Thursday, June 12, 2025
The Mepham boys’ lacrosse is fully battle tested heading into the Class B playoffs.
As the top seed in Conference II, Mepham faces stiff competition during the regular season facing Nassau County’s top teams in the Power League with the rigorous schedule concluding against Syosset on May 14. The Pirates took defending Long Island Class A champion Farmingdale to overtime and knocked off Conference I foe Oceanside as part of the grueling slate of games that second-head head coach Ryan Walsh hopes pays dividends in the postseason.
“I think it has made us better getting tested in those games and playing the better teams,” said second-year Mepham coach Ryan Walsh. “It has definitely made us a little bit better for these games coming up.”
Mepham got a confidence boost with a 7-5 win against Oceanside on May 7 in which senior midfielder Owen Heller and junior attackman Steven Zweigbaum both tallied two goals apiece and sophomore goalie Vinny Ciro registered 12 saves.
Two days later, the Pirates fell 11-10 in overtime to Lynbrook, which is 10-1 in Conference II. Heller and senior midfielder Cameron Lubrano each recorded three goals in a game where Lynbrook goalie Luca Palleschi registered 23 saves.
The UMass-bound Heller has had a solid senior season for the Pirates with 37 points after earning All-County honors as a junior.
Senior lefty attackman Alessandro Walaitis has also stepped up big in his final season of high school lacrosse with 28 goals following a 2024 season in which he received honorable mention All County accolades.
Sophomore Connor O'Rourke leads the team in scoring with 39 points including four goals in an 11-9 loss to first place Long Beach on April 26.
Walsh said opposing defenses keying in on Heller and Walaitis have opened more scoring chances for O’Rourke. Lubrano, Zweigbaum and sophomore James Schmitt have also emerged as scoring options this spring.
The defense has been anchored by Ciro, who has had several double-digit save performances including 15 stops in a 15-9 victory against Plainview on April 9.
“He's been lights out in cage and has been keeping us in a lot of games,” Walsh said of Ciro. “He's very good with those close up shots”
The defense in front of Ciro has been led by Jack Weber, Matt Biscardi and Joe Sorrentino. Weber along with defensive midfielders Nick Gampero and Paul Genovese. Weber, a reigning All-Conference honoree, is committed to play on the collegiate level at Penn State next year.
Senior faceoff specialist Braedon Kehoe, an Iona University commit, has also been a big part of Mepham’s success so far with one of the draw-percenteges in the county.
Mepham is slated to be the No. 7 seed for the upcoming Class B playoffs and will be looking to make at least the quarterfinal stage for a second straight season.
“If we play good team defense and keep winning those faceoffs and limit turnovers, I think we can make a little bit of a run,” Walsh said.
