South Jersey Boys Lacrosse Outlook

by Marc Narducci | Apr 1, 2026

Explaining The Lacrosse Tournament

Lacrosse’s tournament is different than many of the others. Since there aren’t as many teams, there is not a state semifinal game for public school teams. The teams that win the North Jersey title and the South Jersey title automatically meet in the state championship game. Plus, there is no sectional title for the Non-Public teams, only a state champion.

In most sports, there are four sectional champions – South Jersey, North I, North II and Central, but lacrosse cuts that in half to just South and North champions.

In addition, all of the Non-Public schools are put in one Group, unlike most other sports, where there is Non-Public A for the larger enrollment schools and NP-B for the smaller enrollment schools.

Last year the furthest a South Jersey school advanced in Non-Public was St. Augustine, which was eliminated by eventual state champion Seton Hall Prep, 13-8, in the state semifinals.

Both South Jersey public school champions, Shawnee (Group 3) and Kingsway (Group 4) lost in the state championship games.

Defending South Jersey Public School champions

SJ Group 1: Glen Ridge 7, Caldwell 4

SJ Group 2: Manasquan 9, Wall 2

SJ Group 3: Shawnee 10, Moorestown 9

SJ Group 4: Kingsway 7, Southern 6

Defending State champions

Group 1: Glen Ridge 8, Mountain Lakes 7

Group 2: Manasquan 13, Hopewell Valley 5

Group 3: Summit 13, Shawnee 10

Group 4: Westfield 13, Kingsway 2

Non-Public: Seton Hall Prep 12, Don Bosco Prep 6

This Year’s NJSIAA Playoffs

The cutoff date for the state tournament is May 19.

Public School Tournament

May 28: Round 1 at the higher seed

June 1: Round 2 at the higher seed

June 4: Round 3 at the higher seed

June 9: Sectional championship at the higher seed

June 12 or 13: State finals at The College of New Jersey

Non-Public School Tournament

May 27: Round 1 at the higher seed

May 30: Round 2 at the higher seed

June 2: Round 3 at the higher seed

June 5: State semifinals at the higher seed

June 9: State finals at Kean University

A look At South Jersey’s Top Teams

North Jersey has been dominant in boys’ lacrosse, but there are several South Jersey programs that have been highly competitive. Among them is St. Augustine, a state semifinalist last year, which was the highest ranked South Jersey team in NJ.com’s opening Top 20 state lacrosse rankings this season.

The Hermits came in at No. 5. Making the semifinals last year was a big feat since Non-Public is the most difficult Group in the state. As an example, the top three teams in the aforementioned NJ.com ranking are Non-Public teams – No. 1 Seton Hall Prep, No. 2 Delbarton and No. 3 Don Bosco Prep.

That means that St. Augustine will again have to go through the best teams in the state while competing for a state championship.

Both South Jersey champions from a year ago were the other two teams in the Top 20. Shawnee was No. 8 and Kingsway at No. 9.

Among other teams, Moorestown is always a threat, but the Quakers did graduate their top five goal scorers from last year’s sectional finalist.

Players to Watch

Moorestown senior Aidan Huff is the Quakers’ leading returning scorer after totaling 49 goals. St. Augustine senior Ryan Wodazak scored 43 goals a year ago. He is a Penn State commit.

Shawnee senior Thomas McAneney and Brett Lundberg are Duke commits.

Washington Township’s Robbie Finnegan is a top scorer. He is a LeMoyne commit, who had 62 goals and 52 assists last year and opened this season with four goals and two assists in an opening 12-9 win over Pennsbury (PA).

Washington Township's No. 1 Robbie Finnegan / Marc Narducci

Article continues below

- South Jersey Girls’ Lacrosse Outlook

Here is a look at the South Jersey Girls Lacrosse teams.

- Seizing the Moment

After the spring season was canceled last year due to the pandemic, these standout student-athletes from South Jersey are hoping to make the most of their opportunities in 2021.

Author: Marc Narducci

South Jersey Boys Lacrosse Outlook

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