Bullis School boys lacrosse senior attackman Nicky Petkevich had his sights set this spring on breaking the Bulldogs’ all-time single season scoring record—65 goals, set a year ago by his older brother Drew.
But higher on his list of priorities, was helping Bullis win its first-ever Interstate Athletic Conference championship, which the Bulldogs did with Sunday’s 9-5 victory over St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes. With the win, Bullis also became the first team to go undefeated in the IAC since Georgetown Prep in 2006.
“It felt really good to get the first IAC [lacrosse] win in school history,” Petkevich said. “Under the lights and in the rain, you couldn’t have asked for a better [atmosphere]. All the alumni being there, it was an honor to win in front of them.”
The Colgate University commit, who finished the year with a team-high 62 goals and was announced Wednesday as Epoch/Lacrosse Magazine High School Boys’ National Player of the Week for the second time this season, scored three goals in the final. Fittingly, classmate and Drexel University-bound Steven Shollenberger and junior Alex Trippi (University of North Carolina recruit), who completed Bullis’ standout scoring trio, also tallied three goals apiece Sunday.
Selflessness and sheer competitiveness highlighted the impact Petkevich, Shollenberger and Trippi had against some of the best lacrosse programs in the country, Bulldogs coach Jeff Bellistri said. But their willingness to share the ball, and their efficiency in doing so, was rooted in something even deeper.
In their third year playing together as a unit, the three best friends’ production was propelled by their cohesion and knowledge of each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. Petkevich, Shollenberger and Trippi thrived off their chemistry and their trust in each other, Trippi said.
Bullis (21-2), which finished its season ranked second in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine High School Boys’ National Top 25, averaged 12.7 goals per game this season. Petkevich, Trippi—who led the Bulldogs in points with 56 goals and 50 assists—and Shollenberger (52 goals) accounted for 7.4 of those goals—only .4 goals per game separated their respective averages.
“We were able to find each other really easily,” Petkevich said. “We would know where someone was looking and we would cut right over there. One little eye contact and we would be passing on the crease and scoring. …A lot of being an attackman is wanting to score goals, that’s what we do, but we also wanted to share the wealth.”
In addition to their trust in one another, the scoring trio’s success can also be attributed to complementary playing styles. Each one brought a different strength to the field that when combined created a dynamic that was difficult for teams to match and defend against.
Shollenberger is the hustle man, Petkevich said. He’s strong and physical and scores well off the dodge. Trippi is the smoothest one, Bellistri said. He has great field vision, dodges with his head up, gets ground balls and, though he has a great shot of his own, relishes the opportunity to set his teammates up to score. Petkevich is a pure goal scorer—Trippi said he always seems to be open and doesn’t lose any accuracy when on the run—and one of the best left-handed shooters Bellistri said he’s ever had on the team.
“They did all the little things that made everyone else better, that made our team better,” Bellistri said. “They all have such good skills. One is big and strong, one’s a shooter, the other has incredible feet and hands.”
For all the attention the trio’s stellar play garnered this spring, the three were quick to credit their midfield and defense. Though the majority of the scoring numbers came from the attackmen, it was the midfielders who set them up “so we could do our thing,” Petkevich said.
And if the three could get past the Bulldogs’ stingy defense—which gave up five goals or less in the team’s last eight games—in practice, they felt prepared to score on anyone, Bellistri said.
This year’s Bullis team was special for a variety of reasons and though Trippi said he’s aware many are expecting a drop-off in play when the talented senior class graduates, he and Bellistri said this year’s success is now the Bulldogs’ standard.
“It’s not going to be the same team but it’s going to be the same goals,” Bellistri said. “It’s going to be different personnel, but [there are] some kids who have not had the chance in the past who have been hoping and thinking, ‘Give me a chance.’”
