Leading Edge in the NCAA First Round

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Kyle Kirst would be so proud.

The former Leading Edge and Summit coach, who passed away in 2015, was a goalie at Rutgers in 1990, the last time that the Scarlet Knights won an NCAA tournament game. Saturday, his two oldest sons helped Rutgers snap that streak in a game where his three oldest sons all played.

Leading Edge 2016 Colin Kirst (Seton Hall Prep) was flat-out brilliant, denying 17 of the 22 rips sent on cage, and Leading Edge 2015 Connor Kirst (Delbarton / Lawrenceville) fired home three goals as the Scarlet Knights upended Lehigh, 12-5.

Colin Kirst also grabbed seven ground balls as part of his incredible day, while Connor had two ground balls and a caused turnover. ’17 LSM Zach Masessa (Montgomery) caused a pair of turnovers in front of Colin and added a ground ball.

’18 Cole Kirst (Seton Hall Prep) beat his brother for a goal once and also chipped in an assist to go with a caused turnover for Lehigh. Rutgers advances to play top-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals.

Georgetown 18, Syracuse 8

’17 Owen McElroy (Avon Old Farms, Conn.) continued his phenomenal campaign for the Hoyas with 10 saves and four ground balls as the Hoyas throttled the Orange. Georgetown advances to play Virginia.

Notre Dame 10, Drexel 8

’16 Sean Leahey (Seton Hall Prep) bagged a goal and added a ground ball to help the Irish fend off the Dragons’ upset bid.

’17 Sean Quinn (Seton Hall Prep) caused a turnover and grabbed two ground balls for Drexel. Notre Dame moves on to take on Maryland.

Leading Edge ’19 Matt Karsian helped Monmouth win the MAAC championship to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina 16, Monmouth 4

’19 Matt Karsian (Ramapo) tallied once for the Hawks.

Division II
Tampa 24, Mount Olive 8

’19 Christian Cechini (Apex, N.C.) scored once and added an assist for the Spartans. Tampa fell in the following round two days later.

Division III
Tufts 16, Babson 7
Tufts 19, St. John Fisher 15

’18 Mac Bredahl (Chatham), recently named the NESCAC Player of the Year, led the charge with two goals, four assists, three ground balls and two caused turnovers in the rout of Babson. ’19 LSM Lane McCarty (Delaware Valley) kicked the game off with his first career goal. Bredahl then pushed the Jumbos into the quarterfinals with a four-goal, one-ground ball effort against Fisher.

Cabrini 21, Grove City 11
Salisbury 16, Cabrini 5

’20 Max Drift (Montgomery) had a hat trick, an assist and four ground balls to pace the Cavaliers in the opener. He then capped a great freshman season with two goals in the loss.

Stevens 17, Catholic 12
Lynchburg 14, Stevens 8

’17 defenseman Jason Coyle (St. Peter’s Prep) tossed in a goal to go with an assist and a ground ball to lead Stevens into the second round, where he added a caused turnover.