Roster rebuild for MacArthur

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After stumbling out of the gate with an almost entirely new starting lineup, MacArthur girls’ lacrosse is hitting its stride and eyeing a big finish.

MacArthur, which graduated nine starters, has won two in a row after dropping its first three games. A come-from-behind 9-8 win at Carey last Friday puts the Lady Generals (2-3) close to the .500 mark going into scheduled league games this week against Friends Academy and Hicksville.

“We’re young and trying to fit people into the right spot,” MacArthur coach Dan Agovino said. “They are working very hard.”

Seniors Shannon Purcell and Payton Napoli stepped into leadership roles as MacArthur’s lone returning starters. Purcell, a Roger Williams University commit, anchors the defense while Napoli has become an offensive force with 15 goals on the young season.

“They are two very mature young ladies,” said Agovino of his co-captains. “They are doing a great job mentoring the girls.”

Sophomore goalie Mary-Kate Sweeney has settled into her role as starting net-minder recording 10 saves in a 12-6 win against Carey on March 29 that evented MacArthur’s Conference III record at 1-1.  Agovino has also been impressed by Sweeney’s ability to generate crucial turnovers out of the net.

“She has at least three to four intercepted passes a game,” Agovino said of Sweeney. “Her real aggressive style of goaltending has kept us in games.”

Agovino has been pleased with the offensive development of freshmen Sofia Quitoni and Ryan McAllister a year after being brought up to varsity as eighth graders. Quitoni, an attacker, led MacArthur with four goals in the Generals’ 10-9 win over Carey last Thursday. McAllister, a midfielder, tallied a goal in an 11-4 non-league setback to New Hyde Park on March 20 to open the season.

Junior Kelly Cook is also a focal point of the offense as starting attacker. Cook registered a goal and assist in the Carey win and entered the week with six points on the season.

Juniors Olivia Quitoni and Marisa Misuraca have helped generate extra possessions for MacArthur in the draw circle. The duo, who rotate taking draws, won some key one-one-one battles late in the Carey game that led to a second half comeback capped off by Misuraca scoring the winning goal with 3:51 left.

“They do a nice job pushing each other,” Agovino said of Misuraca and Quintoni. “They mesh very well.”

MacArthur competes in Conference III, which also features Floral Park, Bethpage, Clarke, Hewlett, East Meadow, Friends Academy, Hicksville, Jericho and Mepham. Agovino hopes for a strong league season that can set MacArthur up for postseason success in the Class B, playoffs.

“We really want to get as high a seed as possible in Class B,” Agovino said. “There were some growing pains early on, but we’re now seeing some progress.”

MacArthur travels to Friends Academy this Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. opening draw before returning home Friday night against Plainedge at 7 p.m. The Generals will then host Hewlett Monday at 5:15 p.m.