MILTON – Those who were fortunate enough to know Bruce Lerch and Ryan Kilian also are well-aware of their lacrosse contributions, especially here in the Bay State.
For over a decade, BostonLax has honored the lives of two individuals who changed the sport by playing an All-Star Game in their memory. In the 11th installment of the showcase Wednesday, St. Sebastian’s star and Penn commit Chandler McClements stood tall in net, finishing with 13 saves as the ISL registered its latest win over the MIAA in a 14-5 contest at Curry College.
“I just kind of take it one save at a time I guess,” McClements laughed afterward. “Don’t think too far ahead, just control what’s going down in your end. That’s it.”
In a rare twist, two goaltenders were selected as the BostonLax Most Valuable Players. McClements was named the ISL choice after allowing just one goal in the first half, finishing with countless stops to aid his squad. His St. Sebastian’s teammate Teddy Frisoli added a hat trick. Meanwhile, Nobles star and Notre Dame commit Colin Kenney added a hat trick of his own in the victory.
“You can see the talent on the field the whole game from both sides,” said ISL and Tabor coach Connor Gordon. “You see 40 Div. 1, or 40 All-Americans in this game alone? It’s pretty incredible, to (see) what has happened over the last five or 10 years with what lacrosse has become. It’s really cool to be a part of.”
The MIAA was led by St. John’s Prep’s Mattheus Du Plessis, who finished with 13 saves. The All-Star held the ISL to two goals in the first quarter, then came back to make a few more stops later in the game. He was named a BostonLax MVP, completing a rare instance in which two goaltenders were chosen for the game’s honor.
Lerch passed away in 2019 following a brief battle with cancer. At the time, the former Boston Herald and BostonLax writer was looking to build something the sport’s community would remember forever. In the years since, the sport has blossomed.
It was an unforgettable spring for Ryan Nickerson and his group at Billerica, which captured its first state title since 2001 by winning the Div. 2 championship last month. Understandably, he was selected as the MIAA’s coach. He can still vividly remember when the BostonLax All-American Game was being planned in its infancy, sitting at dinner with Lerch himself.
“I remember sitting at the 99s, sitting and talking with him about this game,” Nickerson said. “I was young too. I was an assistant coach, sitting with the old Billerica athletic director and Bruce Lerch. It was kind of when this game was just starting to come out. It’s awesome.”
Kilian was a longtime coach locally, and a top contributor to BostonLax before his sudden passing in 2021. In the years since, the organization has ensured he was honored as well, with his young kids even taking part in a recent showcase.
As the crowd left the lacrosse field for one final time, BostonLax content manager Kevin Stone took a moment to think about two friends who meant the world to him, to local journalism, and to the sport.
“I would say they changed everything,” Stone said. “The coverage we have, again obviously we know what you can (cover). Other publications do too, but this is our baby. This is all that we do, and they were the spearheads behind it. Without them, there is no BostonLax. I’m not here, Sean (Morris) is not here. This game doesn’t exist. (Lerch and Kilian) ultimately created a platform for Massachusetts lacrosse that didn’t exist before them. I’m not sure that there is a better honor to give to them than to have this kind of game, and to have it in their name as well.”
