There’s usually plenty of drama and excitement when the Brunswick School and Lawrenceville School lacrosse teams test their skills against each other, so it wasn’t surprising when the Bruins and Big Red were tied with the final minute of play approaching in their showdown at Cosby Field on April 9.

In a physical, back-and-forth battle in which both teams had their moments, the Bruins enjoyed the game’s most memorable moment, courtesy of Lucas Garcia.

A junior attack/midfielder, Garcia registered a goal with 1 minute, 16 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, breaking the deadlock and giving Brunswick’s varsity team a thrilling 8-7 victory over the rival Big Red – a squad the host Bruins faced in championship games the past three seasons.

After Garcia scored the go-ahead goal, senior Aidan Diaz-Matos, one of the Bruins’ senior captains, won the ensuing faceoff and the hosts took possession, ultimately running out the clock. Then it was time for the Bruins, who faced the Big Red in the title game of the Prep Nationals Tournament the past three seasons, to rejoice on Cosby Field.

“They took it to us last year, they took away our undefeated season, so it was personal,” Brunswick senior defender/captain Tucker Spiess said, referring to Lawrenceville’s 14-5 win over Brunswick in the 2024 Prep Nationals final. “That last minute of play when we were running out the clock, I think that was the happiest I’ve ever been playing a lacrosse game. I was full of joy.”

Garcia registered a team-high four goals for the Bruins, who received one goal apiece from junior midfielder Matt Colella, freshman midfielder Sawyer Bligh and junior attack Sean Ryan.

“Especially after last year, all the nerves were there, but it couldn’t have been better and we couldn’t have ended it better as well,” Garcia said. “The energy on the field was unmatched.”

Paced by junior defender/captain John Buttafuoco, senior Patrick Hiebert and Spiess, Brunswick’s defense was sound throughout, as Lawrenceville was limited to just four goals following a three-goal first quarter.

“I thought both sides of the field they played well, they were patient,” said Brunswick coach David Bruce, who has compiled a highly impressive record of 267-63 since taking over the helm at Brunswick in 2007. “They were missing a couple of guys, but I think our defense played really well today. I was happy the way we rode the ball, we gave ourselves a couple of extra opportunities.”

Junior Will Connell made several clutch saves for ‘Wick, significantly in the second half, while being supported by Spiess, Hiebert, Buttafuoco, junior Ryan Baxter, and junior Jake Greene.

“Everyone stepped up, we kind of had a rocky start, I felt like they scored quick ones on us in the first,” Spiess said of the Bruins’ defensive performance. “We knew they are a sweeping team, so we wanted to force everything down the alley, we’ve been doing that all year and especially today. We had a game plan, stuck with it and things went our way.”

“We really honed in on keeping it tight this week, making sure that all the sneaky stuff they do they couldn’t get it past us this week,” Hiebert noted.

With the final-minute triumph, Brunswick raised its record to 4-1. The Bruins began their 2025 campaign with a 13-11 home win over The Hill School on March 23, then posted a 12-5 victory against Delbarton School at Cosby Field on March 26. Another home win followed, as the Bruins beat NEPSAC rival Deerfield Academy, 13-9, before experiencing their lone loss of the season thus far – a 14-11 defeat on the road against Loomis Chaffee School.

“I’m proud of where we are, 4-1 with a gauntlet of a schedule so far,” said Bruce, who was named the New England Coach of the Year in 2024, an honor he also received in 2021. “We have another couple of big games coming up. I don’t know if at the start of the year I would have said ‘oh, we are going to be 4-1.’ I would have taken that no matter what. We’ve got some excitement; guys are pretty pumped.”

The Bruins and Big Red are, indeed, familiar foes. Last season, Brunswick edged Lawrenceville in overtime, 13-12, then lost to the Big Red, 14-5, in the National Preps tournament final. In the 2023 National Preps tourney title game, Lawrenceville pulled out a 14-13 triumph against the Bruins in overtime. The 2022 National Preps championship game saw the Bruins earn a decisive 12-6 victory.

“It feels amazing,” Buttafuoco said of Wednesday’s win. “Lawrenceville and Brunswick, we always have a very heated rivalry, so it’s good to take them down on our home field and get a little revenge from last year. We all played so well, we give credit to everybody.”

“We’re still kind of finding our rhythm, especially with our loss to Loomis on Saturday (April 5),” he continued. “This win kind of helps us get back into the swing of things and keep working and go forward.”

On the game-winning goal versus Lawrenceville, Garcia snapped a perimeter shot home after receiving a pass from senior attackman Owen Iles.

“Owen Iles had it behind, he had a shorty, so all the attention was on him,” Garcia said. “I was open, all credit to Owen Iles for finding me there.”

Trailing 7-6, ‘Wick recorded the equalizer thanks to Ryan, who tallied with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter. Lawrenceville led 7-5 early in the final quarter, but the Bruins crept to within one goal when Garcia converted a low shot while falling to the turf , making it 7-7 at the 7:05 mark.

Colella started the game’s scoring, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 6:45 to go in the first period. The visitors from New Jersey responded with three straight goals, the last of which occurred with 26.9 seconds left in the opening quarter, to take a 3-1 advantage.

After Lawrenceville went ahead 4-1 with a tally 46 seconds into the second quarter, Garcia scored off a feed from junior Rick Giordano at the 10:22 mark of the second stanza, then Bligh spun away from a defender and scored, bringing ‘Wick to within 4-3 with 5:50 remaining in the second quarter.

Garcia caught a pass from Giordano and sent a laser from 12 yards past Lawrenceville’s goalie, evening the score at 4-4 with 5:33 to go in the second period – a score that would hold up heading into halftime.

“At halftime, it was 4-4, there was a positive attitude,” Spiess said. “Coach really liked our defense and really liked our offense. We were keeping things positive and we had a lot of hope and we knew we could win this game.”

The Big Red tallied 52 seconds into the third quarter, then the Bruins followed by scoring at the 9:09 mark, knotting the score again at 5-5. Lawrenceville scored the last two goals of the third period, before the Bruins began their spirited fourth quarter comeback.

Diaz-Matos once again, was clutch for the Bruins on faceoffs, a key aspect to the squad’s come-from-behind triumph.

“Aidan controlled the faceoff,” Bruce noted. “In a close game, one additional possession does it and he gave us multiple extra possessions. Especially against Lawrenceville, which rides the ball so well. We needed him to control that spot so that we can get those additional possessions so we can come back and win at the end.”

Obtaining those extra possessions, as Bruce emphasized, allowed the Bruins time and chances to come back, with Garcia helping lead the charge.

“Lucas has been playing well the entire season,” Bruce said. “He’s been a selfless player, dodging hard, playing within the team system and we need that because we have some youth and guys are getting better every single practice and game.”

Brunswick travels to Malverne Prep today (April 12) for a 1 p.m. matchup. Next week, the Bruins host Taft School on April 16, then visits Hotchkiss School on April 18, before heading to Ridgefield High School on April 19 to close out a busy week. Since joining the New England West Division I division in 2006, the Bruins have won the division six times – 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024.

“I feel like we are a younger group than last year, but honestly, I feel like we have more chemistry,” Garcia said. “The whole team has chemistry, in and out of the locker room.”

Brunswick entered its much-anticipated matchup against Lawrenceville ranked No. 6 in the USA Lacrosse High School Boys National Top 25 Rankings, while Lawrenceville was ranked No. 4. The Bruins were also ranked No. 4 in the USA Lacrosse High School Boys Northeast Top 10 Rankings.