Brendan Sim has made a statement. In his second year on the varsity squad, the star junior has taken command of Chaminade's offense, scoring four goals in each of his team's three straight victories to push the Flyers' record to 7-3 on the season.

Sim's offensive outburst comes in the absence of an injured James Gillis, one of the Crimson and Gold's two captains.

"Obviously, without James, our team needed to find a way for more guys to score goals," said Sim. "Over the last three games, our team has really put it together on offense, and I have been someone who has capitalized on the opportunities."

"Brendan has been really stepping up for us," said head coach Gregory Kay '98. "He has been going to the cage a lot, and he used his size to score some nice goals."

Over the Easter break, the Flyers faced off against three quality opponents: Salesianum (DE), St. Ignatius (CA), and Fairfield Prep (CT). 

At Gold Star Stadium on April 4, the Sallies started off strong, netting three unanswered tallies in the first four minutes of the contest to force an early Flyers' timeout. Out of the timeout, Coach Kay's team fought back behind goals from Samuel Fox and Hayden Sipress. However, thanks to the suffocating Salesianum defense, those would be the only tallies of the quarter for Chaminade, as the Sallies led, 4-2, after 12 minutes.

In the second frame, Sipress - who scored six goals in Chaminade's previous game against Don Bosco - came alive offensively. Off two perfect passes from captain John Balsamo, the star junior registered two more goals to complete the hat trick. Combined with a goal apiece from Fox and Harrison Voorhees as well as 10 faceoff wins from senior George Mavlios, the Flyers took their first advantage of the game with 4:24 remaining in the first half.

Each team notched another tally to end the second quarter, giving Chaminade a 7-6 edge at halftime.

In a back-and-forth second-half duel, Sipress continued to shine, collecting two more goals from the left wing. The Sallies' Drew Motta also left his fingerprints on the game, registering a hat trick to keep Salesianum within striking distance. By the end of the third frame, Chaminade's lead was two.

In the fourth quarter, Sim was all of the offense for the Crimson and Gold, scoring three unassisted goals to put the game out of reach. In a team effort, Chaminade took home a 14-11 win, their fifth victory of the season.

"They stepped up for us today," said Kay about Sipress and Sim, who combined for nine goals in the contest. "The difference between today and some other games is that we were looking for each other a lot more, and because of that, we were able to find those guys."

Next up, the Flyers attempted to defend their home turf yet again, this time in a midweek affair against the California kids from St. Ignatius.

Through the first six minutes, the contest looked like a mirror image of Chaminade's win over Salesianum. The Flyers faced an early 3-0 hole, and while they had overcome similar deficits earlier in the season, it wouldn't be easy to do it against a tough Wildcats squad. The Crimson and Gold got on the scoreboard off the next faceoff as Mavlios cut the lead to two, but midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats' lead had ballooned to 5-1.

In the final 4:30 of the first half, Chaminade chipped away, with Fox and William Pizzo both tickling the twine to make the difference just two at intermission.

To begin the second half, Sim and William Ferraro-Reich each netted a goal to tie the game at five, but St. Ignatius wouldn't go away without a fight. Thanks to tallies by Hawkes Packard and Max Ripple, the Wildcats maintained a one-goal lead going into the final frame.

But for St. Ignatius, this advantage wouldn't last long.

1:02 into the fourth quarter, Sipress wrapped around the left side of the cage and stung the top-left corner of the net to tie the game. 

Then, over the next five minutes, Sim simply stole the show. He gave Chaminade its first lead of the contest with a powerful step-down from the right wing, and then, just three minutes later, his bouncer down the right ally gave the Flyers the insurance they needed, stretching their lead to two.

"I was able to find so much success in that game because of how much we were able to spread St. Ignatius' defense out," explained Sim. "They pressed out on us, and I was able to beat my matchup one-on-one. I always tried to make the best decision, whether it was to shoot or pass the ball."

The nail in the coffin was hammered home by Balsamo, who ripped a shot in transition off an assist by Sim to power the Crimson and Gold to a 10-8 victory. 

"We struggled to get going, and we got down early," reflected Kay. "But, when we started to share the ball and look for each other, we were able to claw back to get the win."

To round out the three games over Easter break, the Flyers took a trip to Fairfield University for a battle with Fairfield Prep on April 11.

Instead of Chaminade coming from behind in this one, the Crimson and Gold were the aggressors, jumping out to a 5-0 edge with 7:41 remaining in the first half. Balsamo buoyed the offensive attack, scoring or assisting on all of the Flyers' tallies.

By the end of the first half, Chaminade was in front, 6-2.

To begin the third quarter, the Jesuits struck first, scoring two goals to cut the Chaminade advantage in half. First, it was Fynn Mulligan who ducked through defenders to sneak one past Flyers' goaltender Kieran Walsh. Then, while getting knocked to the ground, Barrett Mullahy - who had seven points - somehow found Dylan McCarthy on the left wing for an open goal to make it 6-4.

Chaminade would answer with two tallies just 11 seconds apart. First, Balsamo registered his fifth assist of the day by feeding Christian Atwell for an open step-down on the left side to make it 7-4. Immediately after, Mavlios won the faceoff, raced towards the cage, and scored on the short side to bump the Flyers' advantage back to four. 

Both teams would collect two more goals to end the third frame, giving Chaminade a 10-6 lead with 12 minutes to play.

Fairfield Prep attempted to mount a comeback, but it fell short. Balsamo's second goal - his seventh point of the game - proved enough for the Flyers to pick up an 11-9 win, their third straight.

"John enabled our offense to click," praised Kay. "He has been much more of a feeder, which allows for ball movement that leads to quick goals."

"We do it together as a unit," said Balsamo. "We trust each other, we dodge with intensity, and we have good ball movement. That's when we're firing on all cylinders."

The next challenge for the 7-3 Crimson and Gold will be against another Connecticut powerhouse, New Cannan, at Gold Star Stadium on April 21. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.