With just a handful of games left, the Hicksville boys lacrosse team finds themselves “in the mix” and a “second-tier team” according to Assistant Coach Tom Kinsella.
They currently stand at 5-5 overall (2-3 in division play) and will certainly have the ability to control their own destiny as the season is dwindling to its finale. They could be in much better position had it not been for an uncanny amount of misfortune. They have lost their five games by a total of six goals. Their largest defeat was 10-8 at the hands of Cold Spring Harbor.
“We’ve been in every game,” said Kinsella. “We’ve gotten better as the season has gone on. We just need to fine tune some of the mistakes we made early on. Now we’re working on implementing more kids into the rotation and getting bench players more playing time. The team has been carried by senior Pat McCormick, who has been committed to play at the University of North Carolina since sophomore year and is the first player in school history to be selected to play in the Under Armour All-American game in Baltimore, MD. He has been a force for the Comets, scoring three goals and assisted on two others in their recent victory over MacArthur.
Another key contributor to the offense is junior Brian Lang, who is committed to play at Ohio State University. Kinsella noted that he has been pleased with their leadership to this point.
The team has also benefited from the play of goalie Ryan Toomey, who is headed to Molloy in the fall. “I don’t want to jinx anything but he has performed at an All-County level so far,” said Kinsella.
On the defensive end, the team relies on Tom Brennan (committed to Molloy) and Michael Brumber (mulling scholarship offers). They have played critical roles in keeping the opposition out of the net.
The Comets have five games remaining and they are all important. “This week is very important for us,” said Kinsella. “We’ve been able to put together good quarters and good halves, but we need to put together a good full game,” he added.
“One of our best efforts was our loss to Syosset,” he said. They lost that game 8-7 in overtime. They will have a crucial matchup on May 3 against Massapequa, who Kinsella admitted is the class of the division.
“With their win over Syosset, they really put their foot down and made a statement,” he said. “If we do what we’re supposed to we can hang with them, but we know what we’re up against,” he added. It will be the 10th annual Walker Cup, named after the late John Walker. Massapequa has won eight of the nine matchups with Hicksville last winning in 2011.
The conference is very strong but Kinsella is confident in the team . Their playoff push began Friday against Baldwin.
