North Rockland went unbeaten against fellow Rockland County teams in both 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the Red Raiders lost two intra-county games — vs. Clarkstown South and Nanuet.
But last year, the Red Raiders endured a sub-par 3-13 season that included a 3-5 mark against county competition.
Will North Rockland be back with a vengeance this season?
In a moment, we’ll get the perspectives of 6-foot-3 senior attackman/midfielder Kevin Walsh.
Walsh hopes to earn a spot on the lax team at Binghamton University as a walk-on.
“I was considering a few schools, including Manhattan, but I decided to go to Binghamton based on academics and hope to walk on in the fall,” Walsh said. “I chose Binghamton for its outstanding business school and the great price that comes along with being a SUNY.”
After you check out Kevin’s thoughts, be sure to weigh in with your vote in our poll question, “Who do you think should be the favorite to win the Section 1 Class A title this season?”
On the right panel of this page, just scroll past the “New Comments” and “Popular” tabs and click on “Poll,” and then cast your vote from the choices available, or write in your choice if it’s not listed.
Now, here are Kevin’s perspectives on the season.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
I’ve been lifting six days a week, and also running daily so I come back stronger and faster. The snow has been a partial hindrance, but I still manage to play wall ball a few times a week and keep sharp with my stick. I also played in the Tri-State Winter League in Wayne, N.J., against some good New Jersey players. Since the season ended last year finishing 3-13, I’ve strived to be the best I can and hope to win a lot of the games that ended with one-goal losses rather than one-goal wins.
How does your schedule look, including scrimmages, and what games are you looking forward to?
I look forward to all of our games, especially against fellow Rockland teams. Tappan Zee, Nyack, Clarkstown South, Nanuet and Suffern are always big games for us, and hopefully we can surprise a few teams and be one of the best in the county. We’re hoping to take care of business within Rockland first, and compete with teams across the bridge next. We played close games against Fox Lane, Byram Hills and a few others last year, with the outcome a one-goal loss each time. We’re hoping to turn North Rockland back into a winning program this year and overcome some Westchester foes.
What players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
I think Ryan Johnson is going to step up a lot this year and score a lot of goals from the attack position, as he is a crafty righty who excels in tight spaces. John Dugan can also have a big year if everything falls into place, as well as sophomore defenseman Joey Scheffold.
How do you view the race in Section 1 Class A and who do you think the contending teams will be?
Suffern, Lakeland/Panas and Mahopac are always at the top of Section 1 Class AA, especially with Yorktown now playing in Class B. They are the teams expected to be toward the top every year. Mamaroneck should also be put into consideration. Coming off a losing year, we are hoping we can compete with a few of these teams, primarily Suffern, and maybe shock a few other teams throughout the year.
* For more info on Kevin, click here.
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Posted In: Player's perspective
Good luck, Kevin. Hopefully NR can get back in the game this season and give a strong showing to rockland county. It is truly important for section 1 to have good teams in all four of their conferences. great competition throughout the section will only breed more success in the state tournament.
Good luck. Wasn’t Shane Warner a NR kid a few yrs back? Real impressive player.
Note to Jay/Garden City fans:
Noticed undefeated San Ramon Valley just beat perennial west coast power St. Ignatius in OT. Yeah it’s “west coast” but my guess is that they’re a very good team and should be taken very seriously.
They are coached by a famous Garden City guy and this must be “their year” in terms of talent. You don’t travel across the country to play John Jay and Garden City if you aren’t aware of the situation. They could upset one of us. You just have to be ready to play every single game and don’t call off the dogs until it’s truly time.
They are playing Garden City because of the coaches connection you mention. They are playing John Jay because they want to have a win over a well-known Eastern program before going back to California.
According to Laxpower, recruits are/were:
’11-1 KID TO NAVY
’10-1 KID TO CORNELL
’09-1 KID TO SANTA CLARA
Not a lot of numbers here but as you said gotta be ready to play 110% for sure.
San Ramon Valley boasts 3 college committed juniors
Patrick Worstell, Mid – Syracuse
#37 IL Rising Junior
Mike Tagliaferri, Mid – North Carolina
#43 IL Rising Junior
Jordan Weiss, Mid – Penn State
Tagliferri scored six goals in the aforementioned upset win over St. Ignatius.
Good info. + their senior kid to Navy. Pretty impressive.
Great to see a strong Ca team coming out to play top east coast teams.
Much success this season Kevin!