Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Lynbrook boys’ lacrosse teams quest for a second county title in three years fell two wins why when the Owls ran into a red-hot Manhasset squad.
The longtime lacrosse power, which was coming off 17-10 quarterfinal win against Wantagh, proved too much for the Owls in a 10-3 defeat at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium on May 25. The season-ending loss however did not diminish from what was another successful spring for Lynbrook, who finished 14-4 overall and 8-1 in a challenging Conference B-II.
“We have tremendous competition on our conference and in our county,” Lynbrook coach Bill Leighley said. “We had a tremendous amount of success given that.”
Lynbrook found itself in an early hole when Manhasset raced out to a 6-0-halftime lead in rematch of last years lass B county finals won by the Indians 9-6. The Owls defeated Manhasset in the 2014 county title game 8-4 en route to a Long Island championship.
“They are loaded with talent,” Leighley said of Manhasset. “They have kids who have been playing together their whole lives.”
Lynbrook advanced to the semifinals with a dramatic 10-9 win against Bethpage on May 19 that avenged the Owls lone conference setback. Trailing 9-8 late, defenders Zach Barrett and Quentin Herman forced a turnover leading to a tying goal by Kyle Yaeger with 19 second left. Eddie Perlstein then won the ensuing faceoff and tallied the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining.
“It was one of the most exciting wins I have ever been a part of,” Leighley said.
Lynbrook graduates a talented senior class that includes scoring threats Ryan Candel, Zach LoCicero and Joey Virgona. The Quinnipiac-bound LoCicero ended his senior campaign with 65 points on 31 goals and 34 assists while Candel, a Dennison College commit, was the leading goal-scorer with 44. Virgona ended his Lynbrook career on a high note with 28 goals and nine assists.
“They carried the load for us,” Leighley said of his three senior offensive forces.
Leighley is excited about some of the junior talent he returns next season as seniors including attackman Kyle Yeager, who tallied 19 goals and 11 assists this spring. Perlstein proved to be a dominant force on faceoffs as junior winning 61 percent of his draws to help generate extra Owl possessions while Nick Paris was a physical presence on defense. Junior Ian Proefreidt will be back at goalie after splitting time with the senior JD Gebbia.
Underclassmen also contributed to the Owls run this season led by freshman midfielder Jack Fagen. Leighley also has high hopes for freshman long stick defensive midfielder Joe DeMonte and sophomore defensive midfielder Tom O’Brien.
Leighley said a major reason for the success this season and the past three years was how the mix of seniors and younger players bonded.
“We always set team camaraderie and team chemistry as a goal,” he said. “We accomplished that goal and then some.”
All-County Honorees
