Eight Sailors to play collegiate women’s lacrosse

After falling short in the semifinals two years in a row, last spring’s girls’ lacrosse team got over the hump, paving a path to the championship match. But their ultimate objective to claim the Nassau County title was ripped away in the final minute of the game as Massapequa notched the deciding goal to take the contest, 10-9.

Though the squad’s new season doesn’t kick off until March, a packed room of parents, administrators and broadcast journalism students gathered at the high school on Dec. 21 to celebrate the eight returning seniors who have already been recruited to play collegiate lacrosse.

“We in Oceanside athletics believe that if a student wants to play in college, there is a place for them, and we are committed to do all we can to help them succeed,” said Jeffrey Risener, the district’s director of athletics. “This is what all your hard work has been all about: to study, to prepare for a career, to play your sport in college. We call that a home run.”

The girls each entered the room clad in garb from their future colleges. Alison Schwasnick, recruited by Columbia University, along with Christina McCabe and Kaitlyn Rapp, set to attend Syracuse and Central Connecticut State University, respectively, rounded out the future Division I athletes. Teammates Mikayla Klemm (NYIT), Alexandra Long (Molloy College), Sami Stein (Marywood University), Madeline Mecca (SUNY Purchase) and Kelsey Williams (Hobart and William Smith Colleges) will also continue the sport next fall.

Frank Luisi, who taught English for nearly 40 years and previously coached OHS’s football team, became the district’s adviser for NCAA college-bound student athletes in 2011, when the position was created. Since then, he has worked with teens — as early as ninth grade — to make sure they are challenging themselves in the classroom and are on the right path to reach their goal of playing college athletics.

The athletes are also focused on closing out their high school careers on top, and they will try to do just that without last year’s head coach, Ken Dwyer, who has led Oceanside’s varsity lacrosse program since 2007. Ralph Montera, who has served as Dwyer’s assistant for 10 years, will take over for the longtime coach.

“One of the reasons I could leave with good conscience — [though] it’s hard to say goodbye to these girls — is you need a great senior class to be able to handle a transition,” Dwyer said. “… They’re going to have great success.”

He added that the school’s lacrosse program has always emphasized that playing lacrosse doesn’t have to end in high school, and the senior class — with eight of 10 moving on to play in college — is a testament to that. Since Dwyer has been the varsity coach, two-thirds of his players have gone on to play college lacrosse, and four more played another sport.

“You don’t get a banner on the wall for that,” Dwyer said, “but that’s one of the things that I think is really our biggest indicator of success, is that we’re providing opportunities for student athletes.”

After plaques were given to the girls, and the seniors recognized their past and current coaches, broadcast journalism students — behind and on camera — did their best imitations of ESPN reporters as they interviewed the eight honorees.

Schwasnick, who is the first girls’ lacrosse player from Oceanside to be recruited by an Ivy League school, said she wanted to get into the best possible academic school where she could also compete in her sport. She added that her father played at the University of Maryland and her brother plays at Syracuse, and that she is proud to continue the family tradition.

“It’s really special that eight out of 10 of us are playing college lacrosse,” Schwasnick said. “It means a lot that the program is growing and becoming stronger … and I hope that over the years more athletes are able to play in college, too.”

Schwasnick’s teammate Kelsey Williams also followed family members: Her father, Jim, played at West Point, and now she will compete at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a small liberal arts school upstate. Williams was awarded the Elizabeth Blackwell Scholarship, which includes four tuition-free years at the school and a guaranteed seat in medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University after graduation.

Though the ceremony highlighted the girls’ post-high-school careers, Williams has her eyes on the spring. “It’s definitely bringing a lot of memories back, and it just makes me even more excited for the season,” she said. “I know we’re still going to be an amazing team together because we’re all selfless and we all know that the goal of the team is better than the individual goal.”

Luisi said that Dwyer instilled those values in his girls to play as a team, and added that no matter where they end up, they’ll always have Sailor roots.

“When you make a great play, whether it’s at Oceanside, whether it’s on the Syracuse field in the Carrier Dome, or whether it’s going to be in Columbia or it’s going to be at Central Connecticut, it starts here,” Luisi said. “It’s not, look at me, it’s, look at us.”