The J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ lacrosse team rebounded from an 0-3 start to win four of its seven remaining games and send everyone home for the summer hopeful about future success on the field.
Coached by Travis Smith and Dr. Jonathan Oliveri, the 30 player strong team was captained by eighth graders Frank Algieri and Jack Kamenstein.
Finley lost one game by a 9-8 score two others by two goals each, respectively. They team was close to winning consistently and with a little bit of luck would have done so.
The team was led on attack by eighth graders Tommy Nicotra, Ryan DiVico, William Peters, Nathan Root and Henry Stein and seventh graders Brendan McNulty, Justin Cahn, Gannon Johnson and Jeremiah Miller.
Finley boasted strong midfield play by eighth graders Frank Algieri, Jack Kamenstein, Jeremy Gross, Christian Luca, Jacob Guzik, Walter Kusterbeck, Daniel Warren and Jose Rodriquez and seventh graders Colby Curran, Jude Creegan and Ronan Driscoll.
The Finley defense was led by eighth graders Chase Northrop, Ronan Sosnowski, Braid Martin, Luca Triolo and Sean Egan and seventh graders Ryan Waters, Jack Larsen, Finnian Driscoll and Luke Lomler. Seventh grader Blake Bender was the team’s sensational goalie.
A 5-2 victory over a strong Bay Shore team was the highlight of the season. It was Finley’s first win of the 2022 campaign.
“Frank Algieri and Jack Kamenstein were the core and true leaders of the team,” Smith said. “They were midfielders who dominated offensively and on defense. Their determination and hard work was tremendous and kept us in the fight in many of the games. Our most improved player was attackman Ryan DiVico, who worked really hard and showed daily improvement. He has a bright future in lacrosse.”
Bender also shined in goal. “Blake kept us in the hunt in many of our games,” Smith said. “He had some great saves against some really strong competition.”
Among the team’s top seventh graders were Brendan McNulty, Colby Curran and Ryan Waters. “These three played great all season and with hard work will be the core of next year’s team.”