush team that already featured O’Neill, Joey Spallina, Xavier Arline and Jack Schirtzer.

And while McAdorey garnered national attention on the travel circuit and was a starter for St. Anthony’s as a freshman, it was in the shadow of those other budding stars. Not that McAdorey cared.

“I’ve always been one of those guys who wants to do everything I can for the team in order to be successful,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s just the team success and getting that win at the end. Being around such great guys who are so talented, I’ve been able to take a lot from every single one of those guys.”

That was evident this year when St. Anthony’s opponents centered their defensive schemes on stopping McAdorey.

“He was fine with being a facilitator, even as a senior in those three big games [against Chaminade], and Yorktown (N.Y.) tried to junk it up with him a ton, but he was able to see what the team was doing and what the team needs and he’s not worried about getting his points,” Weiczorek said.

McAdorey did whatever his team needed.

With the Friars’ only true FOGO, Air Force commit Jordan Naso, banged up late in the season, McAdorey stepped up in some of the Friars’ biggest games to share some of the faceoff duties. He was solid at the X at a young age, with Team 91 Crush coach Joe Spallina telling McAdorey to model his game “like a Swiss Army knife” at the time.

And with that in mind, McAdorey took away some of the early momentum Chaminade’s dynamic duo of Will Lynch and Mac Rodriguez gained in the CHSAA Class AAA title game by battling them on faceoffs.

McAdorey opened the scoring 17 seconds into the title tilt. Both of his assists came in the second half. His second goal of the game with 1:02 left in the third quarter gave the Friars their first lead since his 1-0 tally. It was a lead St. Anthony’s would not relinquish.

“I figured, ‘Why not give it a try at the X and scrap it up and see if we can get some wins?’” said McAdorey, who was named the championship game’s MVP. “It worked out in our favor a bit. I was trying to put the team before everything and get that win at the end.”

Wieczorek said McAdorey’s lacrosse IQ is almost unmatched among players he’s coached, but McAdorey’s motor, which reminds of another former great in Peter Trombino, also sets him apart.

“Andrew’s motor never goes off,” Wieczorek said. “In practice, [he’s at] 100 miles per hour every day of the week. You’d have to tap him out to ask him not to go hard that day because he only knows one motion, one speed.”

It’s that entire skillset that Wieczorek believes will suit McAdorey well at Duke.

“I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t an impact kid right away, and he’ll have his chance there because, similar to Brennan, you can’t really build your defenses around stopping one or two kids,” he said. “You have to respect the ball and especially on the team he has, there’s a lot of weapons, and I think he’s going to benefit off that.”

McAdorey is a student of the game and understands the landscape, which is why he’s humbled to be named the Northeast and National Player of the Year.

“It’s such an honor,” McAdorey said. “There’s so much talent, this is kind of the lacrosse hotbed. There’s so many great players in the Northeast, and to get this award really means a lot.”

But McAdorey is more excited to see St. Anthony’s finish the season atop the Nike / USA Lacrosse National Top 25.

“That is huge,” he said. “That’s the main goal.”

A team guy through and through.

Nike/USA Lacrosse High School Rankings

National Boys' Top 25 | National Girls' Top 25
Northeast Boys' Top 10 | Northeast Girls' Top 10
Mid-Atlantic Boys' Top 10 | Mid-Atlantic Girls' Top 10
South Boys' Top 10 | South Girls' Top 10
Midwest Boys' Top 10 | Midwest Girls' Top 10
West Boys' Top 10 | West Girls' Top 10

presented by

FINAL NIKE / USA LACROSSE
NORTHEAST BOYS’ TOP 10

1. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), 11-1

The Friars avenged their lone loss of the season to defeat rival Chaminade (N.Y.) 12-11 in the CHSAA Class AAA championship game. Duke-bound senior midfielder Andrew McAdorey had 21 goals and 27 assists on the season and earned MVP honors in the title game. Junior Michael Leo, a Syracuse commit, had 40 goals and 10 assists, and sophomore Owen Duffy chipped in 25 goals and 24 assists for a Friars team that has captured consecutive CHSAA titles.

2. Mount Sinai (N.Y.), 16-1

Joey Spallina scored six goals, including the game-winner in the closing seconds, to guide Mount Sinai to a thrilling 14-13 victory over Manhasset in the Long Island Class C championship game. The Syracuse-bound junior finished with 45 goals and 77 assists for a Long Island-leading 122 points. Junior long-stick midfielder Dylan Sageder, also a Syracuse commit, was a beast defensively, and freshman Lucas LaForge added 48 goals and seven assists to help the Mustangs win their first Long Island title.

3. Manhasset (N.Y.), 15-1

The Indians made it back-to-back county titles before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Mount Sinai in the Long Island championship game. Michigan-bound senior Aidan Mulholland led the way with 57 goals and 20 assists, while Colgate-bound senior Rory Connor had 59 goals and 22 assists. Juniors Joey Terenzi (Virginia) and Matthew Perfetto (Cornell) also were key contributors. Terenzi had 26 goals and 20 assists, and Perfetto tallied 21 goals and 22 assists.

4. Chaminade (N.Y.), 9-2

The Flyers defeated St. Anthony’s in overtime during the regular season, but the Friars exacted revenge at Gold Star Stadium in the CHSAA Class AAA final. Notre Dame commit Will Lynch showcased his versatility as part of a two-way faceoff monster with Yale-bound Mac Rodriguez and had 19 goals and seven assists. Alex Zepf, a senior goalie also bound for Notre Dame, made 81 saves, and Charles Balsamo, a Duke commit, added 25 goals and 16 assists.

5. Brunswick (Conn.), 14-3

There was no championship to win, but the Bruins count an overtime win over Darien (Conn.) and a win over Haverford School (Pa.) on ESPNU as the biggest highlights of a solid season. Princeton-bound senior Coulter Mackesy had a massive season, as did defender Colin Mulshine, another Princeton commit. While seven Division I players graduate, eight rising seniors are already committed, including Duke-bound defender Charlie Johnson, and Tomas Delgado is one of the top rising juniors in the country.

6. Garden City (N.Y.), 13-3

Garden City is lacrosse royalty again, winning a 17th Long Island championship by defeating Comsewogue 5-1 in the Class B final. Junior Jack Cascadden, a Cornell commit, was one of Long Island’s best FOGOs and chipped in 12 goals and an assist, while Skidmore-bound senior Ryan Connolly had 39 goals and 12 assists. Junior Brendan Staub, another Cornell commit, was solid defensively for the Trojans, who ended the season on a 10-game winning streak.

7. Northport (N.Y.), 15-3

After being crowned kings of Suffolk County by beating Ward Melville in the county final, Northport added its first Long Island Class A championship since 2002 when the Tigers defeated Syosset 11-10. Fairfield-bound junior Mike Meyer finished with 40 goals and 21 assists, junior Tyler Kuprianchik, a Mount St. Mary’s commit, was terrific at the faceoff X and had three goals and one assist, and senior goalie Andrew Tittmann made 128 saves.

8. Ridgefield (Conn.), 16-7

Ridgefield defeated Fairfield Prep to win the CIAC Class L championship, the Tigers’ fourth state title. Virginia-bound junior attackman Ryan Colsey had four goals in the title game, and Kai Prohaszka, a junior long-stick middie committed to North Carolina, was a key cog on the defense and faceoff.

9. Darien (Conn.), 19-2

Darien’s quest to repeat as CIAC Class L champion came to a stunning end when the Blue Wave were upset by Fairfield Prep 14-10 in the quarterfinals. Brown-bound senior goalie Andy Demopoulos made 198 saves and had a 64.7 percent save rate, while Army-bound defenseman Sam Erickson had eight assists and 38 caused turnovers. Offensively, Loyola-bound junior Matt Minicus led the way with 52 goals and 56 assists, and senior midfielder Jamison Moore, a Princeton commit, added 23 goals and 24 assists in 16 games.

10. Webster Thomas (N.Y.), 15-1

Webster Thomas held off a late Canandaigua rally to win 6-5 and capture the Section V Class B title. Junior attackman David Petz led the offense with 52 points on 30 goals and 22 assists, Geneseo commit Joe Russo added 31 goals and 15 assists and junior Evan Pashalidis had 28 goals and 18 assists. Cornell-bound goalie Ethan Ruller made 124 saves, had a 62.9 save percentage and scored a goal.