Roslyn lacrosse’s Josh Berger overcomes intense attention from defenses to thrive

It is a tango that takes place just about every game Josh Berger plays, and he knows the moves by heart.

Berger is a junior at Roslyn High School, and a lacrosse star on a Long Island field that’s full of them. Whatever team the Bulldogs are matching up with that day, Berger knows he’s going to see a shadow wearing the other colors.

Often, the opposition assigns their best defender or middie to follow Berger wherever he goes, never straying more than a foot or two from his side, trying to deny this sensational offensive weapon the chance to get the ball and rifle it into the net.

And so for an hour or two each game, Berger has a new “friend” who is physically closer to him than anyone else. So, you know, they talk.

“Sometimes they’ll be like ‘I’m sorry I have to do this to you, coach is making me,'” Berger said with a laugh. “Or it’ll be ‘I know this isn’t really lacrosse, but I gotta do it, you understand.”

“And then there’s usually a little trash talk, some chirping back and forth depending on what the score is.”

Berger would love it if teams would ignore him a little more, but when you’re leading Nassau County in goal-scoring, you’re going to get more attention than the deals on Black Friday.

Using his speed and strength to dominate, Berger has scored 42 goals and dished out 11 assists through 10 games this season, helping power the Bulldogs toward a likely playoff spot.

A varsity player since ninth grade, Berger is carrying on a family lacrosse legacy at the school and getting tons of attention from Division I programs.

“He’s been in every possible situation you can be in, and he’s gotten bigger, stronger, and his accuracy has improved,” said longtime Roslyn coach Jesse Sorensen. “He’s a dream to have as a kid; the Gatto/Berger families have been so good for us.”

The Gatto family to which Sorensen refers is a cousin of Berger’s; Ethan and Alex Gatto were both former stars in the program. Alex is currently playing at a Big 10 school, the University of Michigan, and Ethan is a former player at Tufts University.

Berger gave the Gattos “a huge amount” of the credit for helping him become the player he is.

“They taught me so much and I’ve leaned on them so much on how I should be playing and what moves I should use,” Berger said. “They’ve also taught me a lot about recruiting and how to go about choosing schools, and what process I should go through in deciding.”

Berger’s lacrosse talent began sprouting as a little kid when his Dad Mike, a former Commack lacrosse player, introduced him to the sport. A lover of soccer as well, Berger chose lacrosse in third grade once travel games started.

“I just was most passionate about it because it’s the most exciting field sport,” Berger said. “The pace of it, and having 30 guys who you can call brothers, who you know will always have your back, and you’ll have yours, really appealed to me.”

Berger has had an accomplished club career, playing first for the Long Island Express team that won the World Series of Youth Lacrosse when he played there, and then for Shore to Shore Lacrosse the last few years.

Last summer, Berger was one of only 150 high school players nationwide to be invited to a National Development Team combine organized by USA Lacrosse.

Berger tallied 39 goals last season and is on pace for a possible 60-plus this year, helped by strong teammates like sophomore Gavin Ryback (10 goals, 18 assists).

“This season, Josh’s off-ball game has gotten a lot better,” Sorensen said. His left hand has gotten better; he’s very good at faking a righty shot to get them to overcommit.

“He is our primary initiator of our offense, and he knows he’s getting a lot of attention from defenses and has to work really hard to overcome that,” Sorensen said.

Berger isn’t sure yet where he’ll play college lacrosse. He said he received “very generous and much appreciated” offers from Division I schools in the fall but has started to hear from bigger, more established programs as his junior season has progressed.

He’s hoping to play at a top Big 10, ACC, or Ivy League program if possible, but first, he wants to get the Bulldogs deep into the playoffs (they’re 5-5 so far this season, including an OT loss to last year’s state champion, South Side) and possibly break the all-time Roslyn points record (Sorensen said he would never tell a player what it was until after they broke it).

“I think we have shown we can hang with top teams, and we still have to play Garden City and Manhasset, which will be very tough,” Berger said.

You can be sure that when Berger faces those squads, he’ll have a shadow right up in his face: the ultimate sign of respect.