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Chris Longo came up big in Somers’ biggest games last season.

The senior goaltender made 17 saves as the Tuskers unseated four-time defending champion John Jay 14-9 in the sectional finals. This came after a 26-save performance in a 10-7 regular-season win over John Jay.

Longo and the Tuskers are in action on Saturday as they host their second annual Red/Gray Preseason Tournament, starting at 9 a.m.

* Player’s perspective archive

* For background info on Chris, click here.

What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I’ve been watching the film that other players parents took of the game and breaking down everything to see what I can improve on and how I could have done it differently. Also we’ve been having workouts in the school weight room, along with box league and winter league in Brewster.

How have you improved in your three years on varsity and what do you think your strengths are as a goalie?
Starting as a sophomore got me a lot of recognition by many people and mostly by my teammates. I would have competitions with fellow teammates such as JoJo Marasco and Colin Tullgren during practice of a goal- to-save ratio. I would have to save more of their shots than  I let in.  If I lost I would have to buy them lunch.  At the beginning, that got pretty expensive, but having guys like (Greg) Petre, (Erik) Pfiffner, (Matt) Deiana, JoJo (Marasco), (Colin)Tullgren and (Kieran) Donohue shooting on you is the best practice you can have.

I believe I’ve improved a lot on my clearing ability. It’s still not where I want it, but I have gotten a lot better. As for my strengths, seeing the ball and reading peoples’ body language. In the past three years, I’ve picked up the ball leaving someone’s stick faster than ever, and coming in on one-on-ones, I’ve been able to save the majority of shots by the way people drop there shoulder or lift their elbow.

What are your thoughts on the Red/Gray Tournament and what do you hope to get out of it as a team?
We are really looking forward to this.  We have a lot of new faces and a lot of great players and athletes returning. This is a great opportunity to see if we are going to pick up where we left off last year for the returning kids and also to see where we can improve with new weapons.  Last year was the first year of the Red/Gray Shootout and it was awesome, so many teams were really happy with the day and since so many are returning we know Coach Lew (Janavey) did a great job putting this all together.

How do the individual players on defense for Somers complement one another’s skills and how do you guys all work together as a unit in practice and in games?
(John) Bello, (Eddie) Schurr and (Christian) Smith are the main guys this year. Bello is very quick on his feet and can pounce on any attackman or midfielder you throw in front of him. Schurr has amazing stick skills and is one of our ground-ball kings which is key to winning games. Smith, like Bello, is quick on his feet and can lay a hit when needed. We’ve all been playing together since third grade. Half the time I don’t need to say anything in goal because once someone gets beat or makes a mistak,e the other guys are there to pick up the slack and get the job done. It’s amazing that on the field it’s almost as if they read each other’s minds.

We practice as if it’s a game. When we do 6-on-6, the D constantly talks to one another and never puts another guy down for getting beat or anything. Also if a goal is let in, they are the first ones to come up to me to say “Don’t worry, that was my fault,” to keep my head  cool. No matter how many times I remind them I could of had it, they don’t want to hear it. I’ve played with other teams during the summer and fall and I don’t know what I would do without my Somers D-line in front of me. They are the best.