LI Blows Away Connecticut Hurricanes
July 16, 2010
Hempstead, N.Y. — After a slow start, the Long Island scholastic boys lacrosse team scored 14 straight goals to power past the Connecticut Hurricanes, 20-4, under the Friday night lights at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
Sachem North rising senior attack Michael Andreassi (committed to UMass) scored two of his three goals early to help Long Island overcome a 1-0 hole. The Empire team raced to a 14-1 edge — 7-1 at the half — and never looked back.
Whitman rising senior midfielder Myles Jones, a Duke recruit, added three goals, each in spectacular fashion. Long Island improved to 10-0 in exhibition play and finishes its schedule at the Long Island-Maryland Challenge on Saturday at Loyola University’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
Empire Family Village
July 15, 2010
The Empire Family Village next Wednesday, July 21, will feature local sports celebrities, entertainment and food from 3:30-7 p.m., leading to the start of Opening Ceremonies. Many of the Games’ sponsors will be there, including Wilson Farms. Stop by their tent to receive a free mug and valuable coupons just by signing up for their exclusive online club, “My Wilson Farms.”
Buffalo News: Empire State Games organizers hit final lap
July 14, 2010
Empire State Games Director Fred Smith was running a little late for the Western Region Team news conference Tuesday, but he had a good excuse.
Smith joked, “Sorry I’m late, but something’s coming up and I’m busy.”
Preparations for the 2010 Games are on track with a week to go before the Opening Ceremonies, but the week before the Games is the most hectic time for the staff. Read more at Buffalo News.com
Kyle Keenan’s Empire State Games Destiny
July 12, 2010
As the son of two coaches, Kyle Keenan emerged from the womb with the DNA of an athlete and the mentoring to make it happen. The rising senior at Smithtown West High School is considered one of the nation’s top boys lacrosse players.
It comes as little wonder considering his father, Sean Keenan, is the Smithtown West boys lacrosse coach. He played for Long Island legend Joe Cuozzo at Ward Melville and was an All-American at Adelphi University.
“He put a stick in my hand when I was 2 years old,” Kyle Keenan said. “We were always having a catch before dinner. He taught me to love lacrosse.”
The 5-11, 160-pound attack capped this third varsity season with a Long Island-best 53 assists in the regular season and a run to the Suffolk Class A semifinals. He committed last fall to reigning national champion Duke.
And yet Keenan has another sports destiny just as deeply embedded.
Bridget Keenan played for the Long Island open women’s soccer team at the 1992 Empire State Games in Albany. Twelve years after her first Empire experience, the ‘92 Games marked her final trip as a player. Unknown to her at the time, Keenan – an Adelphi grad who met her husband in college – was pregnant with her first child.
The Long Island women’s soccer team earned a silver medal that summer. Kyle Keenan was born eight months later. Bridget Keenen coached the open women for three more summers then gave it up to focus on her growing family.
“She was a big soccer player at the Empire State Games and she won a lot of medals,’’ Kyle Keenan said, proud of the family legacy.
All these years later, Kyle Keenan battled through a tryout process unlike anything in high school sports – he was among 712 teenagers to try out for the Long Island scholastic boys lacrosse team – for the right to play at the 2010 Empire State Games.
It was clearly important to him. He had heard the story of his mother playing pregnant at Empires too many times for it not to have an impact. So Keenan arrived early and was third in line to register for tryouts at Bay Shore High School. Yet the first day left him frazzled.
“A lot more kids. The games were short. I wasn’t getting the ball. I didn’t think I was on a good team,’’ Keenan ticked off the issues. “So I didn’t have a great first tryout.”
Even still, Keenan’s ability shone through and he made an impression. He sailed through four rounds of tryouts to earn a spot on the final 20-man roster and fulfill his destiny. Keenan was so anxious, he stayed up past 2 a.m. awaiting the congratulatory email, checking his iPod Touch every few minutes.
He’d chugged up and down the soccer field in his mother’s belly, competing at the Empire State Games. The five-day, Olympic-style festival has been going strong since 1978. Now he’s an Empire player himself, transforming the Games into a multigenerational celebration.
“I’ve heard about Empires since I was a little kid,” Keenan said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be an Empire player. This is awesome. This is what I’ve wanted since I was a little kid.”
The Long Island scholastic boys lacrosse team has already played nine games to prepare for the Empire State Games, which are in Buffalo from July 21-25. At the Tri-State Tournament in Princeton, N.J. on Saturday, Keenan scored twice against the Dukes – a travel team consisting of the best athletes from the Delaware Valley (Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) – to help Long Island finish the day 4-0.
The Dukes featured several future Division I players, including fellow Blue Devils commitment Tanner Scott (Conestoga High School, Berwyn, Penn.). Two duo, along with Whitman midfielder Myles Jones, another Duke recruit, shared an embrace and some conversation afterward.
At this elite level, Keenan proved he belonged.
“I go to the cage hard, see the slide and there’s always someone open,’’ said Keenan, who looks to pass first. “That’s my game. It’s instinct.”
No doubt. It’s in the DNA.
LI Downs Team Superstars 11-3
July 8, 2010
Stony Brook, N.Y. — It was a game the Long Island boys lacrosse Empire State Games team dominated from start to finish, but a performance uneven enough to leave the coaching staff flustered.
Long Island faced Team Superstars, based in Katonah, N.Y., and boasting a roster of Connecticut and Westchester seniors and juniors.
Long Island built an 8-1 first half lead en route to an 11-3 win on Thursday night under the lights at LaValle Stadium at Stony Brook University.
Floyd senior midfielder Luke Miller scored twice and set up a Joey Leonard (Hicksville) goal just before halftime.
Duke commitment Myles Jones, a senior midfielder from Whitman, also raised eyebrows with a vicious hit and a second-quarter goal in a show of power and finesse.
Connetquot’s Zach Oliveri and Northport’s Thomas Cordts each played a half and looked good in goal, with an aggressive defense adding a near impenetrable layer.
Ryan Brunet (Comsewogue), Jake Froccaro (Port Washington), Brandon Gamblin (Hicksville), Thomas Gordon (Garden City), James Pannell (Smithtown West), Nick Sherry (Oceanside) and Kevin Wendel (East Islip) each scored for Long Island.
Division senior attack Thomas Nuckel was on the sideline 48 hours after suffering a left knee injury. Wearing a brace and in good spirits, Nuckel will miss the Empire State Games despite being selected as part of the 20-man travel team.
Long Island will play four games at the Tri-State Tournament on Saturday at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, N.J.
Max Seibald, LI Lacrosse Featured
July 7, 2010
Max Seibald is one of the most recognizable names in lacrosse.
Just in the last year the 22-year-old midfielder was chosen second overall in the 2009 Major League Lacrosse draft, led Cornell to the NCAA title game and won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the college player of the year.
Yet his rise from unknown high schooler to elite prospect seemingly happened overnight at the Empire State Games, New York’s annual Olympic-style festival. Earning a roster spot on the Long Island scholastic boys’ lacrosse team is a sure ticket to stardom.
Look no further than Seibald, who tried out after a strong junior season at Hewlett High School. But he was among 500 other Long Island hopefuls vying for 20 spots in June 2004. Seibald auditioned the previous summer and was cut the first day. What were the odds a kid with only moderate Division III interest could turn heads and land a job?
“Coming back the next year, it was intimidating,” Seibald said. “You see college coaches on the sidelines. It motivated you but also made you grip the stick a little bit tighter. This was my first experience at this level and I wanted to make things happen.”
Seibald not only made the team, he starred. His roommate on the road that summer? Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers, a Wantagh native and MVP of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Read on at LIPulse.com
Long Island lacrosse at the Empire State Games is featured in the July 2010 issue of Long Island Pulse magazine. Buy it at participating newsstands.
Long Island Wins Hero Tourney
July 3, 2010
Division senior attack Thomas Nuckel (21) scored twice to help the Long Island’s Empire State Games boys lacrosse team go 4-0 at the Hero Tournament. Photo by David Savoie
Haverford, Penn. — Long Island’s Empire State Games boys lacrosse team outscored its opponents 37-10 and went 4-0 on Saturday to win Hogan’s Lacrosse Hero Tournament at the Haverford School.
LI rolled to the championship game of the 25-team tournament, beating Rockfish Silver, a travel team from Anne Arundel, Md., 8-0. Hicksville’s Brandon Gamblin scored twice against Rockfish.