Thursday, October 1, 2026
Lawrence boys soccer enters the season with plenty of question marks but with no shortage of talent and a new place to call home.
With the high school turf field deemed unfit for action last fall due to a decade and a half of wear and tear, the Golden Tornadoes were no strangers to bus trips and held their only two “home” games at Lynbrook North Middle School.
That didn’t stop them from winning 10 games and reaching the Nassau Class A semifinals where they fell short against eventual county champion Floral Park.
“We lost a bunch of seniors and the preseason will tell a lot,” coach Gerard Legasse said. “I don’t want to call it a rebuilding year because we definitely have talent, but it’s going to take some time to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
While there’s still no plan in place for replacing the turf and track at the high school, Legasse’s club has a brand new field to call home and it’s just minutes up the road. There’s a new grass (sod) field at Lawrence Middle School that both the boys and girls varsity teams will put to use.
“It’s really beautiful,” Legasse said.
Lawrence won its new field debut last Friday, 2-0 over Locust Valley. Roddy Perard and Jordy Martinez scored, and junior goalkeeper Kevin Valle made 5 saves in the clean sheet.
Also new is the county’s alignment for Class A. Nassau has switched from three conferences to one within the classification, so the Golden Tornadoes will face each of their 13 rivals once and also squeeze in a few non-league matches.
“Our travel is more manageable,” Legasse said. “I’m hoping we’ll be better than .500. That’s the goal. Some of the things we’re looking for is leadership, chemistry and goalkeeping.”
Boasting a quality pair of center backs will help the new goalkeeper in more ways than one. Legasse is leaning on senior Andrew Rosales and Jason Arevalo to keep the high-danger chances for opponents to a minimum.
Rosales was a defensive midfielder a year ago. He plays hard and physical, Legasse said, and is an excellent passer. Arevalo has All-County potential in the coach’s opinion and primed for a breakout campaign. He’s a returning starter at the position and coming off a strong showing.
At center-midfield, Perand, a junior, brings sharp technical skills and great footwork. “He’s one of the better on-ball players in the conference,” Legasse said. “He passes and shoots well and can be a leader-type for us.”
More consistency from junior midfielder Diego Hinijosa, a returning starter, will go a long way to helping him reach the next level the coach noted. The skilled Hinijosa, along with Martinez and fellow senior left outside back Jorge Ortega, are faced with picking up some of the scoring slack left by the graduation of 14-goal scorer Corvin Pocasangre.
The speedy Martinez lacks varsity experience but impressed during the offseason and has scoring touch. Ortega is never going to be outworked, Legasse said, and enters his fourth varsity season.
