For the third year in a row, the Brunswick School lacrosse team will play in the championship game of the Prep Nationals tournament.

And for the third straight season, the Bruins will compete against Lawrenceville School – a team that’s become quite a big rival.

Top-seeded Brunswick earned a berth in the title game of the National Preps tournament with an impressive 12-6 win over fourth-seeded Salisbury School in the semifinals on Friday night at crowded Cosby Field.

Ranked No. 1 in the USA Lacrosse High School Boys National Top 25 poll, Brunswick hosts Lawrenceville, ranked No. 2 in the nation, in Sunday’s 2 p.m. Prep Nationals final at Cosby Field. Brunswick enters the title matchup undefeated with a record of 17-0.

“Lawrenceville is a great team and we’re excited to battle again,” Brunswick senior goalie/captain Tucker Williams said. “It’s always a fun one between us. It will be a blast.”

Brunswick beat Lawrenceville for the National Preps tournament title in 2022, 12-6, then in 2023, Lawrenceville came back to edge the Bruins, 14-13, in double overtime of the tourney’s championship game. This season, the Bruins visited Lawrenceville on April 10 and pulled out a 13-12 overtime triumph.

“That’s a game we’ve been waiting for all season,” Brunswick senior captain/defender Luke Hublitz said. “Being the top two teams in the country, it’s going to be a fun Sunday.”

In Friday’s National Preps semifinals, senior captain Hudson Hausmann scored four goals, while sophomores Matthew Colella and Rick Giordano each tallied twice for the Bruins.

“The key was playing as a team,” Colella said of the Bruins’ performance versus Salisbury. “No one played selfish, we played as a team and that’s why we were victorious.”

Senior captain Casey Quinson, senior Payton Anderson and senior Graham Burchill added one goal apiece to also pace the winning effort.

Against Salisbury in the semifinals, the Bruins led 4-1 after the first quarter, before going into halftime with a slim 5-4 edge.

“I thought we played great,” Brunswick coach David Bruce said. “We didn’t move the ball as well in the second quarter, Salisbury played an awesome second quarter. They were much more physical than us and they made it a game. It was 5-4 at half. The guys figured out a way to fix it.”

Indeed, the Bruins pulled away by outscoring the Crimson Knights, 5-0, during the decisive third quarter, flourishing on both ends of the field.

“It’s less about the coaching and more about these seniors who have made in-game changes and they did a great job in the third quarter,” Bruce noted.

Hausmann gave Brunswick a 1-0 lead, tallying 41 seconds into the semifinal-round game. Colella made it 2-0 with a goal with 10:43 remaining in the first quarter. At the 9:42 mark of the opening quarter, Hausmann went top shelf with his shot, putting the home team on top, 3-0.

Giordano scored off a dodge with 5:23 to go in the first quarter, putting the Bruins ahead, 4-1. Salisbury scored the second quarter’s first two goals of the second quarter to close to within 4-3, then Anderson notched a goal, giving the Bruins a 5-3 edge with 3:08 to go in the quarter.

It was all Brunswick in the third quarter. Junior Aidan Diaz-Matos won key faceoffs, giving Brunswick possession the majority of the quarter and the hosts capitalized.

Stellar defensive play also limited the Crimson Knights tough shots throughout the second half.

“It really started at halftime in the locker room, we realized we had one guaranteed half of lacrosse together,” Brunswick senior defender/captain Luke Hublitz said. “In the second half, it was about being together as a team for two more days and not end our season. So, we really came out strong. It was 5-4 at half, after the third quarter it was 10-4, so it was a great second half. We knew we had that in us.”

Hausmann began the Bruins’ scoring in the third quarter, tallying at the 8:09 mark, making it 6-4 in favor of the home team. The goals then came quickly for the victors. Giordano netted a perimeter shot with 6:08 remaining in the third quarter and after Diaz-Matos gathered the faceoff, senior captain Casey Quinson scored just 18 seconds later, giving the Bruins an 8-4 advantage.

“He’s awesome to have, he makes me feel at ease when he’s in rhythm,” Bruce said of Diaz-Matos. “We were shooting well, we were moving the ball in the third quarter. The weight came off their shoulders a little bit.”

Goals from Giordano and Hausmann upped ‘Wick’s lead to 10-4 after three quarters of semifinal-round action versus Salisbury.

“When you’re a higher seed in these games, there’s pressure,” Bruce said. “The guys have figured out a way throughout the season to lighten that load at some point in the game. They feel it at some point and then they lighten the load and that’s when they are playing free.”

Said Hublitz: “We came out super strong, our offense was moving the ball really well. They’re a skilled team and they put a few in quickly on us. I’m proud of how our team dealt with adversity. We never put our heads down.”

Hublitz helped lead the Bruins’ defensive effort, along with senior Robert Plath, junior Tucker Spiess and a host of other athletes and of course, Williams in goal.

“Our defense was rock solid all day long,” Williams said. “They held the Salisbury boys to only six. We were just dialed in all day.”

While the Bruins have a 17-0 record, Lawrenceville is 18-1 on the season, their lone loss coming against Brunswick.

“We’re the best in the country when we’re playing our game, so we just have to be a family, play as a unit and the rest will work out,” Williams said.