Sunday, June 14, 2026 | 10:00 AM at Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, N.Y.

The stage is set on the shores of Seneca Lake. When the whistle blows at 10:00 AM Sunday morning at Hobart and William Smith College, Victor's Blue Devils will take the field for the biggest game in program history — the NYSPHSAA Class B State Championship against Nassau County's Manhasset Indians.

It is a matchup of two powerhouse programs, one riding the wave of a 12-game winning streak, the other carrying the scrappy, battle-tested resilience of a team that has been knocking off favorites all spring.

Victor: Wire-to-Wire Dominance

Victor enters the championship game at 20-2, having dispatched Section II's Niskayuna 17-9 in Thursday's semifinal at SUNY Cortland, a performance that was delayed two hours by lightning but never truly in doubt. The Blue Devils led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 5-1 first-quarter advantage and putting the game away with a blistering four-goal run to open the fourth quarter after play resumed.

Sophomore faceoff midfielder Eli Ricci was the story of the semifinal, burying five of his goals while going an extraordinary 23-for-29 (79%) at the faceoff dot. Ricci, a USA Lacrosse All-American selection this spring, has become one of the most impactful players in Section V, and his ability to control possession has been the engine driving Victor's run. Head Coach Dan Stone described Ricci as "a fierce competitor who continually pushes himself and his teammates to grow," and nowhere has that shown more than in the postseason.

Ricci was not alone in the semifinal. Jackson Mead contributed three goals and three assists, while Colin Wheeler added three goals and Nathan Terrance and Oliver Kowal each chipped in two. Seven different players found the back of the net — a testament to the balanced attack that has made Victor so difficult to game-plan against. In goal, Will Simpson made seven saves and was the Section V Class B All-Tournament MVP after turning in a 16-save performance in the sectional final against Pittsford.

That section final win, a 14-12 decision over an unbeaten Pittsford squad, stamped Victor's arrival as a true state contender. The Blue Devils claimed the program's 11th sectional title, then swept through the regional round by dismantling Horseheads 17-4 behind Jackson Mead's six-goal performance — a game that also marked Stone's 100th career coaching win and Ricci's 700th career faceoff victory.

Manhasset: The Art of the Upset

If Victor has been dominant, Manhasset has been dramatic and effective. The "'Set" enters Sunday at 16-5 after one of the more remarkable postseason runs Nassau County lacrosse has seen in years.

Manhasset claimed the Nassau Class B championship with a 9-8 overtime victory over top-seeded Garden City, a program that had been ranked the top public high school lacrosse team in the nation for much of the season. Tommy Leder scored the winner with five seconds left in overtime on a feed from William Mondiello, capping a game in which first-year head coach Nick Armstrong had his team competing every second against a Garden City squad that had beaten them 14-6 in the regular season Woodstick Classic.

Manhasset then took that momentum to Stony Brook University and defeated Suffolk champion Smithtown East 10-9 in the Long Island Championship, continuing their habit of winning the close ones. Freshman Tommy Kasselakis has been a revelation for Manhasset, earning Game MVP honors in the county championship with two goals and two assists. Senior Connor Sheerin has been the veteran anchor, doing the heavy lifting offensively whenever the Set have needed a big play.

Manhasset's strength is defensive discipline where they allowed just six goals per game during the regular season and the veteran combination of defensemen Michael DePietro and Kyp Zacharia figures to present the stiffest test Victor's offense has faced all spring. Freshman goaltender Andrew Limberg has been outstanding in clutch moments, producing 11 saves in the county final.

One significant factor on Sunday will be the faceoff battle. Garden City's Brayden Robertiello went 20-for-21 at the dot against Manhasset in the regular season, yet Manhasset still won the championship. If Ricci dominates draws for Victor, as he has all postseason, the Blue Devils will have a decisive possession advantage. Whether Manhasset can mirror their championship poise and compensate on transition and defense will be the central storyline of the game.

What to Watch

Ricci vs. Everyone. Victor's sophomore phenom has been the X-factor throughout the postseason. If he wins faceoffs at the rate he has been, Victor will have more possessions, more opportunities, and less margin for error.

Manhasset's freshman duo. Tommy Kasselakis and Andrew Limberg are first-year players performing on the biggest stage without blinking. Their composure will be tested again by one of the most potent attacks in the state.

Victor's balance. The Blue Devils rarely beat you with one player. With Mead, Wheeler, Terrance, Kowal, and Matthew Herendeen orchestrating from behind, Victor presents problems for any defense.

The overtime factor. Manhasset has won multiple games this spring in overtime or in the final seconds. If this game is tight in the fourth quarter, the 'Set know exactly how to handle the pressure.

The Rest of the Championship Sunday Card

The Class B final is the opening act of a full day of state championship lacrosse at Hobart and William Smith. At 12:30 PM, Section III's Jamesville-DeWitt faces Section I's Rye in the Class C final. At 3:00 PM, Section III's Marcellus meets Section VIII's Cold Spring Harbor, the defending five-time Nassau Class D champion and Long Island champion, in the Class D championship. The day closes at 5:30 PM with the marquee Class A final, as Section III's West Genesee takes on Section VIII's Massapequa, the Nassau and Long Island Class A champions who won the county title with a dominant 19-5 decision over Syosset.

Victor and Manhasset. Section V against Section VIII. One is playing with the confidence of a team that has dominated everyone in its path; the other is playing with the belief of a team that has already beaten the best. Sunday morning at Geneva will tell us which kind of champion gets crowned.

Game time is 10:00 AM at Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, New York.