2024 Leading Edge in College: March 4 Recap

Follow Leading Edge on Instagram, Twitter , YouTube and Facebook. Did we miss someone? Let us know.

Turns out CJ Kirst is still pretty good.

The 2023 Tewaaraton finalist was back to his old tricks for Cornell. The Leading Edge 2020 and Delbarton alum fired home seven goals and added an assist as the Big Red toppled Ohio State, 15-11.

Kirst, who also chipped in a ground ball and a caused turnover, earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for the third time in his career.

Denver 15, Le Moyne 6

’22 Willem Albert (Episcopal, Va.) buried his first career goal for the newly-minted top team in the country.

Rutgers 13, Hofstra 8

’20 Jack Aimone (Hunterdon Central) snapped home a pair of goals and ’22 Andrew Macheca (Culver, Ind.) added a ground ball for the Scarlet Knights.

Colgate 14, Loyola 11

’21 Jack Turner (Ridge) went OFF for the Raiders, ripping home four goals and setting up another for the Raiders. ’22 defenseman Ryan Bilello (Manasquan) picked up a ground ball.

Notre Dame 14, Maryland 9

’18 defenseman Chris Conlin (Chatham) took the ball away twice and had four ground balls to lead a stingy Irish defense in a top-10 showdown.

Penn 14, Duke 12
North Carolina 13, Penn 9

’22 LSM Ryan McLaughlin (Mountain Lakes) was at the heart of the Quakers’ upset of No. 1 Duke with two takeaways and four ground balls. ’20 Connell Kumar (Seton Hall Prep) scored once and added a ground ball to fuel the Penn offense.

Kumar also tacked on an assist against the Tar Heels, while McLaughlin chipped in a ground ball.

UMass 12, Albany 11

’20 Mason Bregman (Lenape) gave the Minutemen’s offense a boost with two goals, two assists and three ground balls as UMass fended off Albany’s comeback.

Monmouth 12, Wagner 6
Monmouth 13, Mount St. Mary’s 12

’21 Ethan Cronk (Ridgewood) won 13 of 21 faceoffs and snagged four ground balls to pace the Hawks to a win over Wagner. He followed it up with a 13-win, three-ground ball day as Monmouth won in overtime.

’22 Matt Dollive (Wall) had a ground ball against the Seahawks and a goal against the Mount.

Bucknell 12, Holy Cross 9

’22 Jaz Zanelli (Seton Hall Prep) made four saves in split duty to help the Bison topple the Crusaders.

’21 SSDM Cal McPherson (Pingry) had a pair of ground balls and a takeaway for Holy Cross.

Lehigh 11, Dartmouth 6
Villanova 14, Lehigh 8

’20 Aidan Decker (Chatham) doled out an assist and added a ground ball to help the Mountain Hawks soar past Dartmouth. He then tallied once against the Wildcats.

’20 defenseman Reid Colwell (Westfield) had a banner day leading the Villanova defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. ’23 LSM Jake Melchionni (Delbarton) secured his first career turnover and added a ground ball to boot.

Utah 9, Marquette 8

’21 LSM Colby Plotts (Sparta) picked up two ground balls to go with a takeaway to spearhead the Utes’ stingy defense.

’20 Luke Blanc (Seton Hall Prep) hammered home a pair of goals to go with a ground ball for Marquette.

Harvard 23, Merrimack 8
Quinnipiac 15, Merrimack 12
Harvard 15, Vermont 12

’22 Mikey Kloepfer (Scotch Plains-Fanwood) buried a pair of goals and snared two ground balls for the Warriors against Quinnipiac. He also chipped in a caused turnover against the Crimson, while ’21 Andrew Williams (St. Peter’s Prep) dished out an assist against Harvard.

’22 Cullen Decker (Chatham) tallied once for the Catamounts against Harvard.

Hobart 15, Robert Morris 10

’19 Liam Rosenthal (Central Bucks East, Pa.) made six saves in relief and ’21 Brendan Cina (Sparta) caused a turnover for the Colonials.

Division II

Tampa 18, Belmont Abbey 7

’19 Canyon Birch (Manasquan) rang up his fourth hat trick of the season to help the Spartans move to 4-1.

Lander 16, North Greenville 14

’19 Christian Cechini (Apex, N.C.) tallied twice to go with a ground ball for North Greenville.

Division III

Gettysburg 11, Stevenson 9

’21 Jack Dunleavy (Seton Hall Prep) put on a show for the Bullets, scoring a hat trick and setting up two more goals to pace Gettysburg’s offense.

Washington & Lee 23, Bridgewater 5
Washington & Lee 13, Denison 11

’22 James Haley (Westfield) torched Bridgewater for five goals and two assists, along with two ground balls and a takeaway, to fuel the Generals’ rout.

He also two goals, a ground ball and a takeaway as W&L racked up its third straight win.

Williams 14, Babson 13

’22 Will Doran (Princeton) found the back of the net once and grabbed a pair of ground balls in the Ephs’ season-opening win.

Bowdoin 13, Trinity 6

’23 Bo Page (Taft, Conn.) buried his first career goal to pair with two ground balls in his first game as a Bantam.