North Shore gaining traction

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It has taken the new North Shore coaching staff a little time, but the boys’ lacrosse team is finding its way. 

The Vikings’ 14-7 victory over Oyster Bay Monday lifted their record to .500 at 6-6 – 3-1 in the conference. It was an unmemorable 6-10 campaign in 2022 in head coach John Pace’s first season after taking over for Aaron Kozlowski.

North Shore made the Nassau Class C playoffs last season because of its strength of schedule but got eliminated in the opening round by Lynbrook.

Led by top scorers, senior Jack Kaufman and junior Matthew D’Aversa, the 2023 Vikings are proving a dangerous comeback club.

Pace’s staff includes defensive coordinator Justin Fitzpatrick, offensive coordinator Liam Knehr and goalie coach Chris Gill. “It’s my second year as coach,’’ Pace said. “It’s helped that they are getting used to us and what we expect.’’

In Monday’s Oyster Bay victory, Kaufman scored 3 goals and added 3 assists, D’Aversa had 2 goals and 6 assists and top faceoff man, junior Cole Gibstein had four goals. In addition, Peter Liotta, quarterback of North Shore’s championship football teams, notched a goal and 3 assists and Luca Korte scored 3 goals and an assist. It was the most productive outing of the year. 

“We have more trust in them,’’ Kaufman said. “They built trust in the offseason. We’re listening to what they say and what they say works and we’re playing a lot better.’’    

North Shore endured a shaky start to the season, but showed its never-die spirit last week against Bethpage. It trailed by four goals in the second half before rallying to force overtime. The Vikings lost the game in triple OT but confidence was gained. Last Saturday, the maroon rallied from behind to beat Locust Valley in overtime.   

“The team is leaning how to win, playing together and not giving up,’’ Pace said. “We’re a good comeback team.  We’ve had a lot of close games  - four games in overtime.’’

“I definitely think we could’ve played better earlier in the season,’’ Kaufman said. “We had a couple of close losses early in overtime that would’ve been nice to have. We’ve picked it back up and hopefully will keep it going and make the playoffs.’’ 

The playmaking Kaufman and D’Aversa have proven to be a dynamic attacking duo. Kauffan has 19 goals and 27 assists and will play lacrosse at Lake Forest in the Chicago area. 

 D’Aversa, a southpaw, has 34 goals and 18 assists. D’Aversa’s lefthandedness give him an edge on goalies not used to his angles. 

“My biggest strength is my vision and seeing the field to find the open guy,’’ Kaufman said. “My combination of speed and quickness are my two best attributes.  (D’Aversa) is more a goal scorer. It’s nice to have someone like that to pass it to and play with. He’s a real good player – physical, quick.’’

Pace calls Kaufman his “Swiss Army Knife’’, adding “He does anything we need.’’  

Meanwhile, Gibstein has become a star role player, having won 70 percent of faceoffs. 

Though it ended in a 7-5 loss, one of the winning moments of the season came April 8 facing Long Beach. In tribute to the passing of Long Beach player in the offseason, Gerrin Hagen, North Shore’s team presented the Long Beach squad before the game with a framed “2’’ Vikings jersey as a meaningful gesture.

“All these players have played against each other since first grade and they wanted to do something to commemorate what happened,’’ Pace said.