Hopewell Valley was the big news in the Colonial Valley Conference this season, winning the Mercer County Tournament and going 18-3, including winning 15 straight games and reaching the sectional semifinal. But several other teams had successful seasons as Princeton went 11-8 overall and won the CVC’s Colonial Division, finishing ahead of Hopewell. That was thanks, in part, to an early season, 17-11 win over the Bulldogs.
Notre Dame’s talented freshman class from a year ago looked stronger with a year of experience under their belts, leading the Irish to a 12-5 record. Robbinsville, which went 12-6, was the Valley Division champion. In the preps, of course, it was Lawrenceville that dominated the field, not just locally but also nationally.
The Big Red won its second straight consensus national championship by avenging its only loss of the season, a 13-12 overtime loss to Brunswick, by defeating the Bruins 14-5 in the final of the National Prep Tournament. These are some of the top players, coaches and teams from the 2024 season: Luke Caldwell (22) of Hopewell Valley reacts after scoring a goal against Holmdel during the boys lacrosse game at Hopewell Valley HS in Pennington, NJ on Monday, June 3, 2024. John Jones | For NJ Advance Media PLAYER OF THE YEAR Hopewell Valley had the best season of any team in the Colonial Valley Conference this spring.
And while there were a variety of reasons for that success, the biggest would have to be the play of junior attack Luke Caldw.