Thursday, October 1, 2026
Uniondale’s boys lacrosse team is on track for a strong season, with 16 seniors on the roster. Coach Hugo Charles credits the defense for the push and long-term potential.
“Our defense has been the backbone of the team so far,” Charles said. “We’ve done a great job in three of our games, given up five or less goals.”
Senior goalie Chris Ganuza has been between the pipes, and the key difference was his off-season work: Charles detailed how Ganuza got some extra conditioning on top of some field experience in box lacrosse.
“Nunez ended up playing summer ball, which is something he hadn’t done in the past, and from November to the start of the season, twice a week he would come in and do some more training and did a little bit of box lacrosse as well, that got his body into better shape,” Charles explained. “[Box lacrosse] is smaller quarters, a lot more high-pace, fast-action, more shots, you get to see the ball more often. It was something he really wanted to explore to work on the fitness part, being able to run without being gassed, or feel like he’s under pressure while he’s in a regular game.”
The experience put Ganuza in the shoes of other players, literally, in efforts of being a better goalie now.
“[Ganuza] was free to run up and down the field and now he has a better sense of what shooters are looking at when they’re shooting on goalies, so actually it helped out in his positioning, being in the right spot in the cage,” Charles said.
For what it’s worth, the defense is keeping a tight bottleneck in front of him too.
Senior Bryan Fernandez, a two-year starter, is considered a veteran in the backfield thanks to his travel lacrosse experience. There’s also Jason Cruz, who Charles called the defensive captain, who excels at communicating amongst his unit and with the midfield, has a good stick handle and is exceptional at clearing the ball, according to Charles. There’s also Quincy Simmons, who sees to a lot of off-ball assignments because of his strength: his size. 6-foot-2 and labeled the enforcer of the group, combined with Fernandez and Cruz, they act like a brick wall before getting to Ganuza.
Erick Viera Zavala filled in for Ganuza April 13 and made seven saves in the Knights’ 7-4 win over Elmont. Mickael Marshall and Jared Thompson had two goals apiece, and Andy Sorto had a goal and two assists.
Higher up at long stick midfielder is Jose Ruiz, his first year in this role, thanks to his ability to push tempo on the field and hustle the ball up. Ruiz played in close quarters last year but soared at keeping opponents flat on their feet while transitioning into offense, according to Charles, so he wanted to see the havoc Ruiz could wreak higher upfield.
The shining light on defense, surprisingly, despite all of these veterans, is a first-year player, junior Angel Rodriguez.
“Angel has never played lacrosse before but he’s now our defensive player of the year so far.,” Charles said. “He’s doing a great job picking up the game; he’s a soccer kid, he has a strong soccer background, but has been doing very well on the lacrosse pitch.”
Now it’s a matter of the offense matching the defensive energy and output.
The Knights (1-5-1) are home to Roosevelt this Friday at 5 p.m.
