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By Chris Goldberg
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 12/7/15
Once in a decade or maybe two, a high school boys’ lacrosse program goes undefeated and wins a mythical national championship.
But at Haverford School (PA) it has happened twice in a four-year span. The 2015 Fords went 26-0 and finished atop the Epoch Lacrosse North America Rankings and every other national poll.
Haverford School 26-0 2015 team
Just four years ago Haverford School went 23-0 and also was branded the national champion in every national rankings.
On Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 25, the two undefeated teams got together for a special ceremony at Haverford’s auditorium. More members of the 2015 squad – which featured 22 seniors – were present, but a strong contingent of 2011 standouts also attended and veteran head coach John Nostrant addressed the groups with much pride.
“They were great groups of boys,” said Nostrant. “They were completely different teams, but the similarities were their mental and physical confidence, the will to win and to have each other’s back and play their roles.”
“There was a lot of talent in the room,” said Grant Ament, a standout attackman on the 2015 team and now a freshman at Penn State and member of the US U-19 Training Team.
Haverford School’s 2011 undefeated team: (from left) Gavin McBride, Sam Rohr, Joe McCallion, Brendan McGrath, Colin Heffernan, Chris Hupfeldt, Carl Walrath, Connor Kelly, Goran Murray, Vince Garman, James Chakey, Riley Hupfeldt
“It’s surreal. Coach Nostrant talked about all the accolades and honors we got as individuals, but none of us cared about that as long as we could be part of that national championship team. It was very humbling to be part of the experience and I think I can speak for the 22 seniors on the team,”
Ament said that comparisons between the two teams are inevitable.
“Coach Nostrant said hopefully one day in the future we can match up the 2011 and 2015 teams and see which is better,” Ament said.
Conor Kelly, the 2011 team’s standout goalie, was the Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year that season and recently was named a captain at Notre Dame as a fifth-year senior. Kelly said the event and his team’s connection to the 2015 squad was indeed special.
“It was an awesome event,” said 2011 standout goalie Conor Kelly, who was the Phillylacrosse.com Co-Player of the Year and recently was named a captain at Notre Dame as a fifth-year senior. “There were guys there from my year and to see the guys that we went undefeated with from wire to wire .. we know what we went through to get it done and we had a lot of similarities (with the 2015 team).
“It’s awesome that Haverford was able to do it twice in such a short amount of time. We’ll always debate the 2011 teams vs. the 2015 team and the best part about it is that the teams did it within a few years and we can debate it.
“I am friends with (2015 grad and face-off standout) Jake Hervada and I am sure we’ll be talking about it for a while to come. I played summer ball with a few Mesa players (from the 2015 team) and it was an awesome experience. It was a special feeling when we did it (went undefeated) and I am sure it was the same for their guys.”
Kelly said both teams will agree: coach Nostrant and his staff deserve a great deal of credit for the teams’ remarkable success.
“I know, speaking for myself, that I wouldn’t be at Notre Dame and be where I am without coach Nostrant,” Kelly said. “He was able to manage so many personalities – not so much any egos – just all that talent and getting everyone to perform on game day, He is a great coach.”
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