Hewlett has something to prove

It might be a risky business to cross Hewlett boys’ lacrosse.

So says Bulldogs coach Jesse Corben, whose team has burst to a non-league 4-2 start after kicking off the season ranked last among eight schools in Conference B1.

On the heels of back-to-back Nassau Class B semifinalist campaigns, Hewlett, said Corben, was not inclined to take with humility the league’s preseason appraisal. Rather, Corben explained, the Bulldogs took up the gauntlet.

“We all saw [the rankings] as us not getting the respect we deserve, so we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder,” Corben said. “We feel we have something to prove, to show everyone that we’re better than they say we are.”

The Bulldogs’ dive in the rankings was perhaps not astounding to everyone, as the club graduated All-American attackman Alex Vardaro – now playing at Princeton University – as well as playmaking All-County midfielder Gavin Adler (Cornell), leaving Hewlett grappling with a new center of gravity.

“We can’t run and gun like we used to,” Corben said. “We’re not running our whole offense through one big player anymore. It has to be a new kind of full-team effort now.”

Senior Sam Rovner may have missed the no run-and-gun memo: The All-County Hewlett attackman fired off seven tallies – including the overtime game-winner – in his club’s 11-10 home win against Kellenberg March 29, lifting Rovner to a league-leading (fourth in Nassau) 16 goals.

“Sam is our offensive leader,” Corben said of the SUNY Cortland commit. “Even with every team’s best defender matched up against him, he rises to the challenge.”

Not to be outdone by offensive counterpart Rovner, Hewlett senior goaltender Max May (Muhlenberg College) is well on his way toward a third straight All-County nod with a conference-best 84 saves (.688 save percentage). “Max is arguably the best goalie in the conference,” Corben said. “He makes unbelievable saves and keeps us in games.”

Hewlett’s All-Conference midfield trio of senior faceoff specialist Robert Levitz, and juniors Johnny Miller and Ethan Cohn, took a serious hit March 23 when Cohn went down for the rest of the season after breaking his ankle in a 5-4 triple overtime loss to visiting Harborfields.

“Not having Ethan is a big loss for us,” Corben said. “But Robert is one of the best faceoff guys in the conference. He helps us control games. Johnny’s our best midfielder. He’s our workhorse who doesn’t come off the field. Guys are now going to have to take on bigger roles.”

Long stick middie Matt Weiss (All-County Honorable Mention) heads a Hewlett defense that includes fellow seniors Vincent Morello and Ian Acriche, while senior Jordan Epstein rounds out the Bulldogs’ attack.

Underscoring Hewlett’s going all-in with its new all-for-one approach is the fact that the Bulldogs named seven team captains this season: Cohn, Levitz, May, Miller, Morello, Rovner, and Weiss.

“That’s a first,” Corben said. “It’s to show there’s no one of us that’s better than all of us. It’s all about playing together.”