Cornwall seniors Danny Sullivan and Eli Barry capped standout lacrosse careers by earning All-America honors after helping lead the Dragons to a 15-3 record and the Section 9 Class B championship.

Cornwall defeated Warwick to capture the sectional title, with Sullivan and Barry playing pivotal roles throughout the season.

Coach Ben Smith described Sullivan, an attackman, as “the magician” and Barry, a dominant faceoff specialist, as “the cheat code.”

“He will make passes that I don’t see at times,” Smith said of Sullivan. “His game is really a game of ‘now you see it, now you don’t.’ Danny’s game is just like magic. He makes it happen one way or another.”

Sullivan said earning first-team All-Section was the individual accomplishment he values most.

“I feel like last year I was on the second team, and I felt like I was snubbed a little bit,” Sullivan said. “I was working for that, and then more things came with it as I was working hard for it.”

A two-sport athlete during his first two years of high school, Sullivan balanced hockey and lacrosse before deciding to focus on lacrosse after attracting college interest during a summer tournament before his junior season.

“I got a couple of offers from that for college,” Sullivan said. “I figured I might as well start getting more serious with lacrosse and make that my main sport.”
Barry’s love for lacrosse began while watching his older brother, Colton, play under the coaching of their father.

“I was lucky enough to play on the same team as him my freshman year,” Barry said. “That’s when I really fell in love with the sport.”

Both brothers played the faceoff specialist position, commonly known as FOGO — faceoff, get off.

“I kind of determine who has possession before every goal,” Barry said. “The more times you have possession, the more opportunities you have, and the less likely the other team is to touch the ball.”

Playing alongside his older brother during his freshman season helped prepare Barry for a leadership role, though he admitted the transition to varsity competition was challenging.

“I had a pretty rough freshman year,” Barry said. “There was a size disadvantage, and I felt small out there. After that season, I was motivated to get into the gym.”

Barry finished his career as Section 9’s all-time leader in faceoff victories, surpassing his brother’s record along the way.

“I always wanted to beat my brother’s record, and I never really thought about the Section 9 record,” Barry said. “Once my senior year hit, I noticed it wasn’t impossible and was chasing that all senior year.”
Smith praised Barry’s consistency at the faceoff X.
“For other teams, it’s probably like facing a robot out there,” Smith said. “No matter what you do against the kid, he’s going to win.”

Both players credited the team’s close-knit culture for its success.

“Being able to see all your friends and hanging out and having fun at practice really helps a lot,” Barry said. “I’m just going to miss playing with that group of guys because we had such a good connection.”
Sullivan echoed those sentiments.

“On the weekends all your friends are hanging out, but everybody’s on the same team, and we’re all in it together,” he said. “I’ll make new friends at Brockport, but it’ll never be like that again, playing with my childhood friends.”

Smith said the chemistry among the players made the team one of the most rewarding groups he has coached.
“It was really the type of group that you dream about having as a coach,” Smith said. “I truly hope anybody who ever coaches a sport at any level gets to be around a group of guys who are truly best friends with each other. You don’t get that type of cohesion very often.”

Barry will attend the University of Oklahoma, where he plans to play club lacrosse and remain involved with the sport. Sullivan will continue his lacrosse career at SUNY Brockport.

“It’s a rebuilding program,” Sullivan said. “Last year they had a big recruiting class because they’re trying to build something special. Being a big piece of that is what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Smith said he also reflects on how far the Cornwall program has progressed since he became head coach in 2019.

He pointed to an overtime loss to Valley Central during his first season as a defining moment.

“I was so proud of them, and they were so heartbroken to have lost,” Smith said. “It made me see how much they cared about the team and about each other.”

Smith said that game shaped the culture he wanted to build.

“I knew from then on I would do all I could to give any boy who wanted to play for a team I coached an experience that felt meaningful, one where they knew I cared about all of them, win or lose,” he said. “I knew that night we would never settle for mediocrity.”

Now, with a sectional championship and two All-Americans leading the way, Smith hopes the Dragons can continue building on the standard established over the past seven seasons as they defend their Section 9 Class B title.