Captains set tone for Calhoun

Coming off an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Nassau County Class A boys’ lacrosse playoffs, Calhoun has hit the ground running with a 4-1 mark in its first five games.

But while a drop in enrollment has moved the Colts to Class B for the 2015 campaign, the experience is still what drives the program. “As a whole we have five captains that are three or four-year starters and they all set the tone,” coach Jim Feminella said. “Wherever we get to, it’s because they’re going to take us there.”

Calhoun upped its win streak to three straight with a 5-4 victory over Roslyn last Saturday. Senior midfielder Spencer Kaufman, a returning starter and co-captain, scored a pair of goals and assisted on two more, while senior goalie Griffin Miller, a three-year starter and co-captain, turned away 18 shots in the win.

The bulk of the Colts’ experience returns on the defensive side of the field, so it comes as no surprise that the team has held three of its first five opponents to six goals or less and two of them to just four scores. Miller, the leader of the defensive unit, not only has the athletic ability to make stops but the mental acuity to position himself and the defense in front of him as the play develops.

Senior Jack Thomann another co-captain, is back for his third year as a starter and once again draws the assignment of locking down an opponent’s top scoring threat. His physical nature and speed works well with the skills of his runningmate at close defense, senior Brandon Donnelly, whose hard work during the offseason has made him one of the team’s pleasant surprises. Matteo Acuna, a junior, is a vocal leader who slides hard and is a physical presence, and classmate Danny Grubb brings size and even more physical play to the backline. The long pole midfield spot is anchored by senior co-captain Anthony Fitzsimmons, who’s great on ground balls, covers an opponent’s top midfielder.