Thursday, October 1, 2026
After a heartbreaking loss to Garden City in the Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse semifinals, Calhoun returns as a power conference team in an attempt to make some more noise. With last season's roster consisting of many underclassmen, this year’s Colts look to produce and improve after gaining experience.
To get to the semifinals, No. 5 Calhoun (7-11) beat No. 4 Roslyn.
“We were very young last year, but we’re bringing back our whole defense, our goalie, and our faceoff kid,” said first-year coach Dan Catapano, who served as an assistant under former coach Jim Femminella. “We’re going to be young offensively, especially losing a 100-point All-American Honorable Mention player [Harley Finklestein],” he added. “Guys are going to have to step up. From that semifinal, we learned that you have to clear the ball, win ground balls, and work together. We may not have one dominant offensive player, but if everyone plays unselfishly and embraces their role, good things will happen.”
The defense will look familiar with sophomore John Ruisi, juniors Joe Smith, Jaden Megias and Jack Martin, along with senior A.J. Nill holding down the fort.
From an offensive standpoint, the Colts bring back senior midfielder and captain NickVoll and senior faceoff specialist Michael Nicholoson, who won 61 percent of draws a season ago.
“Playing in the power league last year gave us a lot of experience,” Catapano said. “We struggled early, but we kept telling the kids it’s about peaking in May. That experience is going to help us. Nick Voll has been on some really strong teams, including the 2023 team that went to the county finals, so he knows what it takes and will hold everyone accountable.”
Protecting the goal will be senior captain Nicholas Greci.
Replacing 100-point production means, “some kids are going to have to step up,” Catapano said. Sophomore Matthew Khaimov will be starting at the X and senior Jake Condela is set up to make a big jump. “Both will have to step up, and I think their experience from last year will help,” the coach added.
“We want to continue to be competitive,” Catapano said. “The goal is to compete in every game and give ourselves a chance to make a deep run while continuing to build the program.”
To read more about Calhoun Colts' 2026 girls lacrosse team, click here. To see more of the Herald’s 2026 Lacrosse Preview, click here.
