A senior-heavy Uniondale boys’ lacrosse team has its sights set on the postseason, but with a new format limiting playoff spots, the margin for error is slim.
The Knights have split their last four games, including back-to-back wins over Roosevelt, but a 9-3 loss to Hicksville last Friday has made every remaining game a must-win. Even then, the road to the playoffs remains an uphill climb.
Uniondale (3-4 in league, 3-7-1 overall) showed strong defensive form early against Hicksville, trailing just 3-0 at halftime. In the second half, junior Valentine Saravia scored twice, while senior defenseman Bryan Fernandez added the team’s other goal. Senior Andy Sorto recorded the lone assist.
“We have the ability to win every one of our final games,” coach Hugo Charles said.
Uniondale beat Roosevelt 16-0 on April 24 and 7-2 again just three days later on the 27th. The Knights have gotten consistent production from their goalie all season. Senior Cristian Ganuza is 30th in Nassau County in saves with 106 and has recorded seven double-digit save outings, his most recent coming in a 12-save performance against Hicksville.
“He does a great job,” Charles said. “He believes in all the polls, LSM’s (long-stick midfielders) and defensive middies, and all those guys work collectively together.”
The last line of defense before Ganuza consists of five seniors: Defenseman/long-stick midfielder Jason Cruz and defensemen Quincy Simmons, Bryan Fernandez, Josue Ruiz and Alexander Chinchilla.
“Chinchilla, he’s another one of our polls and he’s very interchangeable,” Charles said. “You can take him and put him in any of the other four guys’ spots and it’ll kind of fit in seamlessly.”
From an offensive standpoint, senior midfielder Sorto has headlined the Knights’ offense. He’s the team leader in points with 20 (10 goals, 10 assists). Aiding Sorto are two seniors in Ethan DeCosta (attack/midfield) and attacker Mickael Marshall. Decosta is second on the team in points with 12 (10 goals, two assists), while Marshall is third with eight (6 goals.)
Decosta recorded seven of those 12 points and six of those 10 goals in the first match against Roosevelt.
With a heavy senior-led team, Charles believes his team’s “senior leadership” could help their chances down the stretch.
“I think with the senior leadership, even with the way the guys were talking to each other in practice, saying, ‘Hey, we’re right there,’ reiterating what we as coaches have seen. Some of these games, we’re giving up five goals and not getting a win,” he said. “We can easily surpass that, because this [5-2 loss against Hempstead on April 29] was the third game we gave up five goals and didn’t win. I definitely see the talk amongst the guys, echoing as far as the belief in, ‘Hey, we can go on a run.”
Uniondale hosts Great Neck South this Thursday at 5 p.m. With four games remaining on the ledger, the Knights are effectively entering playoff mode early.
