Familiarity boosts Oceanside Sailors boys lacrosse team's chemistry

John Emmerich is in his first year as Oceanside boys varsity lacrosse coach, but introductions weren’t necessary in the preseason.

That’s because Emmerich has also made his way up with his players, coaching them in middle school and then on JV. The connections and the chemistry were already in place.

“Although we’re like a new team, we’ve really all known each other for seven years now,” he said. “I kind of grew up with these guys.”

And Emmerich is leaning on 16 seniors, many of whom are returning starters, to make his first year as varsity coach a successful one, with the Sailors off to a 2-1 start.

“We’ve already had some gut checks, and I think that comes back to that senior leadership,” Emmerich said. “The way they have just stayed poised even during these close games in which teams came back and regained leads on us. They just stay calm and cool.”

Returning on attack are seniors Jack Passuello, a lefty who was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, Brady Nardone, and Jackson Lopez, who excels in man-up situations.

Senior midfielders Luke Miller, Ethan Famularo, and Ethan Silber were all up on varsity as sophomores and have great chemistry together.

Defensively, Adelphi commit Chase Bier is off to a solid start to his senior year, both as a shutdown defender and an outstanding leader.

Joining Bier on the defensive side are fellow seniors Gavin Kowalski, Nick Hawxhurst, and John Butler, as well as senior short-stick defensive midfielders Sean Mahoney, a Cortland soccer commit, Jacob DiDio, and Alex Burris Weller.

They play in front of senior goalie Riley Hickam, a first-year starter, while a pair of seniors — Jacob Stern and Andrew Perrone — share the faceoff duties.

“With all the depth, one of our main game-to-game goals is to share the ball,” Emmerich said. “We just want everyone to eat. We want everyone to be involved and everyone to be engaged all season long.”

To read more about the Oceanside Sailors' 2026 girls lacrosse team, click here. To see more of the Herald’s 2026 Lacrosse Preview, click here.