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Fall classic Lax tournament
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The fall classic lacrosse tournament at Shoreham-Wading River has become must-see competition for the country's top collegiate programs. Anytime you assemble a field including Garden City, West Islip, Ward Melville, Manhasset, Syosset, Northport, Smithtown West, Huntington, Yorktown, Farmingdale, Mount Sinai and Rocky Point in one place, you will find coaches with clipboards, evaluating the talent.
"You don't often get a chance to have this many great teams play each other," said host coach Tom Rotanz of Shoreham-Wading River. "The guys have other offseason commitments and play other sports. So we wanted to provide a venue that gives those good teams and players a chance to go at each other. We've also got some of the best referees in the game here today, men like Tim Murray and Ed Schreiber who've worked NCAA finals. For our team, it's another step forward for next year. We have so many good players in the program, it's unfortunate we can't bring them all."
Shelley Sheiner, head coach at Kean College (NJ), said, "For a Division III coach this tournament is good for planning ahead on the junior class and also a great chance to land an uncommitted senior who might have flown under the radar. Last year we got two good West Islip kids who came and took a look at us and committed in February."
Sheiner was joined on the prowl by assistant coach Nick Micele (Ward Melville '05,) a two-time captain and All-Conference player at Kean. "Nick has been a huge help in recruiting good Long Island players to Kean," said Sheiner.
Northport head coach George Searing said, "It's a great opportunity for our kids to get their sticks in their hands. It's just after football and soccer and just before wrestling and basketball. It gives great exposure for our kids who want to play lacrosse in college and a chance to play with their own school teammates." Northport returns most of last year's team, including a top-flight goalie in Tom Cordts, some experienced midfielders and a young but talented attack.
Sean Keenan, Smithtown West head coach, said, "It's the best tournament around. I'm so glad Tommy invited us, maybe because we made it to the finals last year. Every great college coach is here today. What a great opportunity." West had good news on the recruiting front last week when their attackman Kyle Keenan gave his verbal commitment to Duke and defenseman Jordan Stevens committed to Cornell.
Mount Sinai head coach Joe Cuozzo said, "Today is an opportunity to evaluate what we have to work on for next spring. Our defense coming back is pretty good. Our offense is inexperienced and will need to adapt to our system. We'll get better," he said.
"We're trying guys at new positions and giving our guys chance to play together," said Rocky Point head coach Mike Bowler. "Our defense is solid and we're getting our offense up to speed. We moved Pete Vivonetto [Brown] from midfield to attack to work with Chris Palasek, Vin Loscalzo and Nick Schneider in the second half and our offense exploded. Pete is strong with the ball and really sees the field." Bowler is also happy to welcome to the sideline a new assistant, Chris Nentwich, a former All-American from Sachem and UMass.
Mike Hoppey's Ward Melville team is excellent and deep, winning their morning matches easily against Syosset and Massapequa. Senior Kevin McElhone (Dowling) scored the Patriot's first four goals as they jumped to an early lead in the 9 am match against Syosset.
Huntington head coach Paul McDermott said, "We got a chance to run with three great teams." The Blue Devils more than held their own against traditional powers Manhasset, Garden City and Yorktown.
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