The Patrick Henry High School boys’ lacrosse team recently completed back-to-back CIF title victories.
Following the excitement of winning the Division II CIF championship in 2021 with a 6-4 win over Mt. Carmel High School, there was a strong sense that Patrick Henry would be able to jump up to Division I and raise the CIF banner once again after graduating only one player. They did just that, finishing the season with a 15-4 record and a thrilling 9-8 championship victory over Coronado.
Following a few heartbreaking one-goal losses early in the season to Westview and Carlsbad, the team was able to reflect on those losses, process their successes and failures and continue progressing forward. Coach (Andrew) O’Neill urges his players to try new skills and tactics in practice and often uses the term “fail forward” which he believes will help the team learn and develop individual skills and improve their overall game IQ. Those early season losses were lessons learned and helped the team stay mentally strong in one-goal games in both the CIF semifinal over La Jolla and CIF final over Coronado. In both of those games, Patrick Henry held three-goal leads.
In the CIF semifinal against La Jolla, Patrick Henry was up 9-6 going into the fourth quarter and La Jolla fought back with three goals of their own to take the game to overtime, 9-9. All momentum going into overtime was leaning towards La Jolla, but Patrick Henry knew they controlled their destiny and had to focus on making a play at a time rather than letting the big moment and emotions settle in. Twenty seconds into overtime the game was over as Eli Kell picked up a loose ball following a penalty, beat a defender and scored with a bounce shot over the goalies’ shoulder to send the Patriots to the finals, 10-9.
Similarly, in the CIF final, the Patriots were up 7-5 in the fourth quarter and gave up three straight goals to go down 8-7 to Coronado with less than five minutes to play. Following a big defensive save by senior captain Ethan Pham, the Patriots cleared the ball and pushed transition, leading to a game-tying goal by Jack Denton. Soon after, Hans Sweatt picked up a tough ground ball after a blocked shot and fed Connor Stagner for the game-winning goal. Henry was then able to retain possession and run out the clock for the remainder of the game. Back-to-back CIF championships completed.
The Patriots attribute their successes to the strong bonds and cultural norms they’ve established within their lacrosse program. Each graduating class has left the program in a better place than when they found it and have continuously moved the needle of success in the right direction. The foundation was set and the Patriots triumphs the past two seasons are a result of following through on the standards and legacies of the players before them.
This 2022 team believed they were better friends off the field than any other team they were playing, so their on-field effort and relationships were simply stronger. Their leadership and standards are also seen in the classroom where the team holds an average GPA of a 3.5 with eight of the 11 graduating seniors finishing their cumulative GPA’s greater than a 4.0. Seven of those seniors will be continuing their lacrosse careers in college as well as one playing hockey at the next level.
Jack Denton – San Diego State University (MCLA D1)
Shane Ege – San Diego State University (ACHA Hockey)
Jack Johnson – Louisiana State University (MCLA D1)
Tommy Kenney – Colorado State University Pueblo (NCAA D2)
Hudson Martinez – Arizona State University (MCLA D1)
Ethan Pham – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (MCLA D1)
Jordan Roesch – Vassar College (NCAA D3)
Connor Stagner – University of Oregon (MCLA D1)
O’Neill just completed his sixth season at Patrick Henry and has continued to grow and develop the lacrosse community within the eastern San Diego and East County communities. During his time as head coach at Patrick Henry, the Patriots are 61-32 and have won two SDCC Eastern League titles, a Division II CIF championship, and a Division I CIF championship.
O’Neill is also the founder and boys director of Mission Trails Lacrosse Club (MTLC) which is a non-profit 501c3 serving the Patrick Henry cluster of elementary and middle schools and surrounding neighborhoods. From what started with a small youth program of 25 boys annual players in 2017, there’s now nine teams consisting of over 150 boys and girls annually. O’Neill also coached the 5th/6th grade MTLC team that just repeated as back-to-back 5/6 A Division championships.
Patrick Henry 2022 Awards:
CIF Awards:
2nd Team All-CIF: Jordan Roesch (Sr)
CIF Sportsmanship Award: Matt Kylstad (Jr)
All SDCC Western League:
1st Team: Jordan Roesch (Sr), Tommy Kenney (Sr)
2nd Team: Connor Stagner (Sr), Ethan Pham (Sr)
Honorable Mention: Jayden Davis (Sr), Shane Ege (Sr)
Team Awards:
MVP: Jordan Roesch (Sr)
Offensive Player of the Year: Connor Stagger (Sr)
Defensive Player of the Year: Tommy Kenney (Sr)
Transition Player of the Year: Shane Ege (Sr)
Play with Hart Award: Nathan Gross (Sr)
The Play with Hart Award goes to the player always putting the team first, having a relentless work ethic and being a team leader on and off the field. The award is in remembrance of Coach O’Neill’s son, Jordan Hart O’Neill, who passed away shortly after birth due to a lethal condition in July 2019. Nathan Gross demonstrated his team-first attitude and mental toughness by playing in every game of the 2022 season despite having a torn labrum in each shoulder. Nathan is a cornerstone and vocal leader on defense and his off-field leadership was recognized as he led a campaign raising thousands of dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
PHHS Awards:
Patriot of the Year: Nathan Gross (Sr)
Senior of the Year: Jack Johnson (Sr)
Player to Watch in 2023:
Matt Kylstad (Jr), Eli Kell (So), Hans Sweatt (So), Travis Brady (So), Ian Heimaster (Fr)
Editor’s note: Article and photo supplied by head coach Andrew O’Neill.
