BURLINGTON — As Jake Vana snapped on his pads Saturday, the reality of the situation began to set in. For the final time in his life, he was going to be suiting up for St. John’s Prep.

The Princeton commit wanted to close his high school career in memorable fashion, and he succeeded. Vana finished with five goals to go with an assist, while junior midfielder Luke Kelly added five goals and a pair of assists, as top-ranked St. John’s Prep captured its fourth consecutive Div. 1 boys lacrosse championship with a wild 17-13 victory over No. 7 Needham at Burlington High School.

“It means a lot,” Vana said. “Going into St. John’s, a lot of people said that winning is not that easy. It’s not, but they also said that you can’t (win a title) in two (years), never mind three. Just ending my career this way, and I know it’s only high school, but it does mean a lot. I have a lot of people to thank for everything that’s gone on here. I’m just super proud to end it this way.”

Following a defensive standoff with Catholic Conference rival BC High in the Final Four, St. John’s Prep found itself in a completely different situation facing a Bay State Conference heavyweight in the title match. This time, the Eagles engaged in a shootout, as Sean Reilly scored 1:06 into play to put Needham (17-6) ahead, 1-0.

Then, St. John’s Prep (21-2) responded by rattling off five straight goals. Kelly netted a pair, as did Cam McCarthy, to help the Eagles build a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Things only improved for the team in the second quarter as St. John’s Prep outscored Needham 6-2 in the frame. Kelly potted two more goals, as did Vana, who completed a hat trick with 38 seconds to go before the break. At intermission, the Eagles were ahead 10-5.

“We came out pretty hot, and I was like: ‘Oh this could get out of hand,’ ” said Vana. “But credit to them, that’s why they got here. I can see it now. They just keep fighting. The one scout we have basically said to not let them score in transition. They scored 12 out of 13 (goals) in transition. But it’s always more fun in a shootout. BC High was fun, 6-4 nail-biter, but it’s always more entertaining when it’s back and forth. Fans get loud.”

While Needham staged a mini-rally to open the second half behind two consecutive goals by senior captain Jack Curran to trim things to 11-8 with 6:59 left in the third quarter, St. John’s Prep responded with force. Vana registered his fourth goal in the late stages of the stanza before McCarthy completed his own hat trick with 1:52 left in the frame to help the Eagles regain a 14-9 advantage. From there, they were able to salt away the victory.

McCarthy finished with three goals and four assists for St. John’s Prep.

Needham was helmed by Reilly, who finished with a team-high four goals and two assists.

Since the pandemic concluded, St. John’s Prep has reached the pinnacle four straight years under head coach John Pynchon. While the program is slated to lose multiple players from a decorated class, the future remains bright with some premier talent returning.

“We’re really proud of where the program is, with how it’s come along,” said Pynchon. “I’m an alum, I played for Coach (John) Roy, so it makes me proud to see the program have success.”