Glen Cove back in win column

Glen Cove’s boys’ lacrosse team traveled to Freeport on April 13 looking for something positive to build on.

Needing a win after dropping three straight, the Big Red were focused on the task at hand and relied upon their strong midfield and defensive support, and ultimately defeated Freeport 8-3.

“We really focused on holding them down defensively and getting opportunities for our guys on offense,” Glen Cove coach Steve Tripp said. “We had a few guys play very well defensively for us and we really pressured them.”

Those strong defensive efforts were, in part, due to junior defenseman Jack Kaffl, who tallied eight ground balls and five defensive turnovers for the Big Red. Senior defenseman Jared Buehre also forced five turnovers for Tripp’s crew, helping the cause on the defensive half of the field. Junior defender Gurmeher Khuarana was also lauded by his coach for his efforts. “(Khuarana) was another guy who stepped in and played really well defensively when he was called upon,” Tripp said.

The strength of this Glen Cove team also lies in its midfield prowess. Steven King, a senior midfielder whom many followers of Glen Cove are familiar with, put in another outstanding performance at Freeport. Out of the first seven goals that the Big Red had scored, King had his hand in each of them, accounting for 5 goals and 2 assists. “Steven really went out there and dominated that game at midfield,” Tripp said.

When squaring up with Glen Cove (3-5 overall), although a lot of the opponent’s attention is on King, a very offensive-minded midfielder, Tripp exclaimed there’s a not-so-secret success formula to this team’s group of midfielders.

“Dominic Gaudio is a really important piece to this team, especially defensively,” Tripp said. “While King is the guy that is going to take the ball and push it up the field, Guadio is responsible for being ‘the other guy’ for us. He is the guy that is going to stop the opponent’s fast break and that takes some pressure off of the rest of our defenders.”

Senior goalie Danny Neice, who Tripp has spoken about before the season as someone who is very important while continuing to improve, made 9 saves on April 13, only allowing three goals in total en route to a victory.

When asked about what the focus was going into their next conference matchup with No. 2 seeded Friends Academy, Tripp echoed the similarities between the two teams, before discussing his gameplan.

“We’re similar in the sense that they also have a really good midfielder in Andrew Marsh that we’re looking to target.”

Tripp went on to discuss how he has seen patterns where he believes a zone defensive gameplan could be effective to somewhat negate the attack of Marsh and Friends Academy.

An aspect of Marsh’s game that Glen Cove wishes to be more efficient in is also a focal point. “(Marsh) is their face-off guy too…that’s something we have to work on for sure.”

Glen Cove also looks to be more consistent in the man-up game, going a perfect 3-for-3 in one game and then a possible 0-for-5 the next. “I think it’s just about building consistency,” said Tripp. “It’s about finding the right number of guys to work out our plays together.”