By Mike Livingston
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/11/26
Malvern Prep lacrosse has built a legacy of excellence since its inception.
And that excellence has risen to a paramount level in the past 20 years.
On a night when the Friars honored their 2006 EPSLA and Keystone State Championship team, they showed yet again how their program truly never stops growing – pulling off a palatial 11-5 Inter-Ac League win over The Haverford School Friday night.
“I think it’s a standard with the school,” said Friars head coach Matt Mackrides following Friday night’s victory. “The principles and values of the school have bled into our program. It’s been that way for more than 20 years.
“The 2006 team, I was a sophomore on, so I was proud to honor those guys 20 years later. You know, that grit, that effort, that brotherhood has built our nature of playing hard-nosed lacrosse at a school like Malvern.”
That 2006 team, honored at halftime on Friday, was the school’s only state title in lacrosse (all teams, played for a state title until the PIAA sanctioned lacrosse in 2009; PAISAA started a Private school tourney in 2024).
But the 2006 win spearheaded a legacy of excellence that extends to today, with the Friars winning the Inter-Ac 11 times while ranking in the national top 25 nearly every year since. The program has also sent countless players into the college ranks while becoming one of the most revered in the nation.
Despite the national success, Malvern Prep (8-2, 2-0) also has its goals when playing its arch-rival, Haverford School (5-4, 1-1).
The two schools match up at least twice a year according to the Inter-Ac’s league scheduling format, and the programs have often met in postseason tournaments since 2009.
Last season, the two squared off three times, splitting the regular-season series (both teams tied with Episcopal Academy for the Inter-Ac title), while Haverford took the PAISAA State title final, 12-11 in a game for the ages.
But on Friday, Malvern clapped back from an early 2-1 deficit and then dominated.
“I mean, yeah, those guys are our number one enemy,” said junior attackman Jamie McCracken, who had two goals and two assists. “They hate us, we hate them, it’s all love in the end, but you know, playing this team with all the history — I mean we had the 2006 team out here, seeing that and seeing everything going on, we knew we had to go and be ready to go because it’s our time.”
McCracken’s three goals spurred the Malvern attack, as he got the scoring started with a rip just 40 seconds into play.
Two quick goals from Haverford’s Connor Morsell and Chris Burnetta gave the Fords a brief 2-1 advantage toward the middle of the second quarter, but Conor McCarthy quickly tied it before McCracken struck again with only two seconds remaining to swing the momentum and put Malvern up 3-2.
“I thought our guys sustained great energy,” said Mackrides. “They stayed tough and were all over the field; they played standard Malvern Prep lacrosse.”
While “standard” lacrosse may sound boring, Malvern Prep’s standard is pretty high. The Friars pulled away in the second quarter with scores from George Laskowski, Joey Murphy, and Brody Whalen, which made it 6-2 going into the half.
And while the Friar offense clicked, the defense, backed by goalie Thomas Ploszay (11 saves) in net, played to the standard. Ploszay allowed just four meaningful goals, with the final coming in the waning minutes.
Dan Riely and Dan Lucovich scored in the third period to add on, making the tally 8-2 before Cale Seaman and Burnetta attempted to make things interesting, firing two back-to-back goals for the Fords.
McCarthy wrapped up the third with his second goal to give Malvern a five-point lead, and Danny Lucovich made it 11-4 in the fourth before Dan Kinnard got a consolation goal for Haverford with just a minute to play.
The Friars mobbed Ploszay as time expired, as they continue to cement themselves as one of the nation’s top-ranked squads.
“I just think we dictated the pace of the game based on our selectivity with offensive shots and understanding game scope and clock,” Mackrides said. “Our defense is always going to keep us in games. I was incredibly proud of our offense and their ability to be selective but aggressive at the same time and play good, clean team offense.”
The Friars gear for another Inter-Ac showdown when Episcopal Academy comes to Malvern for a 4 p.m. faceoff on Monday.
Malvern Prep 11, Haverford School 5
Malvern 3-3-4-1- 11
Haverford 2-0-2-1- 5
Malvern Prep
Danny Lucovich 1G, 1A
Joey Murphy 1G
Tommy Onderdonk 1G, 1A
Chase Deves 2GB
Dan Riely 1G, 2A, 3GB
Jamie McCracken 2G, 2A, 1GB
Brady Whalen 2G, 1GB
Conor McCarthy 2G, 1GB
George Laskowski 1G, 1GB
Eddie Rudloff 3GB
Jack Emidy 1GB
Max DelVescovo 5GB
Dylan Novak 1GB
Kevin Piffath 1A, 2GB
Degan Downs 2GB
Thomas Ploszay 11 saves, 2GB
TJ McDermott 9/15 FO
Matt Connolly 1/2 FO
Haverford School
Connor Morsell 1g
Chris Burnetta 2g
Dan Kinnard 1g
Cale Seaman 1g
