Through its first five games of the season, Brunswick School’s varsity lacrosse team has played three squads ranked among the top 10 in the USA Lacrosse High School National Top 25 Rankings and two opponents in the top 20, so the Bruins are indeed, facing the best of the best each matchup.

Playing an ultra-competitive schedule, the Bruins are holding their own, winning three of their first five games, their most recent matchup resulting in a tough, 15-10 loss to Loomis Chaffee School before a big crowd at Cosby Field on April 4th.

Facing an 11-4 deficit in the second half, Brunswick staged a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, closing to within 11-10 against Loomis Chaffee, yet the Pelicans regained the momentum late, finished strong and held off the Bruins.

“We made a flurry, they won a couple of faceoffs, we were pressing out and they exposed us and then went on the late run,” Brunswick coach David Bruce said. They’re a really good team – poised, physical, they took advantage of any mistake we made. They’re a top-level team.”

Brunswick began its 2026 season with an 18-8 win against Hill School, which was ranked 20th in the nation in last week’s rankings, posted an 11-6 victory versus No. 14 Delbarton School, then was edged by Deerfield Academy (ranked 7th in the USA Lacrosse Rankings). The Bruins beat No. 6-ranked Malvern Prep, before dropping their home matchup against Loomis Chaffee, ranked fourth in the latest USA Lacrosse National Rankings.

Up next for Brunswick are road matchups against Lawrenceville School (ranked fourth in the nation as of last week’s national rankings) and Episcopal Academy (ranked No. 2 in the nation). The Bruins visit Lawrenceville, N.J., on April 8 and Episcopal in Pennsylvania April 11th.

“We love our schedule,” coach Bruce said. “This run of games in a row we have against nationally ranked teams is tough. Lawrenceville coming up, is an extremely tough team.”

Brunswick, which has a record of 3-2, struck first against visiting Loomis, with senior attack Sean Ryan scoring the game’s first goal. Senior midfielder/captain Matt Colella, who will continue his lacrosse career at the University of Pennsylvania next season, tallied and junior midfielder Sawyer Sachs registered a goal, continuing the Bruins’ strong start.

However, the Pelicans went on a run, scoring five goals to take a 5-3 advantage into the second quarter. Only one goal was scored in the second half, as the visitors tallied in transition, with senior Hayden Goozh netting the goal, making it a 6-3 game heading into halftime. The Bruins generated their share of shots in the opening half.

“I thought they had more possessions than us,” Bruce said of the first half. “They were winning the middle of the field and giving themselves a couple of more possessions. I didn’t like the way we were shooting in the first half. We were producing shots, but most of our shots were blocked before they even got to the goalie.”

Loomis led 7-3 after scoring 37 seconds into the second half, then ‘Wick cut its deficit to 7-4 when sophomore midfielder sophomore Baras tallied in transition just seven seconds later off the ensuing faceoff.

The Pelicans extended to an 11-4 edge though, getting goals from senior Luke Koman, CJ Landry, a senior and junior Brendan Mulderig in the process. Sophomore middie Sawyer Bligh scored at the 2:43 mark of third quarter for the Bruins’ fifth goal of the matchup, setting the scene for the hosts’ furious fourth quarter comeback.

“At halftime, we flipped the switch a little bit,” Colella noted. “In the first half we were playing a little bit soft, especially when the ball hit the ground. The offense played a little bit tense. At halftime the message was to be a little more physical on the defensive side and to get in our sets, trust our coaching and to shoot the ball a little harder in the second half.”

Goals from Bligh and senior Ryan Baxter (headed to play lacrosse at the University of Virginia) early in the fourth quarter sliced the Pelicans’ advantage to 11-7. University of Richmond-bound Ryan sped his way down the field on his way to generating a goal with 7:40 to go, bringing Brunswick to within 11-8.

Baras scored off a dodge from the right side at the 6:58 mark and Ryan’s man-up goal cut Loomis’ advantage to only one goal at 11-10 with 5:31 remaining in the final quarter.

Senior goalie Will Connell led the charge from the back end with key saves, while Baxter made a major impact across the field with ground balls, caused turnovers, and his pivotal goal. Sophomores Baras, David Giuriceo, Austin Tuttle and Bligh all contributed during the Bruins’ fourth quarter run.

Loomis Chaffee scored the game’s final four goals, all coming with the last four minutes to seal its 15-10 triumph.

“It didn’t go our way, but I’m proud of how the guys fought,” Colella said. “We have Lawrenceville Wednesday, which is a big rivalry, then we have Episcopal, which was ranked No. 1 in the country, so the guys are excited to compete.”

The Bruins have been playing without the services of senior attack/captain Lucas Garcia (headed to Virginia to play lacrosse) and senior midfielder Rick Giordano, who will continue his lacrosse career at the University of North Carolina.

Garcia and Giordano, both of whom are among the Bruins’ leading goal scorers, recently sustained hamstring injuries and have been sidelined the past couple of games. Brunswick hopes to have them back in action soon.

“Lucas and Rick are two definite goal scorers that aren’t playing, but guys step up all the time,” Bruce said.

“We lost two of our best guys, Luke and Rick, to hamstring injuries, but we have a lot of young guys – we are fortunate to have enough depth to have guys step up and fill those roles,” Colella said.

Brunswick stepped up its defensive effort as the game progressed and executed well offensively.

“They were more physical until we went on our run and that’s when guys played how we could play,” Bruce noted. “I don’t think we played bad, they’re just a really good team. They’re a top-level team.”

The Bruins play Lawrenceville on the road Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. and visit Episcopal Academy Saturday for a 3 p.m. game.

Brunswick hopes to receive strong play on both ends of the field against its upcoming formidable foes.

“Our defense has been playing phenomenal,” Colella said. “It starts with our goalie Will Cornell and that energy is contagious.”