By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Bruins ripped off five consecutive victories following a season-opening defeat at Lynbrook, and coach Rich Garguilo is pleased with everything he’s seen so far. “We’ve been playing well and we want to keep progressing,” he said after a 12-6 win at Freeport on April 7. “We’ve got some major tests ahead.”
Garguilo juggled the midfield and attack against Freeport in an attempt to create chemistry between players who hadn’t worked together in game situations. He did so with the knowledge upcoming opponents will be keying on containing senior standout midfielder/attackman Dominique Alexander, who already has 19 goals and 13 assists.
“Dominique has answered the bell,” Garguilo said. “A lot of the teams we’re going to face down the road know him well and will try to force us to other options.”
Alexander has scored at least three times in all but one game and netted five goals in an 11-5 win over Half Hollow Hills West on March 28. He had a four-goal game against West Babylon and hat tricks against Lynbrook, Freeport and Hewlett. “We’re moving him around like we did last year,” Garguilo said.
The Bruins (1-0 in Conference A) averaged 11 goals through six games with Alexander and attackmen Andrew Martinez and Kyle Rebman doing the bulk of the scoring. Moving Martinez, a senior, up front from the midfield has paid huge dividends. He’s scored in every game, and four of his 11 goals came in an 11-2 win over West Babylon on April 4. “Putting Andrew on attack is working out as well as we could’ve hoped,” Garguilo said. “He’s only going to get better as he continues to learn the position.”
Rebman, a junior, is gaining confidence with every game according to Garguilo and becoming a force with the ball in his stick. Rebman lifted the Bruins to their first victory of 2009 when he scored in overtime to beat Hewlett, 9-8, on March 25. It was his fourth goal of the game, and his total on the season swelled to 15 after a hat trick against Freeport. “Kyle’s beating defenders and creating scoring chances on his own,” Garguilo said.
Baldwin has excelled in the faceoff circle and on the defensive end as well. Speedy juniors Billy Deignan and Alonzo Holcombe are leading the way on draws, while senior defenders Joe Ednie and Luke Nolan don’t come off the field. In goal, freshman Brett Dadiego has made a smooth transition to varsity from the middle school team. He made a career-high 15 saves against Hills West. “Brett’s solid at stopping the ball and his outlet passes are outstanding,” Garguilo said. “He’s made us more dangerous in transition.”
The Bruins play their first conference game in three weeks when they host Plainview-JFK on April 22 at 4:15 p.m.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
