Replacing a highly decorated defenseman, Marco Napolitano knew he had some big shoes to fill to ensure the Torrey Pines (Calif.) High School boys’ lacrosse team wouldn’t see a drop-off this season.

The senior didn’t disappoint.

With Napolitano often holding the opponents’ top attackman in check, the Falcons rolled to a 20-2 finish, capped by a second straight CIF San Diego Open Division state title and the No. 16 spot in the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 25.

And just like predecessor Evan Egan, Napolitano is the Warrior/US Lacrosse West Boys’ Player of the Year. Egan earned the honor last year while helping the Falcons to a No. 15 ranking and 19-1 record.

“I played with Evan for three years — he’s my mentor, and I definitely looked up to him,” Napolitano said. “I don’t know if he knows that, but I took inspiration from what he did last year and years before and tried to apply it this year. That added a little motivation to follow in his amazing footsteps.”

Napolitano said it was an adjustment not having Egan there this year to handle the top attackmen. As a junior, Napolitano was able to play with a little more freedom to throw checks he couldn’t have risked against the guys Egan was defending. But this season, he took on those more difficult assignments and played up to the challenge.

Torrey Pines coach Jono Zissi said he had confidence in Napolitano, who he knew was already a strong defender, but “you’re never sure how that transition from being the No. 2 to being the No. 1 is going to work out.” Napolitano proved just as successful.

“We’re this overachieving team from California, and our defenders stopping the best player has been such a catalyst to our success,” Zissi said. “Last year, it was Evan. This year, Marco was able to take away the best players. When you cut the head off the snake, it really cripples them and made everyone else’s job easier. He was the best player on our team. We won 13 of 15 in-state games with at least a 12-goal lead. The team dominated, and he was the leader.”

The 6-foot-4 captain isn’t a “jump-off-the-page athlete” in terms of speed or physicality, but Zissi said he’s a very technically skilled player who is able to anticipate with footwork and read the opponent with his “off-the-chart smarts.”

Napolitano, who is headed to Notre Dame this fall, finished with 51 ground balls and 42 caused turnovers.

“He’s the whole package,” Zissi said. “There’s a reason he’s going to Notre Dame.”

Napolitano said his goal this season was to be more of a vocal leader, because he knew that was something the team needed. He was a consistent player throughout the season, but his performance in the San Diego Open Division championship iced the cake. He held three-time All-American J.J. Sillstrop without a goal and allowed him just one assist, as the Falcons rattled off seven unanswered goals to close out a 12-4 win over La Costa Canyon.

The two teams had played a much tighter game in April, but Napolitano played a key role in helping the offense build a cushion by keeping LCC off the board.

“The coaches gave the defense an awesome game plan, and we just went out there and executed it,” Napolitano said. “It’s kind of a blur. From the first whistle, I don’t remember what happened after that, but I remember the feeling when we won. It was an awesome team win.”

 
WARRIOR/US LACROSSE
WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MARCO NAPOLITANO

School: Torrey Pines (Calif.)
Year: Senior
Position: Defenseman
Stats: 51 ground balls, 42 caused turnovers
Coach Jono Zissi: “Our strength of schedule was extremely difficult, and he was the catalyst for our success. For him to do that well with our schedule and be able to take away the best players against that kind of competition speaks volumes to how good of a player he was for us.”

Torrey Pines played a tough schedule that included teams from seven states, including wins over Deerfield Academy (Mass.), Regis Jesuit (Colo.) and Texas powers Dallas Jesuit and Highland Park. The Falcons suffered early losses to St. Ignatius (Calif.) and IMG National (Fla.) by a combined five goals, but they finished on a 15-game win streak. The defense allowed just 5.5 goals per game, and only three teams managed 10 goals or more against them.

Napolitano said the out-of-state competition helped prepare the Falcons for their ultimate goal of a section state title.

“We had a stretch in April where we played three top-20 teams in a five-day stretch, so it was definitely tough,” Napolitano said. “I was a little nervous, but those games don’t really matter. Our goal was to win the San Diego section championship, because there’s nothing higher to win. We looked as those games as an opportunity to get better. We won most of them and definitely got better each game, and that was the best way to approach those games. It was a rewarding season.”