Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hard work in the offseason has paid off for Hewlett’s boys lacrosse team, which is off to a best-ever tying start at 7-0.
Hewlett lost its four starting defensemen and star goalie Daniel Lankri to graduation but still is soaring.
A JV starter last season, sophomore goalie Ivan Reznikov is excelling with a 74.6 save percentage.
So how did this good fortune happen for Hewlett coach Dale Pescitelli?
“I sat down with the Parents Association,” Pescitelli said. “I help out in PAL and they pushed for a lot more offseason work. The players that weren’t playing winter and fall sports, they were able to come to as many intramural practices I would have and the weight room other days. We got bigger, stronger, faster.’’
Senior captain Stefano Borsellino was a given as a spark. But juniors Chase Rivas (9 goals, 21 assists), Myles King (21-13) and Jacob Zohar (17-10) have stepped up into major offensive threats. The junior trio has played together since first grade.
“All those sophomores that were on the team got a year older and year better,’’ Pescitelli said. “It wasn’t just older. They worked at it. and have a lot of chemistry together.’’
The most pleasant surprise has been sophomore attacker John Amitrano, who has 18 goals and 9 assists.
“He’s a natural lefty, tough as nails, loves the game,’’ Pescitelli said. “He’s 240 pounds and looks like you can cover him, but he runs through everybody. He can shoot the ball low, high.’’
In a 15-3 win at Baldwin on April 16, Amitrano did a behind-the-back fake pass to shake his defender and went in alone on the goalie. “The defender ran the other way and he dunked it into the goal,’’ Pescitelli said.
Zohar, meanwhile has emerged on every opponent’s scouting report. The junior scored 4 goals with 2 assists versus Baldwin.
“When Jacob would go on the field, the other team was like ‘the shooter is on the field, make sure you mark him up,’’’ Pescitelli said. “The other teams see it as well. That was the biggest surprise after working hard in the offseason, coming to every intramural.’’
Hewlett’s season started on the right note with a 9-8 five-overtime win over Herricks. Borsellino scored the game-winner after 65:45 of lacrosse. “It was awesome and exciting,’’ Pescitelli said.
It marked one of the longest games in Nassau County history. Reznikov withstood 66 minutes of action.
After scoring 4 goals, 2 assists with 8 groundballs in a 15-3 win over Kennedy last Saturday, Borsellino’s scoring line is 18 goals and 14 assists.
In the 7-0 start, Hewlett has allowed just 11 goals in the six non-overtime games.
“He’s been top notch,’’ Pescitelli said of Reznikov. “He could’ve come up as a freshman, but we had an All-County goalie. We wanted him to get more reps down there (in JV) instead of sitting on the bench with us.’’
One concern is in its important game versus Floral Park on April 28. The Bulldogs will be without Reznikov. A high-end student looking to attend MIT, he’ll be in Texas for the Robotics championship.
The Conference 2 title still is up for grabs despite Hewlett’s 4-0 conference start. “Our schedule is going to get harder so we have to get better and better,’’ Pescitelli said.
Pescitelli joined Hewlett’s program in 2020 and hasn’t seen a long Class B playoff run.
“We haven’t made it past the first round since I’ve been head coach,’’ he said. “We made the playoffs but I think this is the year we get past the first round.’’
