Christian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse coach Tim Vivian is taking advantage of his team’s independent status this season.
Three quarters of the Brothers’ 16-game schedule consists of teams from outside Section 2. Iona Prep, Minisink Valley, Warwick, St. John the Baptist, Kennedy Catholic, Needham (Mass.) and LaSalle Academy of Providence are among the 12 out-of-region teams CBA plays this season. The four in-section opponents are Bethlehem, Guilderland, LaSalle Institute of Troy and Schenectady.
“Normally, we’d have eight games to fill because we’d play eight (Big 10) games,” said Vivian. “This year, we had 16 games to fill.”
At least, CBA doesn’t have to stray far from campus to play its first five games. The Brothers open the season March 28 against Suffern at Albany College of Pharmacy. CBA then hosts Bethlehem March 31 at The College of Saint Rose before welcoming Minisink Valley to its home campus stadium April 1. Games against St. John the Baptist (April 7) and Iona Prep (April 9) take place at Albany College of Pharmacy.
The road gets more difficult for CBA after April 9. The Brothers embark on a seven-game road trip that takes them to places like Westchester County, Long Island and Vermont.
“We’re going out and trying to play the hardest schedule we can play,” said Vivian.
The Brothers are playing shorthanded this season. Donald Vivian — one of the team’s leading scorers last year and coach Vivian’s son — will miss his senior year after undergoing wrist surgery Monday, March 16.
“We didn’t even discover the injury until a few weeks ago,” said coach Vivian. “It’s his senior year, so I feel badly for him.”
Without Vivian, CBA’s offense will be searching for someone to lead the way. Juniors Chris Willox and Jack Zilgme are returning, as is senior Jack Ladd. However, Vivian said freshmen Luke Anthony and Ethan Sheraw will be key contributors.
“It is unusual for us (to start two freshmen), but they’ve shown they can handle the varsity level. They showed it as eighth graders when we brought them up for the playoffs,” said Vivian.
Fortunately for CBA, it has a veteran-laden defense to lean on. Five seniors return for the Brothers, including goaltender Tim O’Connell and defensemen Ben Anthony, Tom Stanton, Noah Freese and Austin Thomas.
“We had a lot of youth on defense last year, but we have those guys back this year,” said Vivian. “So, we’ll be strong defensively.”
CBA’s March 28 home game against Suffern begins at 11 a.m.
