Family matters: Millon brothers eye a title
The duo savor chance to lead McDonogh to MIAA A crown
One of the many traits the Millon brothers, McCabe and Brendan, share is an eagerness to take on all challenges.
It’s always been the bigger, the better and the McDonogh lacrosse star attackmen — McCabe, 18, is a senior and Brendan, 16, is a sophomore — proved the point in leading the Eagles to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship last year.
Brendan, whose freshman debut came in the final game of the regular season because of injury, capped a scintillating four-goal, one-assist performance with a final-second goal that led McDonogh past defending champion Boys’ Latin, 11-10, in the league semifinals.
McCabe, who is Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class, then had four goals and two assists in the Eagles’ 14-8 win over St. Mary’s in the championship game.
The high bar set last year provides a new task that will be the duo’s most formidable to date: trying to match the standard this season. The Eagles open the season Thursday, hosting Washington power Gonzaga at 6 p.m.
“This year, we’re obviously going to have a massive target on our backs because of last season,” Brendan said. “Our seniors have talked about not letting us become the hunted, but us being the hunters and kind of attacking teams and not sitting back. We’re definitely just as hungry as we were last year, so I’m excited to have this full season ahead of me.”
Most exciting for the brothers is the opportunity to play a full season side by side. Brendan’s injury limited their time together on the field last year, but they certainly made the most of it. It was an impressive preview of what’s to come, and the two plan to soak in every last detail before McCabe heads to Virginia next year.
“It’s just an unbelievable blessing that we are not only able to play lacrosse but able to share the field together, spend every day at practice together and our car rides home when we just talk about practice and what we hope is going to be for dinner tonight,” said McCabe, an All-Metro first-team selection after his 50-goal, 28-assist junior season.
“Small things like that we’re cherishing, especially knowing I’m going to be moving on to college next year. All those little things are what I’m so excited for and I’m looking for many great memories.”
The Millon name is legendary in lacrosse. The brothers’ parents, Mark and Erin, are both in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame after standout playing careers. McCabe’s and Brendan’s love for the sport came naturally.
Their understanding of the game comes from all the college lacrosse games the family watched in the living room, the remote control’s rewind button always coming in handy to fully dissect special plays. Their mastering of the fundamentals comes from their father’s teachings over the years, instilling the important aspects while keeping the game fun.
While their age difference has not permitted them to play on many of the same teams, they have shown uncanny chemistry and their styles of play have proved an ideal complement.
McCabe is a dynamic force with the ball in the stick, a slasher who is crafty and quick and scores and distributes. Brendan thrives off the ball, finding pockets in defenses and knowing
exactly when to work his way into them.
McDonogh coach Andy Hilgartner said McCabe’s championship game performance last year proved the theory that great players shine the brightest on the biggest stage. The nine-year coach can already comfortably state that Brendan is one of the smartest players he’s coached.
“They are great kids — first and foremost,” Hilgartner said. “They have a great love of the game and you can just tell they’ve spent many, many years talking about the game, practicing the game and playing together. They have great chemistry, which is no surprise when you have brothers that are high-level players individually.”
Adding more misery to the upcoming opponents is junior Luke Miller, who rounds out the area’s top attack with much the same game sense and top-notch skills.
“This year, with more practice and everything, I think our chemistry is only going up from here and it’s going to be fun. We’re all unselfish players, so we can all be the players we are and also complement each other, which is great,” Miller said.
As for what it’s like playing alongside the Millon brothers?
“What comes to mind is backyard ball,” Miller said. “There’s times at practice [when] me and teammates are beside ourselves to what just happened and what we just saw from them. Sometimes I just take a seat back and watch them at practice do their thing. It’s really fun how well they complement each other.”
In the MIAA, a number of brother combinations have had special connections that brought success to their respective teams. A number of Kelly brothers — Jacob and Daniel, Stephen and Frankie, Timmy and Patrick among them — have shared the field at Calvert Hall. At Boys’ Latin, the Stanwicks — Wells and Shack; the Brandaus — Matt and Chris; and last year, the Pietramalas — Dom and Nick.
“They’re just really fantastic players,” Boys’ Latin coach Brian Farrell said of the Millon brothers. “You can tell they put in extra time and work and have that special chemistry. They’re just good lacrosse players and are definitely tough to scout and game plan against.”
During his illustrious playing career, Mark Millon was a star attackman who won a championship in Major Lacrosse League and helped the U.S. national team win the world championship in 1998.
What he watched from the stands last year topped all his work on the field.
“I’ve been around this sport for such a long time and did some really cool things, but [last year] was the highlight because you do the things for yourself, but when you can watch your boys do that? I’ll look back on it and say that was the most amazing period in my life,” he said.
McCabe and Brendan can’t wait to add more memories in the upcoming season and they will no doubt score more goals and dish out more assists. One goal and one assist will always stand out.
The brothers played together for the first time at the 2021 National High School Lacrosse Showcase, and the connection was instant.
“The first goal of the game, he passed it to me and I finished it and we gave each other a big hug,” Brendan said. “It was really special because of how close we are.
“It’s really incredible to share our love for lacrosse and experience those kind of times together.”