As usual, the talent level on Long Island is pretty impressive. And national powers West Islip, Syosset, Manhasset, St. Anthony’s and Garden City are all a big reason for that.
Before we get to the players’ list, I’d like to pass along a quick programming note. The high school season will start off with a bang on Wednesday as LI powers Garden City and Syosset start the season at 4:30 p.m. at Syosset. Garden City is ranked No. 18 nationally by Inside Lacrosse. Syosset is No. 6.
Though my schedule is always subject to change (an unfortunate reality, my friends), I plan on attending this heavyweight showdown.
Here’s a rundown of some of the top players. Be sure to post your thoughts/additions. Please keep in mind, we view lists like this as the start of the discussion not the end of it. So be sure to add as many names as you think are deserving.
Nassau
Dominique Alexander, Baldwin: The multi-talented midfielder, whose game continues to grow each season, is headed to Ohio State.
Ryan Alexander, South Side: The standout goalie is bound for Dartmouth.
Drew Belinsky, Manhasset: The midfielder is one of UPenns top junior recruits.
Pierce Bradley, Garden City: The Sacred Heart-bound senior provides experience to the Trojans’ defense.
Bradley Cappellini, Manhasset: The Harvard-bound senior has been a fixture on defense for the Indians.
Connor English, Manhasset: If it seems like English has been with Indians forever, it’s because, well, he has. Well, not exactly, but close. This marks the fourth year on the varsity for the 5-foot-10, 170-pound UVa-bound senior attackman whose lefty crank takes a backseat to no one. (It’s been clocked at 92 mph.)
Jeff Froccaro, Port Washington: The Princeton-bound midfielder combines toughness and aggressiveness with skills.
Will Fuller, Garden City: The senior is arguably the Trojans’ top offensive threat. He will attend Albany.
Kevin Heenan, Manhasset: The UPenn-bound senior is one of the Indians’ top threats on offense.
Nick Isnardi, Massapequa: Also a standout in football and wrestling, the midfielder is bound for Army.
Thomas Keith, Syosset: The Cornell-bound senior, who leads the Braves’ defense, has exceptional stick skills that he helped acquire by playing hockey.
Christian Kennedy, Cold Spring Harbor: The junior midfielder has committed to Cornell.
Eddie Loftus, Syosset: The Duke-bound standout will see action at both midfield and attack, where he started last season.
Robert Lucas, Chaminade: The versatile midfielder is headed to Princeton.
Jeff Molinari, Manhasset: The Harvard-bound midfielder is a standout on faceoffs.
Nick O’Reilly, South Side: The University of Virginia-bound attackman/midfielder is one of the most complete players in the region.
Reid Rosello, Garden City: The defensive standout is headed for Hobart.
Matt Rubertone, Manhasset: The defensive standout has committed to Fairfield.
Eric Schneider, Massapequa: The goaltender is bound for Hopkins.
Doug Tesoriero, Syosset: The junior midfielder is a three-year starter.
John Urbank, Chaminade: A defenseman, Urbank was one of Georgetowns top junior recruits.
Suffolk
Jarred Bowe, East Hampton: Though he just started playing lax three years ago, the three-sport standout, a defenseman, has landed a scholarship from Delaware.
Ian Braddish, West Islip: The 6-foot-2, 175-pound midfielder is an athletic dodger adept at creating scoring opportunities. Hes a big reason the Lions won their fifth straight county title last season.
Pat Day, Ward Melville: The long-stick midfielder has the potential to be an impact player at Army.
Ryan Fumai, St. Anthony’s: The short-stick midfielder has committed to UMass.
Nicky Galasso, West Islip: He’s the No. 1-rated junior from sea to shining sea (and you can even throw in Alaska and Hawaii), according to Inside Lacrosse. The attackmans commitment to North Carolina (where he will join teammate Braddish) is a huge coup for new coach Joe Breschi.
Andrew Hodgson, West Islip: You get the idea the Lions are pretty loaded by now, dont you? This attackman is a classic finisher.
Michael Keane, St. Anthony’s: The fundamentally sound defense, who has a large upside, committed to Towson over Hofstra and Ohio State.
Will Manny, St. Anthony’s: The left-handed attackman will join teammate Ryan Fumai at UMass.
Maxx Meyer, Half Hollow Hills: The defenseman is tough and quick who makes up for a lack of size (hes 5-foot-10, 185) with great technique.
Matt Palasek, Rocky Point: The senior star will join his brother Tom at Johns Hopkins next season.
Tom Schreiber, St. Anthonys: The midfielder is smart, skilled and athletic.
Brendan Schroeder, St. Anthonys: The attackman/midfielder was one of Navys top junior recruits.
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Posted In: Long Island lacrosse
Hi Joe,
Excellent job with this and congrats to you. You just wrote more on Long Island lacrosse than Newsday did all of last season. Your good. Very good.
We are so starved for coverage here. We don’t mean to be cocky but our brand of lax is atleast as good as you guys in Westchester and Fairfield (wink, wink) yet we don’t get nearly the same coverage. You guys over there don’t know how lucky you are. Seriously.
I will introduce myself to you Wednesday if that’s OK.
Can’t wait for the NY state semi-final rounds. Always a great match-up between Hudson Valley and Long Island. We’ve sure seen our share of nail biters. Joe, which teams do you see squaring off this year? (LI and HV)
The Bradley Cappellini watch is on! Love it.
Yea but my point is Rye has never beat town. JJ has beaten them 4 out of last 6
It will be Town vs WI in downstate A semi.
Jasper,
No one can ever take away what John Jay has done against Yorktown over the last decade.It’s a credit to Coach Sav and everyone who’s ever put on the purple and white. All I’m saying is that as far as 2009 is concerned, Jay does not have the horses to compete with Yorktown (at least on paper), so what they’ve done in the past doesn’t really play into my argument as to why I think other schools, i.e. Rye, could potentially give Town more problems.
Rye’s approach as a defense-first team, devoid of the sheer number of individual stars that a Jay or Somers (Marasco) has had or still has, makes them more dangerous THIS season. Sure, if Jay still had the Bocklets, Granellis of the world, they’d be as much to worry about as in years past. But a team like Jay, like Town, is often built around individual stars that operate within a system. There’s no proof yet that non- or soon-to-be younger players can do the same within the system. Rye, on the other hand seems to be successful in spite of their struggles to score a ton of goals.
But don’t worry, nothing Jay does or will do will shock me. I know if any coach can take what he has and make it highly competitive, it’s Sav.
I should probably save this post for the days leading up to Yorktown-Ward Melville, but I just got off the phone with Joe and we discussed some things and I feel it’s appropriate.
I just want to throw a big shout out to supporters of the Ward Melville program. And I say that not because I’m looking to make allies with people who have been the bane of my regular season existence for seemingly ever, but because from an outsider’s perspective, this is one classy program.
I’m sure some of their fiercest rivals would disagree or have some choice words for me if we were to meet in some dark alley somewhere, but I think it’s appropriate to just get out there the fact that we here in Section I know a lot more about the goings on out on Long Island than many are led to believe.
And that has a lot to do with the Town-Melville rivalry.
I have found through years of reading various boards that the Melville fans seem to “get it” when it comes to Yorktown. I have found that many other Long Island fans don’t take Town as seriously as they should. I just don’t understand why.
Though the Patriots have utterly dominated the all-time series and given Town its fair share of state tournament heartbreak (more in the 1980s than anything else), Ward Melville supporters remind me more of a college outfit in that their alumni all the way down to their players and coaches really respect the heck out of all programs, especially the ones that challenge them the most.
I think many a Ward Melville fan or player my age or older has a real respect for Yorktown because not only are they a viable opponent on a yearly basis, but because they remember the old days when Melville couldn’t get a game against anyone really good, Yorktown, the 1A to West Genny’s 1 back in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s, was there to play Melville and continued to play them even as the Patriots flourished under Joe Cuozzo (maybe the classiest man I have ever met in this fine game) and took over the all-time series.
Though we often get caught up in statement games, usually within our own sections, the Ward Melville game is the one circled on most every Yorktown kid’s calendar because it’s a chance to REALLY see where you stand early on in the season.
I sort of wish the teams could play in late May when they are at their respective peaks, but I understand that scheduling is what it is. If early April is the best you can do, it’s much better than not playing them at all.
I look forward to the day that Yorktown and Ward Melville renew their rivalry in the state tournament. It’s been a while … We may not see it this year, but, rest assured, we will again.
So, with that, Joe and I welcome fans and players of Ward Melville to this Web site. Let’s keep the common respect going.
Thanks Joe, those are some great picks! I’m curious as to what other readers are thinking in terms of who will face off in the state semis. Any takers? I’m going with Somers for Class B section 1!!
Syracuse,
Well said. The respect the two teams have for each other comes from years of playing against each other. I would like to see the full day events come back into play – the varsity and jr. varisty boys and varsity and jr. varsity girls all playing at the same site, the same day. It was quite the thrill every year for everyone to be involved.
As long as this topic is up – what happened to Mike Chapman from Sinai? Is he playing anywhere in this his senior year?
He’s listed at LaxPower as a Penn recruit, but he’s not listed on the Mt. Siani roster.
Welcome to LI Joe!
I see you’ve met Mrs. Koufakis!
Great write up Joe. As for Somers vs JJ have to give the early season advantage to Somers just more guns (& JoJo). JJ 13 sophmores on roster 2-3 of them will make a difference by the end of the season (just not sure which ones) JJ will improve dramatically through season but how fast is the big Q, big difference between JV and Varsity. Great to hear about the LI teams much better than Newsday is GC for real or is it another hype year for them.
Lets go Town & JJ and get some LI wins this season (especally in June;-)
Somers has more horses? They may have the biggest horse :), but even a cursory count of Joes players to watch lists shows 7 Somers names and 9 from Jay.
Joe Marasco, Somers
Erik Pfiffner, Somers
Kieran Donohue (Somers)
Greg Petre (Somers)
Dylan Haas (Somers)
Colin Tullgren (Somers)
Eddie Schurr (Somers)
Jameson Pickel, John Jay
Will Stewart, John Jay
Andrew Masterson (John Jay)
Mike Daniello (John Jay)
Harrison Silver (John Jay)
Ian DeRuiter (John Jay)
Jeff Dunworth (John Jay)
Geoff Stearns (John Jay)
Zach Waldman (John Jay)
Now Im sure, Joe left some off the Somers list, but that goes for Jay as well with Beck, ODonnell, Merlino and Maher immediately coming to mind. None of the names listed here played JV last year. Beck and Merlino were hurt and the rest played varsity. So while it may take some time for Jay to comes together this year, and Marasco by himself may prove more than Jay (or anyone else) can handle – it does not seem accurate to claim Somers has more horses. Rather Joe would seem to be correct when he states John Jay still has more depth.
who is somers goalie????? this could be the difference
[…] Syosset, ranked No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll, visits No. 18 Garden City at 4:30 p.m. in a matchup featuring six of the top players in Long Island in our players to watch feature published yesterday. […]
Two additional players who were out with injuries,and sorely missed last season for Manhasset are Meyer (goalie) and Izzo (midfield).
Will there be postings with updates from the LI game here?
Yes Joe will be at the game and posting updates right here at the bottom of this page
**Correction Joe will be posting the updates to the on this post.
Old Rugger I think the JJ sophomores will make an important contribution to varsity, and not just 2-3 of them. At attack Daniello will be one of JJs best players, and B Morris and Lupinacci will be the first 2 subs in. At middie, Pray, Weil, Walter, and J Morris will all compete for significant minutes. At defense Lanza, Caviola, and Winter will probably all get good playing time. This is all out of 14 sophomores who made the varsity team.
Is Meyer going anywhere to play lacrosse?
Joe – I was referring to the goalie Meyer from Manhasset that someone above referenced.
According to his teamates there has been no college interest.
St. Anthony’s High school looks loaded this year.
The question is: will St. Anthony’s be special this season? Thoughts???
[…] Friars’ eight D-I bound players includes five LaxLessons.com preseason Nassau/Suffolk players to watch. Tom Schreiber, the No. 5-ranked junior in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, is a talented midfielder […]
How do you leave off Steven Murphy from William Floyd from your list. He was a stand out on the Empire team this past summer. He was an All County player as a junior and sophomore. He was an all Long Island football player this past year and was a second team all Long Island football player as a junior. He is a legitimate 6’2″ 200 pound kid and could be one of the best all around athletes on Long Island. He does not play for one of the traditional lacrosse power houses on Long Island but the kid is an absolute stud. Write it down now, if he stays healthy this year he will be an all American.
I also forgot to post that Murphy is going to Notre Dame.
Lets get Dante Fantoni – St. Anthony’s up there, its ok for St. Anthony’s to have 6 up there, because yes Syracuse they are something special this year
thought to myself why not look it up, Dante was St. Anthony’s leader in Goals and Assists so obviously Points too
in 5 games ( 3 vs. Chaminade, 1 vs. John Jay, and 1 vs. Delbarton) he had 13 goals 7 assists… 4 pts/gm against tough opponents
haha sorry Joe didnt see the post on the shootout page before posting that…
going to be up at Yorktown on the 4th ?? are we gonna see a preview for that game ? Yorktown got them last year but what about this year ??
Great Stuff Joe, we need you here on Long Island to let people really know what is going on!! Looking forward to reading your insights all season long, keep up the great work…………..
St Anthonys vs. West Islip today at 4pm at St Anthonys…………………
Is this a real game? or a scrimmage?
This is a game scrimmage, they play every year at this time………………..
So in other words it doesn’t count. I’m sure they still go at it pretty intensely.
Starters vs. starters for 3 quarters, no holding back ended in a 7-7 tie, great lacrosse on both ends. Both teams loaded and deep…………………..
A guy I know down in Ward Melville nation told me just a few minutes ago that the Patriots have lost their best middie for the season due to injury. He didn’t give me a name. Anyone have any reliable information to add to this?
I am not trying to be a wise guy here but I had to post. Steven Murphy who you did over look had a nice game in Floyds 17-10 win over a pretty good Babylon team. He finished the game with 6 goals and 2 assists. He won 14 out of 15 faceoffs and had 12 ground balls. Pretty solid first game I would say. I had to bust your chops.
No problem. Again I was just busting your chops. You run a very good site that I just recently stumbled onto.
[…] Promo…UVA Out of Reach : The Breeze…UVA Announces Recruiting Class @ deBeer / Gait Lacrosse…Preseason players to watch: Nassau/Suffolk | LAX with JOE…Wilton’s Giannone Part of Seven OT Thriller – Warrior Nation…Lacrosse Video: University Of […]
Ward Melville looks good this year we are very young, it will be a growing and maturing year. We have some Juniors this year that are going to turn heads and some Sophmores that will really impress you.
It is going to be quite an exciting year, I cant wait to see how they perform, it will be fun.
Good luck to all the programs & remember play hard, and have fun…
nice website
[…] a few weeks ago, we brought you folks our Nassau/Suffolk players to watch […]
Very thorough job with this. I’m a 1987 Ward Melville grad who just discovered the blog today by word of mouth. The content here is excellent.