Valley Stream showing grit

Wins have been few and far between for the Valley Stream District boys’ lacrosse team in recent years, but a more competitive spirit at the start of this season could result in some victories this spring.

The team is off to an 0-3 start, but the average margin of defeat is just over two goals. They surrendered a two-goal lead in the fourth quarter en route to a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Bellmore JFK in
the opener on March 26 before defeats at Wheatley/Carle Place (8-4) and Clarke
(7-3). During their 1-11 campaign last year, the average margin of defeat was almost eight goals.

Fourth-year coach Dan Kraemer said the maturation of his roster has been the reason for the more competitive play.

“We have a core group of guys that have been playing with me now since their sophomore year on varsity,” Kraemer said. “We took a lot of bumps playing so many young guys early, but the hope is it will pay dividends.”

Valley Stream District boasts a strong goaltender and defensive corps and Kramer is hoping that the offense can finally catch up this season with a little patience.

“The real problem is we get a little bit of a slow start, we don’t have necessarily the offensive firepower,” he said. “We have some guys who can score points, but then [we have] a group of guys who don’t score in big bunches [and] they press a little too much and end up turning it over and we’re not getting enough offensive possession.”

Senior attackman Andrew Peik is leading the way with eight goals and two assists, including four tallies against Wheatley/Carle Place on March 28. Peik began playing lacrosse in eighth grade and his tireless work ethic has not gone unnoticed by the team.

“Andrew’s probably the hardest-working guy on the team,” Kraemer said. “Every time I show up to practice, Andrew’s already there playing wall ball. He’s fully into it. His hard work and determination has made him into a scorer.”

Junior midfielder Aidan Duggan is also off to a strong start with four goals and senior middie Nikolas Tartamella is also turning heads with his intelligent play and calming influence with his teammates.

Senior John Ruddick has kept the team in each game with his solid play in goal. He already has two double-digit save outings thanks to his great hands and vision.

“He’s a good stopper,” Kraemer said. “His best attribute is he never gets too high and he never gets too low. He’s got a short memory when it comes to the negatives and he turns it around.”

The defensive is senior-laden with Ryan Sabini, Chris Maggio and A.J. Bellomo manning the back end. 

“Ryan and Chris, when we look at matchups, can do a pretty good job at negating the other team’s two best players,” Kraemer said. “There’s not too much of a difference in their ability to limit guys to scoring on the defensive half.”