Thursday, October 1, 2026
Long Beach boys lacrosse is embracing the challenge of competing in a power league this spring and looking to find its rhythm before the playoffs.
The Marines entered the week 4-5 overall and 0-3 in Conference 1B battling against the top competition in Nassau County. While the league wins haven't materialized yet, Long Beach coach Jason Pearl said the schedule should prepare the team well for the Class B playoffs next month where it will look to make the semifinal stage at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium.
“The expectation entering the season was to get a couple wins in this power League and show we belonged,” said Pearl, who guided Long Beach to a conference title in Conference II last season. “We knew they were going to be challenging games.”
Senior attackman Charlie Conway has led the offense so far with 19 goals including a hattrick in a 13-7 loss at Farmingdale last Friday. Conway, who was All County as a midfielder last season, stepped up big in a 9-8 non-league overtime win against MacArthur on March 28 with five goals including the game winner.
Junior attackman Cian Donaghy is also shining with 14 goals and 11 assists after an All County sophomore campaign while sophomore Dylan Brown has added further punch to the attack unit with seven tallies. The Marines have also gotten plenty of scoring from the midfield including junior Ryan Farrell, sophomore Johnathan Hayes and junior Brody Riedel
The defense is anchored by senior goalie Aiden DeRupo, an Adelphi commit who garnered All County honors as a junior with 215 saves. Junior Jax Wagner is also a capable net-minder who splits time with DeRupo in non-league games.
“Both goalies are very solid players,” Pearl said. “It’s a good problem to have two goalies that are equally as good that have different strengths and weaknesses.”
The goalie duo shined in a dominating 13-2 win at Lynbrook on April 8 with DeRupo making seven saves and Wagner recording six stops.
Senior Timmy Miller leads the close defense guarding the opposing teams’ top scorers while also splitting time as a long stick defensive midfielder with senior Bohdee Wardana.
Senior Tyler Parker has taken the bulk of the faceoffs with sophomore Anthony Marra also making progress and taking some draws. Pearl said both Parker and Marra are working hard to hone their craft for going up against some of the top faceoff specialists in the state when playing Conference I competition.
Long Beach visits Bethpage on Thursday and will then host Roslyn Saturday at 1 p.m. and Seaford on April 30 for 5 p.m. faceoff. The Marines conclude the regular season with challenging road games at Garden City and Cold Spring Harbor before hosting South Side on May 15 at 5 p.m. in the final tuneup before the postseason.
“We're hoping we just continue to get better and are playing our best lacrosse when playoff time comes,” Pearl said. “I'll take the lumps now and hopefully we get hot at the right time.”
