In conjunction with the release of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse Teams, USA TODAY High School Sports has selected a Boys Lacrosse Team of the Year from teams eligible for the Super 25 rankings. The Team of the Year is the Hill Academy from Ontario, which plays a complete U.S. schedule. The selection was made by Casey Vock of 3d Rising.

MORE:

ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse: First Team

ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse: Second Team

ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse: Third Team

ALL-USA Player of the Year: Ethan Walker, Culver Academy

ALL-USA Coach of the Year: Andy Hilgartner, McDonogh

PRESEASON: ALL-USA Preseason Boys Lacrosse Teams

LOOKBACK: 2014-15 ALL-USA Boys Lacrosse Team

A band of Canada’s most talented lacrosse players attending a small school outside of Toronto, The Hill Academy’s varsity managed to ride the momentum stemming from a high-profile international scrimmage victory in the fall to one of the most impressive scholastic high school seasons in recent memory in the spring.

The Hill Academy embarked again this season on a road trip to take on an unthinkable collection of some of the most respected teams from the Mid-Atlantic region as well as other known powerhouses.

Playing a more compact schedule than it has in some recent seasons, the Pride had already caught the attention of the lacrosse world before the season with a 16-11 upset of the Team USA U19 development squad in fall scrimmage.

The team lived up to its billing leading into the season, going on an undefeated 11-0 run to earn the title of Super 25 champions. (Although the school is based in Canada, USA TODAY High School Sports allowed The Hill Academy to be considered in the Super 25 because its entire schedule was against U.S.-based teams.) The Hill averaged 13.7 goals per game, while allowing only 7.3 with a resume that includes victories against four teams that finished in the Top 10 of the Super 25 rankings – wins against No. 4 Bullis (Md.), No. 5 Boys’ Latin (Md.), No. 6 Culver Academy (Ind.) and No. IMG Academy, an impressive 18-8 runaway victory.

Led by Cornell-bound senior attackman Jeff Teat, The Hill Academy wowed crowds – and plenty of recruiters – with its excellent ball control, professional-grade offensive executive and incredible tenacity at all spots of the field. Teat finished the year with 35 goals and 40 assists, which is made more impressive by the fact that defenses schemed against him each game, even locking him off for stretches.

But the Pride’s roster features around 20 Division I commits. And the team saw some of its other future college players come into their own as some of the top performers at their respective positions. Midfielder Tanner Cook, face-off guru Justin Inacio and defender Justin Henrick each emerged as some of the best scholastic players on the continent, helping the Hill to the undefeated run.

The Pride, coached by legendary pro lacrosse defender and former Georgetown star Brodie Merrill, is a team made up of players with experience in box lacrosse – the indoor version of the game popularized in Canada and Native American reservations. The team is tight-night, with players also joining one another on box and club teams at other times of the year.

“The entire year, we talked about we want to take pride in the fact that we are a complete team,” said Merrill, who played prep lacrosse at the Salisbury School in Maryland before attending Georgetown.

Usually loaded with talented threats on offense, this year’s team was made different than Hill Academy team’s of the past by a defense that even Merrill himself was impressed by at times. Two Top 10 opponents – Culver and IMG – were held to their lowest single-game goal totals by the Hill.

In the end, Merrill said, the defense was part of a balanced team.

“We had a really strong defense and it might have been the strong strongest I’ve ever had at The Hill. We had some really good D-middie play, and Justin (Inacio) was dominant at the X and that was a big factor for us as was having Josh (Kirson) and Kyle (Hebert) in net,” Merrill said. “You look top to bottom, most years, and you worry a little bit about certain areas. We just felt pretty good top to bottom with these guys.”

The blue-collar background of most of the Hill players created a marked contrast to the demographic associated with many of the Pride’s opponents. The Hill played on some of the most elite campuses in the country, paying visits to Boys’ Latin and St. Paul’s in Maryland, the Hill School outside of Philadelphia and the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Merrill’s group – with parents who traveled from Ontario suburbs in tow – found itself at times feeling in awe of the experience. Each game felt like a championship in ways, and that, Merrill said, made the season his most satisfying yet.

“It was really exciting and it was a magical year in that way where we come from smaller school with pretty humble surroundings here,” he said. “For a lot of guys who haven’t played high-level field lacrosse, it was a bit surreal. This group of seniors really took it seriously to leave a lasting footprint at our school and on the lacrosse. It was a big source of motivation for us and something we’re very proud of.”