The South Fork Islanders, the combined boys lacrosse team based at Southampton High School that has nine East Hamptoners on it, debuted here Friday in a nonleaguer against the Stony Brook School, and found the going easy, too easy really.
Playing pass-and-catch for much of the game, the Islanders, who are coached by Matt Babb and Mark Carlson, wound up winning 18-0. The goalies, Cooper Ceva of East Hampton and Cian Curran of Hampton Bays, were called upon to make only a handful of saves.
The day before, at Southampton, it was a somewhat different story as Eastport-South Manor, one of the county’s stronger teams, one that has three D-1 commits on it, prevailed 16-11 in the Islanders’ league opener.
“That was a tough one,” Babb said after Friday’s game. “We were hoping to work on some things today. . . . ”
Helping Jack Cooper on faceoffs was one of those things, that and scooping up loose ground balls, but Stony Brook was so accommodating that the need to hone skills was, for the time being, obviated.
About half of the Islanders are from East Hampton. Cooper, a junior middie, handles the face-offs. Ceva is the starting senior goalie. The East Hampton players also include Thinley Edwards, a junior midfielder who also can face off; J.P. Amaden, a senior midfielder; Joe Scully, a senior middie; Jason Lester, a junior defender; Nick Cordone, a senior defender, and Charlie Corwin, a junior midfielder built along the lines of Zach Brenneman, the former All-American at Notre Dame. Luke Castillo, a freshman attack, is rehabbing a wrestling season knee injury at the moment, and Ike Fagin, a Pierson senior midfielder who played last fall with East Hampton’s football team, did not suit up Friday because he didn’t have enough practices in.
Corwin, with 3 goals, Cooper and Scully, each with two, and Amaden and Edwards, with one each, figured in Friday’s scoring. Others to find the nets that day were Isaiah Lattanzio, a big, quick junior attacker from Hampton Bays, who had three goals; Slate Glick, a Pierson sophomore attacker, who scored three times; Luca Lattanzio, a freshman attacker, also of Hampton Bays, who had two, and Dylan Koszalka, a senior midfielder from Southampton, who had one.
The playoffs are a possibility, Babb said. “That’s our goal.” The Islanders, who finished at 5-9, didn’t make the playoffs in 2022, though they did the year before. As for his charges, “They’re excellent kids and excellent players.”
Though most home games are to be played at Southampton High, two more are to be played on the turf field here, with Lindenhurst on April 15, and with Ward Melville on April 29.
East Hampton’s girls lacrosse team was to have scrimmaged Riverhead here Saturday morning, but Section XI canceled it because of a foul weather forecast. The team, now coached by Joe DiGirolomo and Jenna Pierro, last year’s junior varsity coaches, practiced for a while nevertheless. Afterward, DiGirolomo and Pierro said that given the team’s strong core, which includes its starting midfielders, Melina Sarlo, Emma McGrory, and Ava Tintle, they expected that strides would be made this season. Last year’s team finished at 3-11.
Last Thursday, at John Glenn, the Bonackers debuted on the short end of a 10-9 score, having blown an 8-4 lead. “Too many turnovers in the offensive end — we’ve got to take care of the ball,” DiGirolomo said by way of explanation.
DiGirolomo said the team had lost only four players to graduation. The roster of 27 — the same number that the jayvee has — comprises five seniors, 10 juniors, eight sophomores, and four ninth graders. Claire McGovern, a senior attack, often feeds her cutting teammates from behind the goal. Sarlo, who has committed to play at Hofstra University, handles the draws. Sadie Campsey, a sophomore, tends the goal.
The boys were to have played at Walt Whitman Tuesday. The girls were to have played at Babylon on Monday and at home with Islip yesterday, and are to play at home versus Bellport tomorrow at 6 p.m.