Katonah - Brandon Hickey, The Harvey School’s all-star midfielder, has reached the 100 career goal milestone in lacrosse. Hickey, a four-year varsity player who scored 49 goals last season to help lead Harvey to the 2011 HVAL Championship, got his 100th career goal in a game at home against Wooster on April 18th. His hot hand with a lacrosse stick, 19 goals in 7 games this season, has helped the Cavaliers get off to a 6-1 start.
Harvey lacrosse coach, Jason Hill said Hickey has been “recognized as the most talented midfielder on the field in every contest since his late sophomore year.” “One of the best faceoff and clearing middies I have ever coached,” Hill said. Hickey was named HVAL All-League as a sophomore and a junior.
Coach Hill gave this scouting report on Harvey’s two-year captain from Pearl River, NY: “Rarely comes off the field. Can run forever. Fantastic with both right and left handed play. Deadly shot from restraining line and causes most defenses to adjust to him early.”
Hickey’s 100th came on his second goal in the Wooster game. He scooped up a ground ball, ran full speed downfield, and from 15 yards out, all the time eyeing the right corner of the net, uncoiled a ¾ shot over his right shoulder and fired his milestone shot right into the spot he was aiming for.
“Their defenseman played off me thinking I might pass the ball off, but it left me free and clear to make a shot that their goalie did not seem to expect from 15-yards away,” Hickey recounted. “Since we had a pretty big lead at the time of my goal,” he said, “we didn’t celebrate on the field.” “It would have been poor sportsmanship,” Hickey said. Hickey got his high-fives from his teammates when he went to the bench. “To tell you the truth,” he said, “I was more excited that we were winning the game.”
Hickey, who came to Harvey as a freshman, has been playing lacrosse since his days at Pearl River Middle School. He credits much of his success to his coaches, especially Harvey’s Coach Hill and Hickey’s Rockland Select Summer Lacrosse coaches, Jamie Baker and Adam Chagares. He also gives credit to former Harvey teammate, Jamie Lunt, class of 2010, for his “encouragement and guidance” when Hickey was first starting out on the varsity.
Brandon was not the first Hickey to score 100 goals. Caralyn Hickey, Brandon’s 23-year-old sister, was an all-star lacrosse player at Pearl River High School when she accomplished the feat. She went on to play four stellar years at Manhattan College and has coached local youth in Orangetown. Brandon admitted there might be “a bit of sibling rivalry,” but he said his older sister had always supported him and helped him develop his skills in their back yard.
Coach Hill said that Hickey is not only a player with great skills, but a young man of character. “Brandon is well-respected on the team as one of our best, a great leader on and off the field, and one of the most coachable kids ever to come through the program.”
Hickey will be taking his game to SUNY Oneonta next year, but for now, he says, he’d trade his 100th goal for another HVAL Championship in 2012.
