Marines embark on tough road

After closing April playing its best lacrosse of the season, winning four of five, Long Beach began a brutal three-game stretch last Saturday with a 12-9 defeat to defending Nassau Class A champion Hicksville under the lights at the Recreation Center.

But the Marines (5-6 overall) can’t dwell on the loss with another defending county champion, Class B power Garden City, up next, followed by red-hot Wantagh, the likely No. 1 seed in this year’s Class B tournament.

“If we hold the ball and do the right things with it, we’ll be OK,” Long Beach coach Jim Kaspar said. “We’re a young team playing hard and getting better. We played all the top teams in non-league games. It’s a learning process.”

Garden City features one of the stingiest defenses in the county, while Wantagh brings an explosive offense to the table. “They’re quality teams,” Kaspar said. “I think we’re going to win more face-offs and have a chance to possess the ball. Jake [Shapiro] did better than 50 percent in the last four games we won. He gets low to the ground and has good strength.”

Shapiro, a sophomore, takes the majority of draws and gets help from freshman Billy Kane. They’re part of a young midfield that includes senior Mike Nakashian, junior Drew Cohen, sophomore Connor Sofield and freshman James Forkin. The veteran of the group, Nakashian totaled 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in April wins over New Hyde Park, Hewlett, Calhoun and Kennedy. “Mike does a nice job at both ends of the field and is a consistent source of offense,” Kaspar said of Nakashian, who tied a season high with five points in a 10-3 victory over visiting Calhoun on April 20.

Long Beach’s defense is younger than its midfield. Sophomores Kris Horvath, Alec Salvadori and Joe Brand log the majority of minutes in front of All-County senior goaltender Eddie Collins, and contributing long-pole middies Damon Whitfield and Ben Weiss are juniors. “It’s great, the whole defense will be back next year,” Kaspar said. “They’ve done a nice job of limiting mistakes. On defense, if you make a mistake the other team scores. If you make a mistake on offense, you only lose the ball.”

Turnovers have plagued the Marines from time to time, particularly in their 16-10 loss to Division on April 23 when they had 27 giveaways. “You’re not going to be anyone when you do that,” Kaspar said of the generosity. “Their attack had 12 goals and 14 ground balls.”

That loss ended the team’s season-best three-game winning streak that began April 14 with a 17-5 rout of New Hyde Park. The starting attack of Joe Radin, Zach Verch and Alex Solomon pumped home 13 goals and totaled five assists, with Radin accounting for six goals and two assists. That was more than enough support for Collins, who is one of 30 All-America nominees in Nassau.

With four games remaining before the playoffs, Kaspar said the goal is to play on the turf at Hofstra. “If we can get a home playoff game and win it and get to Hofstra, I’ll be happy,” he said.