Wantagh fuels up for playoffs

Despite battling injuries and seesaw play for much of the season, the Wantagh boys’ lacrosse team is positioned for a playoff run in a new league.

Wantagh entered this week 4-3 in Conference C-1 with three games left to try and lock up one of the top playoff spots in Class C. The Warriors are in Class C following more than a decade in Class B and have tackled much of their new schedule without key starters from last year’s team that fell a win short of reaching the county finals.

“We’re not at full strength and we have to clean a few things up,” Wantagh head coach John Cuiffo said. “We have to play more consistent.”

Wantagh has lost three of four including two road setbacks last week to North Shore, 8-5, and two-time defending Class C state champion Cold Spring Harbor, 8-5. Wantagh is still in the running to achieve one of the league’s four available playoff byes with seniors Tommy Rohan, Patrick Walsh and Andrew Hughes getting back into form after missing much of the season due to football injuries suffered last fall.

“It’s tough when you lose that many key players for much of the season,” Cuiffo said. “They aren’t 100 percent yet, but it is great that they are back for end of their senior season.”

With much of the regular starting lineup out early in the season, senior attackman Finn Duignan has emerged as an offensive threat with 27 points. The Warriors are also getting increased scoring production from Nick Teresky, Don Schaumloffel, Ethan Insinga, Ryan McCarty, Tommy von Bargen and Liam Ireland.

Wantagh has scored in double digits during six of its wins this season, which Cuiffo attributes in large part to the success of Anthony DiMatteo on faceoffs. The sophomore has won around 80 percent of his faceoffs to help the Warriors can crucial extra possessions.

“He has been a godsend for us,” Cuiffo said of DiMatteo, who won 17-of-19 faceoffs in a 10-7 non-league win against Connecticut’s Barlow High School on April 21. “He has been a really, really solid player.”

The Wantagh defense has also stepped with opponents limited to single digits in all but one game. Senior goalie James McCarron has recorded three double-digit save games including 10 in a 10-9 win against Bethpage on April 28.  A deep defensive unit in front of the net features Kyle Craig, Jack Conklin, Joe Moritz, Gavin Guerrera, Will DiMatteo, Dylan Findlay and Don Conway.

After a May 9 home game against Floral Park, Wantagh hosts Locust Valley Saturday morning at 10 a.m. before closing the regular season at Wheatley Tuesday. Cuiffo said the team grew close during a spring vacation trip to Arizona that he hopes pays dividends come playoff time.

“It wasn’t about wins in losses but about being together,” said Cuiffo of the western journey that featured two games and exploring the Grand Canyon. “No matter how the season ends up, that is a trip they will remember for the rest of their lives,” he added.