James Gillis held the ball in front of Chaminade’s bench with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter, waiting for his teammates to be ready. Suddenly, he burst inward as Christian Atwell laid the perfect screen, giving Gillis a bit of breathing room.

The junior attackman took that space and scored, turning back toward the sideline, roaring and pumping both his fists as his team took a four-goal lead. No. 12 Chaminade lacrosse does all the little things right, and that’s why the Flyers soared to a 13-9 home win over New Jersey’s No. 4 Delbarton Saturday at Gold Star Stadium.

Gillis dominated with six goals and an assist and senior John Balsamo finished with three goals and three assists. Gavin Lynch opened the scoring with the first of his four goals just 37 seconds into the game and scored two of Chaminade’s three man-up goals. 

“We just share the ball,” Balsamo said. “As a unit, we trust each other. We work on it at practice every day, just with a strong emphasis on team ball.”

“I trust [Balsamo] more than anyone on the team,” Gillis added. “He’s my brother. I think we got a good connection going, and that definitely works on the man-up.”

Chaminade (12-1) found its separation on the scoreboard in the second quarter, scoring three consecutive goals to take a 6-3 lead. Gillis scored his third goal in terrific fashion, battling through a penalized push in the back to fall forward and send a shot into the bottom left corner.

A swarming defensive effort led by Louis D’Agostino and Harrison Voorhees held Delbarton to just one goal in the fourth quarter, and goalie Kieran Walsh denied opportunity after opportunity with 16 saves to sum up what Balsamo called “a hell of a team effort on both ends.”

Quinn Ball won 13 faceoffs cleanly on 26 attempts. He earned possession on another six courtesy of Delbarton penalties With both teams agreeing to play under an 80-second shot clock, Chaminade took advantage by slowing the pace late.

“Teams like this, games like this, don’t happen unless you really love your teammates,” Gillis said. “And I feel that love so much with this group … When you love each other, winning is easy.”

Chaminade (12-1) looks poised to jump inside USA Lacrosse's top-10 teams after Saturday’s result over Delbarton (10-2), in addition to victories over Fairfield Prep and Kellenberg within the last 10 days.

But even with that momentous achievement on the horizon, Balsamo couldn’t shake the seriousness and focus off him face after Saturday’s win.  Ryan Battaglia walked by and called Gillis and Balsamo “the best two players in the country,” but Balsamo’s face didn’t shift.  It’s just business for him, and his stock of goals and assists isn’t running out anytime soon.