Marines have room to grow

With four non-conference games in March to use as a measuring stick, Long Beach boys’ lacrosse coach Jim Kaspar said he knows two things can’t continue if the Marines are going to go far in the Nassau Class B playoffs again after reaching the semifinals last spring.

“We really have to cut down on turnovers and penalties,” Kaspar said. “We’re 1-3, but we should be 3-1. Everyone’s trying to do too much. We’re beating ourselves right now, but I know we’re going to get better.”

Penalties, and the inability to kill them, ultimately cost Long Beach in narrow defeats to Class A opponents Baldwin (9-8 on March 18) and Port Washington (10-9 on March 27), and there were 31 turnovers in a 17-5 loss to Oceanside in between. “We’re working on fixing the mistakes,” Kaspar said. “We’ve done some good things. We won 21 face-offs against Oceanside, and against Port we had 38 groundballs and took 41 shots. We just have to be more consistent.”

The Marines, seeded second in Conference B-I, are deepest in the midfield with seniors Josh Ayzenberg and Liam Rafferty, and junior Chris Parler leading the way. Ayzenberg is off to a tremendous start in the face-off circle with a nearly 90 percent success rate, Kaspar said, and possesses the perfect skill set for the new rules that call for personnel changes on the fly. “Josh is a great defensive player and also someone who’s heavily involved in our offense,” the coach said. 

Parler, a big-time college prospect in his third varsity campaign, is the team’s best athlete, Kaspar said. Like last year, he’ll spend some time up front on attack where he’s expected to draw the attention of two defenders. Parler had four goals and four assists in Long Beach’s 16-8 victory over North Shore on March 21. “Chris is a gifted athlete,” Kaspar said. “Everyone knows about him. He’ll get doubled a lot, and we need to take advantage of other things when that happens.”

Rafferty, who is headed to UMass-Lowell, is another key at both ends of the field, Kaspar said. “He’s 6-1 and a real good shooter,” Kaspar said.

Up front, the Marines are young but not without proven talent. Junior Matt Varian, who will occasionally slide to midfield when Rafferty or Parler move to attack, is a playmaker from behind and in front of the cage. Sophomore Tommy Nicpon is a strong finisher, and freshman Sam Brown can be a factor in the crease area.

Defensively, juniors Nick Nigro and Luke Gelfand, and senior Conor Kennedy, will be getting the majority of minutes. Of the three, only Kennedy is a returning starter. Sophomore Kyle Christie and senior Danny Pyle contribute a lot at long pole. The group is working in front of a goalie tandem of senior Brendan McNally and junior Brian Manning, who are vying for the lead gig.