Baldwin focuses on positives

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Extracting positives after the way Baldwin’s season ended with a 19-3 defeat to Massapequa in the opening round of the Nassau Class A boys’ lacrosse playoffs wasn’t as difficult for coach Rich Garguilo as one might think.

Garguilo, who guided the Bruins to their 13th playoff appearance in 15 years, cited a promising youthful roster that includes some talented underclassmen in key spots. Baldwin, which finished 4-4 in Conference A-I and 7-9 overall, got goals by senior Dan Polizzano, junior Dan Pulis and sophomore David Garcia in the season-ending loss at Hofstra on May 18.

“These kids showed up with energy every day, whether we had practice or a game,” Garguilo said. “They didn’t need any motivation. We had one tough loss, the East Meadow game [15-14 in overtime on May 3], that if we won we would’ve been the five seed instead of the seven.”

The coach is excited about having goaltender Jared Tiong-Smith for two more seasons after the sophomore totaled 148 saves this spring and allowed an average of five goals in the team’s seven victories. Tiong-Smith was tested in a big way early in the year and made 70 saves in the first four games as the Bruins opened 2-3. He even earned an assist in a win at Hicksville in his sixth varsity contest.

“Goalie was a spot we were concerned about prior to the season, but now Jared really stepped up,” Garguilo said. “Now we’re set there for the next two years.”

Senior Steve Odam captained an otherwise young defense featuring juniors Mike Conforti and Isaiah Dennis, and sophomores Malcolm Bell and Jordan Arbouet. “Some of our young defensemen really improved during the course of the year,” Garguilo noted. “They were all first-year varsity players, too.”

The offense produced double digits in goals eight times and was led by a trio of attackers that combined to score almost 100. Sophomore Dylan Ferguson netted a team-leading 40 goals to go along with 13 assists, Pulis had 29 goals and 20 assists, and senior Chris Baker had 27 goals and 13 assists.

Ferguson, who earned All-Conference honors, had a season-high seven goals and nine points in the win over Hicksville. He also scored five times in an overtime defeat at East Meadow and in a victory at Valley Stream Central.

Pulis, a lefty, enjoyed eight multi-goal games and had a nine-point performance in a win over Herricks. He was Honorable Mention All-County along with Polizzano.

Baker, one of only seven seniors on the roster and the only one on attack, had nine games of two goals or more and tallied six in a win over Hempstead.

In the midfield, Polizzano (19 goals, 10 assists) and Garcia (15 goals, 13 assists) were the biggest offensive contributors and set the tone at both ends of the field along with seniors Tim Langdon and Steven Dolsky, and energetic junior Marcus Brown.