St. Xavier vs. Upper Arlington (March 17)
Buckeye Commits Battle on their Future Home Turf
March 17 - Ohio State Buckeye Lacrosse Stadium. St. Xavier High School traveled to Columbus to play Upper Arlington High School. Between the two programs - 26 Resolute players were in action.
Three Ohio State commits got their first taste of what it’s like to play in the brand new Buckeye Lacrosse Stadium: Khalif Hocker (Resolute 2025, St. X), Noah Gehlert (Resolute 2026, UA), and Tommy Janowicz (2024, UA).
St. Xavier
Led by Resolute coaches Nate Sprong and Alex Gossard, the Bombers entered this game after a tough battle against Indiana powerhouse Hamilton Southeastern. This group has eyes on the state championship trophy after falling short in the title game against Dublin Jerome last season. St. Xavier has athleticism, strength, and speed at all positions.
Upper Arlington
This matchup was the first for Upper Arlington in 2024, against the team that ended their season in the final four of the state tournament in 2023. UA is historically one of the most consistently talented programs in Ohio, and this season their lineup lives up to their reputation.
- Upper Arlington’s Chase Morgan (Resolute 2025) scored the first goal of the game.
- Tommy Janowicz followed that up with a score, assisted by his future buckeye teammate Noah Gehlert (Resolute 2025).
- St. Xavier punched back with two goals of their own, both unassisted from Brady Bennett and Daniel Vollmer.
- Resolute 2025 Wally Swiney (UA) then found the back of the net for the first time. Joe Matre would do the same before the first quarter ended. 4-2 Upper Arlington.
- Wally Swiney started Q2 with an assist to lefty attackman Jack Caine.
- Johnnie Guttman of St. Xavier rattled off three goals in a row, each assisted by different Bombers - Brian O’Connor (Reso 2025, Bellarmine 2029), Khalif Hocker (Reso 2025, OSU 2029), and Spencer Stegbauer (Resolute 2026). Tied 5-5.
- After goals from Swiney and Matre for UA, St. Xavier’s Khalif Hocker found his first score.
- Upper Arlington answered with a goal from Tommy Janowicz off of a fast break.
- The next four goals would go St. Xavier’s way. Hocker assisted by Brendan Deeley (Resolute 2025), Deeley assisted by Hocker. Guttman assisted by Luke Sprong (Resolute 2025), and Sprong assisted by Hocker. 10-8 Bombers in Q4.
- The Golden Bears came roaring back. Wally Swiney found his third goal of the game, then Noah Gehlert tied it with 2:46 left in the game.
- After a possession by St. Xavier, UA found the go-ahead goal with 8.45 seconds left in the game from Joe Matre. Upper Arlington wins 11-10.
Goalies Trent Yelton (St. Xavier 2025) and Sam Old (Upper Arlington 2025) both made game-changing saves throughout the day.
The Bomber defense is comprised of several physical poles, such as Tyler Stebauer (Resolute 2024), Jimmy Brown (Resolute 2025), Ben Lehman, Rowdy Scheer, Sean Deeley and more. Midfielders Brian O’Connor, Brady Bennett, Daniel Vollmer, Alex Sharma, and Spencer Stegbauer add athleticism as SSDMs that can push transition. They were able to hold Yale commit Quinn Crotty (UA 2024) to zero points.
Resolute 2025 Magnus Violet battles at the faceoff dot for St. X. Him and his younger brother Maximus (Resolute 2027) are both coming into the spring after great wrestling seasons. The Bombers are missing uncommitted 2025 midfielder DJ Wojciechowski after an injury just before the season.
Up Next
The next possible meeting for these two teams would be a rematch of the final four game from last season. Both teams have several more tests (in and out of state) remaining in their 2024 campaign. Upper Arlington will need to survive their region including Hilliard Davidson, Worthington Kilbourne, and more. St. Xavier will need to overcome the southern Ohio region, containing rival Archbishop Moeller, Miilford, Mason, and Springboro.