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Returning seniors for South Fork this season includes, from top left; Nick Cordone, Dylan Koszalka, Richie Maio, Cian Curran and Ryan McDonnell; from bottom left, Ike Fagin, J.P. Amaden, Noah Thompson and Joe Scully. Missing from the photo is fellow senior Cooper Ceva. DREW BUDD
After losing 19 players overall going into last season, the South Fork boys lacrosse team was very much in a rebuilding phase and finished with a 6-9 record. The Islanders — comprising student-athletes from Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Hampton Bays, Pierson, Southampton and the Ross School — appear poised to build off that this spring.
South Fork did lose another handful of players to graduation at the end of last season, including starting goalie Stephen Sutton of Hampton Bays, and East Hampton’s Brandon Rodriguez, a starting attack, and John Quizhpe, a starting defenseman. But it was nothing like the exodus of players from the year prior and head coach Matt Babb is hoping the continuity the team build up last year with carry on into this season.
South Fork was ranked 14th out of 21 Division I teams, the highest preseason ranking the program has garnered since it combined in 2017. That’s still just outside of a postseason spot, one Babb thinks his team can nab this season, as its just two years removed from its first ever playoff appearance as a combined program.
“Our goal is to return to the playoffs,” he said. “We feel we have really good players with the right mindset and work ethic to achieve this. We are expecting to have a more balanced offense instead of relying on one or two guys to do all of the work.”
The returning core of the team includes East Hampton juniors Jack Cooper and Luke Castillo, who both garnered All-County selections last season. Cooper is a midfielder and Castillo is a long stick middie. Another East Hampton junior, Charlie Corwin, an Honorable Mention All-County selection a year ago, also returns along with Southampton senior defender Ryan McDonnell, who was All-Division last season, and Hampton Bays junior Isaiah Lattanzio, who will continue to be a key player on attack for the Islanders this season. East Hampton seniors J.P. Amaden (attack/middie) and Joe Scully (attack/middie) and Hampton Bays senior Noah Thompson (middie/defense) are returning as well.
South Fork has a number of new players to varsity this season that Babb hopes can infuse the team with some needed flexibility and depth. Pierson sophomore attack Slate Glick, Hampton Bays freshman attack Luca Lattanzio, Southampton freshman defense/long stick middie Nate Barbour and East Hampton junior defender Jason Lester are among that group.
“This year, with a few of our young guys up from the JV, and Isaiah back healthy, it gives us some flexibility with a few other guys, namely returning starters J.P. Amaden and Joe Scully, to have a little more depth and scoring at the midfield,” Babb said. “Thompson will also play multiple positions for us. Last year, late in games, our fatigue often showed. Hopefully, with this, we will have more fresh legs late in games so we can close them out.”
Being seeded as high as they were this preseason means the Islanders will have one of its toughest schedules to date, which includes playing the top-seed, second-seed and fourth-seed teams in the county.
South Fork opens the season with a pair of nonleague games, starting this Thursday, March 23, at home at Southampton High School against Eastport-South Manor at 4:30 p.m. Its next game is the following day at East Hampton High School against the Stony Brook School, also at 4:30 p.m., then the Islanders open their Division I schedule at Walt Whitman this Tuesday, March 28, at 5 p.m.
