Saturday, May 17, 2025
After a tough 2024, Uniondale head coach Hugh Charles knew that there had a be a changeup in the boys’ lacrosse program to see better results. For context, the Knights celebrated only one win last season, going 1-14.
“We did a lot of off-season work with the young men; when school got back into session, we would do Tuesdays and Thursdays for indoor [practices] and that really helped, at least help the guys keep their sticks in their hands and improve in their overall skill sets,” Charles said. “I think we’ve come a long way from where we’ve come last year, we had a really rough campaign last year,”
The Knights already have one win on the board against Roosevelt, 8-3, April 7. Prior to that victory, they played a tight match against Malverne/East Rockaway, where they lost 5-4. After that, they had a heartbreaker of a game against Clarke where they were up by three goals before the Rams went on a run and bested the Uniondale 11-8.
Last Saturday, Uniondale played Great Neck South and fell short 11-5. Tyreque James had a pair of goals, Chatelain Gaetan and Anthony Ortega had a pair of goals each and Andy Sorto dished out three assists in the effort. James and Oneil Webb Jr. had three apiece against Malverne/East Rockaway.
Results aren’t everything to Charles: he likes the fact that more guys tried out for the team: 67 this year, compared to around 40 from last year. While not everyone made the final roster, it proved his point to him that the off-season exposure drew in more players, which he anticipates will make for a more vivacious team.
Some standouts on the varsity squad include Chris Ganuza, a junior goalie, stopping 57% of goals this year. In the recent loss against Great Neck South, Ganuza stopped 20 of the 31 shots he faced for a 65% save percentage between the pipes.
Charles said that one of his top athletes this year was Adrian Ayala, a senior midfielder; while he’s only seen limited time due to injury, his energy is felt on and off the field.
One of the leading scorers is Webb Jr., a senior attacker, and one who found the back of the net five times for Uniondale in their loss to Clarke.
Flanking is him another co-captain, the previously mentioned Gaetan, a senior defensive-midfielder, regarded as one of the local leaders amongst the Black Knights.
“He has really been pushing the squad in the right direction,” Charles said. Gaetan currently has seven goals and a pair of assists to his name.
Before this year, Gaetan spent most of his time is the defensive third of the field, but this summer he saw some action in the midfield. Therefore, for Charles, it made sense to put one of his co-captains in a crucial transition spot.
“Pleasure to see him taking on that role and rising up to the challenge,” Charles said.
On the flip side of that, there’s the story of Jason Cruz, who’d been a midfielder his entire lacrosse career, until he suddenly showed talent and sharp-as-a-tack instincts in the long-stick defense position. Charles & co. had no qualms slotting him there.
Uniondale has over half of its remaining schedule to make good on its promise and increase its win percentage.
