Finlay was a leader for La Salle

Coming into the season, the La Salle boys water polo team had lost six senior starters and a lot of experience.

But they still had Sean Finlay.
Chosen as Boys Water Polo Athlete of the Year for Montgomery Media, Finlay was the primary reason that the Explorers were playing good, solid water polo all the way into November.
“Sean was our team captain and Team MVP on offense,” coach Stephen Duncheskie said. “He led a group of young underclassmen back to the state playoffs.”
“I miss it a lot,” Finlay said of the season. “It was kind of a shock, losing so many seniors and then being able to make it back to states. The way we finished was awesome. The people we have here, I really enjoyed playing with.”
Finlay was the leading goal scorer for the Explorers as well as their leader in kickouts drawn.
He propelled the Explorers to a 2-1 record at states, with wins over Pennridge and Souderton Area giving La Salle a fifth-place finish, its highest since the program placed fourth in 2012.
Finlay scored 11 goals in the tournament and was named Second Team All-State. An explosive weapon in a cohesive attack, Finlay credited strong team chemistry as the reason for the Explorers’ success.
“It started to build way back when we had our first tournament back in August — outdoors,” the senior said. “We just had this mindset that if any type of adversity came up, we would work around it and step forward.”
La Salle made history in September, winning Beast of the East for the first time in the program’s history. Finlay helped the Explorers go 3-0 at the tourney, with wins over Haverford and Wissahickon, as well as Calvert Hall in the championship game.
Taking Beast of the East, the largest high school water polo tournament on the East Coast, stamped this La Salle team as one to remember.
And Finlay, also named captain of the swimming and diving team and is a returning All-American, was a driving force for the Explorers any time they got in the water.