Contributed report provided by Brunswick School

Brunswick defeated lacrosse rival Salisbury School last night for the second time this season, but this time a spot in the championship game of a tournament was at stake.

Like last season, the Bruins played the Crimson Knights in the semifinal-round of the Prep Nationals tournament and like last season, the Bruins prevailed.

Junior attack Casey Quinson recorded four goals and one assist, while senior midfielder Tomas Delgado tallied two goals and four assists to pace Brunswick past Salisbury, 15-9, in the Prep Nationals semifinals at Cosby Field last night.

With their eighth consecutive win, the Bruins advanced to the title game of the Prep Nationals, where they will face Lawrenceville School from New Jersey. The Prep Nationals final is scheduled to take place at Brunswick’s Cosby Field tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Bruins are the defending champions of the Prep Nationals tournament. They defeated Lawrenceville a year ago in the title matchup, 12-6.

Unlike last week’s game, between the Bruins and the Knights, which Brunswick won, 18-15, the first half Friday night was a defensive battle. The first goal of the game was scored by Bruins senior midfielder Teddy Danforth on an extra-man opportunity with 10 minutes to go in the opening quarter.

Salisbury scored just over two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. The game’s next goal of the game came from junior attack Payton Anderson, who stung a 10-yard step down from the left hash.

The last goal of the first quarter came with just under five minutes remaining when a feed from X found a streaking Salisbury attackman on the crease for a seamless catch and finish. 

The game went scoreless for just under 10 minutes across the first and second quarter, but the drought was broken by Brunswick junior attack Casey Quinson, who caught and buried a cross handed goal on the doorstep with six minutes to go in the opening half.

Salisbury responded about a minute later, evening the score at 3-3. The Knights would also score the next — and last goal of the half – on yet another feed from X to a streaking cutter. Going into halftime, the Crimson Knights led the Bruins, 4-3.

The Knights started off the second half with the ball after a faceoff violation on the Bruins — both Brunswick and Salisbury struggled with violations throughout the game. On the ensuing defensive possession, Bruins junior goalie Tucker Williams came up with a huge save on a diving Salisbury player.

The loose ball was quickly scooped up and pushed in transition, where Delgado buried a 15-yard shot to tie the game at 4-4. Salisbury responded two minutes later with a goal of its own, making it 5-4. Brunswick proceeded to score the next four out of five goals, with tallies coming from Anderson, Quinson and two goals from senior attack Jackson Wolfram. This offensive flurry put the Bruins up 8-6 going into the fourth quarter. 

The scoring surge continued for the Bruins in the fourth quarter, outscoring Salisbury 7-3. Quinson and senior midfielder Will Erdmann both tallied two goals and junior attack Max Warden, senior midfielder Leo Hoffman, and Delgado each scored a goal in the final quarter. Hoffman had one goal and three assists, Wolfram tallied twice, Erdmann had two goals in the game and senior attack Will Coale and sophomore Aidan Diaz-Matos had one assist apiece in the winning effort.

Diaz-Matos won five faceoffs, as did senior Andrew Greenspan for the victors. Tomorrow’s Brunswick-Lawrenceville final is a rematch of the 2022 Prep Nationals championship game, which the Bruins won, 12-6.

Lawrenceville School is ranked No. 1 in the USA Lacrosse/Nike National Top 25. Brunswick, coached by David Bruce, is ranked ninth in the USA Lacrosse/Nike National Top 25. On April 12, Brunswick, coached by was edged at home by Lawrenceville, 11-9. The Bruins are hosting the Prep Nationals, which debuted in 2022, for the second straight year.