Practice is now officially under way. The start of the season is right around the corner.

Now’s the time to tell us who you think will be the best teams in the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region.

And have a chance to win.

* “You make the call” topic archive

Who will be the best team in the Hudson Valley? How about Long Island? And Connecticut?

You make the call.

Name the top team for any of those areas – or all three – and state your case.

The post selected as the best will be notified by the e-mail used in the post and receive a $50 gift card from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

While you’re at it, be sure to get the 411 on Dick’s “Starting Lineup” promotion by clicking here.

OK, now, post away right here on this thread.

And here’s a little tip. Posters who give a top team in each of the three portions that comprise the region (Hudson Valley, Long Island and Connecticut) will get bonus points. But you’re welcome to give your thoughts on just one or two of the three parts in the region.

Posted In: Dick's Sporting Goods, You make the call

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60 Responses to “You make the call: Who will be the best teams in the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region?”

  1. Trev Lax says:

    HV – John Jay has two Hop recruits and two other D-I recruits (O’Donnell/Army and Merlino/UMBC). With Schurr’s nasty D they get a slight edge over Somers. Too many ??? at Town.

    LI – WI is the #1 team in the country. Enough said. Lots of teams close to that level though led by St. A’s and Chaminade.

    CT – Pretty wide open. Brunswick may have the most talent. Darien and Ridgefield should be top contenders for FCIAC again…

  2. LaxKid says:

    CT- You gotta narrow it down to Darien or Brunswick. Ridgefield may be decent, but after losing Matt White I really don’t see how they could be a top contender this year. He, Colin Scott, and Matt Baker were the entire offense and because they were mostly on offense in every game last year, it made the defense look good. I don’t think they will have the same luck next year. I think the top two contender in the FCIAC will be New Cannan who returns pretty much all of their starters and Darien who will probably have the best defense in the state, having one more year with senior goalie Andrew West. As for Brunswick it’s harder to discuss how they will be the best team in the state because most of good teams are in the FCIAC, in which they don’t play them. Brunswick does have a tough schedule regardless and if they could beat all of their tough out of state games then I say they’re the real deal.

  3. vin savastano says:

    We wanted to take this time to publicly thank all of you who have given donations to Kennedy Catholic Lacrosse Program. Your support is greatly appreciated and is going to go directly to the players. THANK YOU!

    First: A Special Thank You to Our Mom & Dad (Vinny & Anita Savastano)
    For always supporting & guiding us toward success and being our biggest fans!

    Next: A very good friend ‘The Colonel’ (Mr. David Woycik)
    (Please read his resume – very impressive)
    E. David Woycik, Jr. is a Partner and Senior Trial Attorney at Sanders Sanders Block Woycik Viener & Grossman, P.C. based in Garden City, NY. Mr. Woycik is a former Suffolk County District attorney and Special Assistant US Attorney. Mr. Woycik served for 30 years and is a retired Colonel in the United States Army Judge Advocate Corps and served overseas in Desert Storm and in the War against Terrorism. He has received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and three Meritorious Service Medals for his outstanding service to his country. Mr. Woycik is a graduate of Hofstra University ‘77 and Hofstra Law School ’79. He was a Distinguished Military graduate from Hofstra ROTC and Hofstra Varsity Lacrosse player. Mr. Woycik was the Hofstra Alumnus of the Year in 1998, Veteran of the Year1999, Distinguished Law Alumnus 2005 and the Athletic Department’s Distinguished Service Award recipient in 2009. His volunteer activities are numerous, to include: BBBSLI Board of Directors and past President, Wounded Warriors Program, Dogs for Vets and Canine Companions for persons with disabilities.

    Next:
    Mrs. Lisa Scarsella
    The Devey Family
    The McLafferty Family
    The Morris Family
    The McLaughlin Family

    We really appreciate all of your generosity and believe it will be a huge step in the development of The Kennedy Catholic Lacrosse program. Thanks again!

    Vinny & Nick Savastano

  4. Iceman says:

    Should be interesting to see Somers, St. A’s, Brunswick and the rest of the competition square off at Somers’ Red & White scrimmage!

  5. Scooter says:

    HV- Mahopac. The big reason why is the returning players. Chase Thompson, Brandofino, Okie Bernabo, TJ Foley, Johnny Mcguigan in goal. I would take that as the core of my team over anybody else in the section and that includes John Jay. The loss of Tyler Perrelle is going to hurt but there are more than one capable players of helping to fill that void. Keep an eye out for Anthony Berardis and Charlie Evans. Both of them are sophomore middies who have a ton of potential.
    LI-West Islip- They don’t rebuild. They reload year after year. Galasso is the best high school lacrosse player in the country and will have another 40-40 year.
    CT- Darien- They have a star attackman in Case Mathias and they always seem to turn that corner right at the best time. They were also without one of their best players for the majority of last season (the kid who went to Dartmouth) . I think the lost of Matt White will be too much for Ridgefield to overcome.

  6. BlueWhite says:

    CT: Don’t sleep on Ridgefield, they kind of remind me of Darien in the early-to-mid 90s when they first started contending with then started beating New Canaan and Wilton.

  7. County Lax says:

    I will let others pick favorites, here are my sleepers:

    HV – Bronxville (Loads of Talent)
    CT – New Caanan (Great coach)
    LI – Garden City ( Bunch of D-1 talent)

  8. Lax123 says:

    Scooter
    Pac is strong agreed Core lead by Brandofino .L/P is also strong with Honovich and Fallo and Town led by KI but D and goalie are suspect.Somers and Jay right there
    West Islip just too strong
    In CT Darien all the way

  9. Jersey Shore Lax says:

    LI …
    1. West Islip
    2. St. A’s
    3. Chaminade

    HV…
    1. Somers
    2. JJ
    3. Ytown

    CT
    1. Darien
    2. Brunswick
    3. New Canaan

  10. Laxtime says:

    CT: 1. Darien/Tradition continues 2. Ridgefield/Rising power 3. Brunswick

    HV: 1. Yorktown 2. John Jay 3. Somers

    LI: 1. West Islip 2. St. A’s 3. Ward Melville

  11. Montauk Lax says:

    W.I. is definitely #1 but they can be beat as Ward Melville showed last year. Garden City should be very strong. Their opener vs. Syosset on March 25 will be a good test right off the bat.

  12. SirLaxalot says:

    HV

    Somers
    LP
    JJ
    Yorktown
    Iona Prep

    LI

    West Islip
    St. Ant’s
    Chaminade
    Ward Melville
    Garden City

    CT

    Brunswick
    Fairfield Prep
    Ridgefield
    Darien
    New Canaan

  13. ReLax says:

    HV… 1. Somers 2. JJ 3. LP

    CT… 1. Darien 2. Brunswick 3. Fairfield Prep

    LI … 1. West Islip 2. St. A’s 3. Chaminade

  14. Jericho says:

    Every year a surprise team emerges from LI, unlike HV and CT which are usually the same teams winning each year. Last year it was Sayville? Who will it be this year???

  15. HV Lax says:

    Lots of question marks at Yorktown. But they always seem to pull out close games and don’t hurt themselves with bad penalties, etc. Therefore I still rate them #1 based on all factors, not just talent. Talent wise, Somers is #1 with JJ a close second.

  16. Sniper says:

    West Islip #1 in nation. #1 in region.

    Thank you for playing. Please drive safely.

  17. Townie says:

    I think Somers and JJ have more question marks than Town. Somers lost JoJo … enuff said. JJ lost their coach. We’ll know a lot more after April 3 – JJ at Town.

  18. GreenWhite says:

    Look I agree there isn’t alot of proven talent on Town compared to other years but like you said there are only two times in the last 30 or whatever years we still weren’t able to win the section. Like you said lots of close games and one goal games in the finals but who always win except those two years?

  19. kay says:

    Everyone always forgets about RYE I say they beat John Jay twice and Somers once and they beat Town for the first time ever. Mark it down now.

  20. Tiger Town says:

    How about PUT VALLEY? PV won the Section last year OVER Rye. HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

  21. westchesterlax says:

    why doesn’t anyone give fairfield prep credit? They have an extremely talented team. Brendan Rotanz is the second most athletic attackmen in the area behind Nick G for W.I

    a ton of their junior class are looking into division 1 schools, they have talent all across the board and they have depth… and they have a senior class that are going to top academic schools like Middlebury and Gettysburg so that they can get an education… even though they are definitely division 1 caliber.

    On top of that they have an incredible coach in Chris Smalkais and they have been state champs the last 4 years in a row…. that has to be worth best team in CT

  22. tiger says:

    TIGER TOWN

    Are you kidding me apparently you forgot a team called manhasset The question is the best team in the region not in putumn wake up!!!!!!

  23. lax17 says:

    Somers,JJ,Pac,L/P in HV
    West Islip and St Anthonys in LI
    Darien in CT

    Town way too many question marks.Should have played those juniors on D more last year.Goalie in for big surprise.KI and who on O. Ranagan one man clearing machine gone with Mikeys clearing passes. Gonna be tough

  24. hank says:

    1 yorktown best coaching staff
    2 somers athletes and speed
    3 john jay lucky schurr taking over talent handed to him
    4 lakeland tough kids
    5 rye good athletes that know how to win. weak schedule though

  25. I-95 Lax says:

    New Canaan will be a contender but is not at the level of Darien, Fairfield Prep, Brunswick.

  26. BigBadBear says:

    I am bit surprised that the LI crowd not showing a lot of love for Ward Melvile…regular season wins over both Y’town and WI,..and a defensive intensity that keeps them close in most games…

  27. LAX says:

    I’m hearing that Ward Melville is gonna be very good this year, possibly better than WI.

  28. slacrosse says:

    HV
    1) Somers–Combines most skilled players having most experience (partic seniors) maybe athleticism too, on O, D, and G (Pfiff, Petr,Tullg, Deinna (FO +M) Bello, Schurr , Longo.
    2) Jay-They can score (Daniello, Walters, Morris, Merlino), have good FO kid in Walters +Pickel on D. If Schurr can turn them into a real force on D and get good goal tending, easily could be # 1. Pretty good out of Sec 1 sched will showcase the team and improve their play.
    3 )Mahopac–disappointing last yr but now a veteran team (Brando, Bernabo, Thompson FO) + McGuigan in G.
    4) LP- Hono, Prunty, Fazio others on D, senior goalie.
    5) Town-KI great plus Lieb, Mabus. Other good players inc Burke on D. But too many MAJOR losses all over the field which must detract relative to last yr in every critical phase of the game. BUT can’t discount the ingrained winning tradition + great coaching which could cause trouble for those above. Brutal sched could cause some big losses but hopefully will improve team for Section 1 play.
    6) Rye. Led by Cornell bound senior middie and face-off specialist, Cole McCormack, like Jay, core of Rye is a young junior dominated team with some key seniors. Have very strong juniors middies (O’Callaghan,McReddie, Chapman) , a big junior lefty attack kid in Barton. Poles include Hasselmann, Bonsal, Steube as well very good junior DM (Collins, Boneventura). No one talks about this kid but IMO Rye has one of the very best goalies coming back in the section in senior Linehan.

    7) PV- Dont know the players except Fitzgerald, Chestnut and assume others returning, So a very solid team.

    8 ) Bronxville–Will be one of the stronger teams in Sec 1 and a definite challenger for Class C honors. McCormick, Near (both D1), Walsh(?) . Dont know other players but question whether enough real talent behind the top kids to get to the top. Goalie? Bville’s sched is also much weaker compared to that of Rye (plays Somers and Jay twice, Put Val, New Fairfield, CT, Dulaney in Baltimore) and PV ( play Town, Lakeland Panas, Mahopac). They will win by big margins during the season but a weak sched. could hurt them vs Rye or PV

    Other strong teams that could be competitive with the above teams: White Plains, Greeley, Suffern, Hen Hud, Brewster.

  29. ctlaxx989 says:

    yes, brunswick had a great team last year but I don’t think that you guys realize that they lost a ton of key players and will probably not be as good. also if we are including the ct preps in this conversation, Avon Old Farms is the best of the best.
    Rye is not good at all. Not at all. John Jay will be a very solid squad this year. They have some serious talent and with this coaching change they could do some serious damage.
    Also if we are talking the ct publics watch out for greenwich, darien, wilton, and fairfield prep (not public but plays in the same league). I dont think that either ridgefield or nc will leave up to the hype, to be honest I am not even sure what the hype is about.

  30. Laxaholic says:

    Agree about Rye. Other than McCormack what is there? Not much at all. PV wins second straight sectional title.

  31. lax-for-life says:

    Laxaholic,

    Let’s see…McCormack recruited by Cornell, O’Callaghan committed to Colgate, at least four other juniors getting D1 and D3 looks….

  32. slacrosse says:

    Anyone have any details on PV’s team?

  33. slacrosse says:

    Laxaholic

    Who’s back for Rye? Substantially all the kids that were on the field and instrumental in last year’s season and particularly wins over Somers and Lakeland Panas. They’re a yr older with great summer tournament experience. Very importantly, I believe Rye will have a great team chemistry. IMO felt Rye had “chemistry” issues last season with being up or down for games which cost them. Not this season.

    Despite the loss of offensive weapon Santangelo, Rye’s O will collectively be stronger then last yr. IMO Rye’s DM’s are as good as anyones.. Yeah losing Keough at pole is a tough loss (particularly defending against a KI or Danielio type player). But the poles are solid and improved players from last yr and will help to make-up a good D.

    Hey, good luck to your team, whoever it is.

  34. wizard2 says:

    PV lost alot of offense to graduation, returns all starters on def. and goalie, a soild unit. No superstars but good sound players. first line of middies are good not much depth, which will hurt come playoffs. Attack 1 return starter in Fitz,possible freshman pushing for time and the other is open. With 2 of the best coaches in the section don’t count them out.

  35. slacrosse says:

    wizard2

    Hey all starters on D + goalie, Fitzgerald coming back, coaches. Yeah PV will be a real good team for sure.

  36. PVlaxmom says:

    Roster correction for PV- not all starters on D are returning- Rodriguez graduated, Bagarozy replacing (LSM last year). Chesnut(A) also graduated; O’Gorman, Kelly, Christopher middies return.

  37. laxing says:

    Yes, good point about the question marks being more evident at john jay than town, mainly considering they just got a new coach 2 months ago. But, it is true that they have loads of talent and with Schurr’s great coaching techniques and defensive orientated mindset (while having a power offense), they could be a top team in the section.

  38. LI Guy says:

    Manhasset has had its way with Garden City of late but this year’s Woodstick Classic could be a different story with GC being the favorite. It’s May 1. Mark your calendars.

  39. laxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says:

    JOHN JAY

  40. Laxin says:

    HV – Somers, LP, Pac, JJ, Town

    LI – WI, WM, SA, Cham, GC

    CT – Darien, Brunswick, FP, Ridge, NC

  41. LAX says:

    Does anyone know how JJ’s scrimmage with Bronxville went today?

  42. Laxit says:

    1. WI
    2. St. A’s
    3. Chaminade
    4. GC
    5. WM

  43. luckyinlax says:

    JJ beat bronxville by ALOT!!

  44. jaws says:

    Jay dominated — 20 minute running qrts. 1st:3-0 2nd: 3-1 3rd: 5-0 4th: 4-1

  45. S1LAX says:

    JJ beat B’Ville pretty handily today. B’Ville’s two DI committed juniors didn’t play or had very limited roles…not sure why. Looked as if B’ville subbed a lot in the second half, as did Jay, so a 6-1 half against a top 20 school while missing your 2 major players isn’t anything to hang your heads about.
    JJ D looked sharp, they controlled the face offs and overall looked very strong.

  46. LAX says:

    Who were some standout players for Jay? Any surprise players this year?

  47. S1LAX says:

    Stewart, Walter and Daniello, no surprises there. Had a D man, #18 that is listed as a freshman, he looked very strong for a frosh if that’s correct.

  48. lax -n- stein says:

    JJ looked good all around. Everyone played for JJ and B’ville’s 2 big guns saw limited time. JJ has 2 Freshman a middie and defender — both saw action good thing — inexperience showed not so good. With time could be decent players.

  49. blaxdog says:

    looking forward to having JJ down to WI on Saturday…….bring your sunscreen

  50. Purple 'n' White says:

    Good to see our new coach Tim Schurr patrolling the sideline for John Jay lax in that great photo gallery!

  51. Jaylumni says:

    So question for those who saw Brxville scrimmage.
    What type of O does Timmy run? Wondering for Sav was always running plays, etc. Did Timmy bring his backer zone to Katonah with him? I thought it would work with Pickel in the middle clogging things up.
    Good luck to the Indians this weekend. Real test against WI. WI is working in an entire new D so interesting to see how Daniello and company play vs them.
    The D will have their hands full with Golasso, Hodgson, and company.

  52. John FANagan says:

    LI:
    1) West Islip
    2) St. Anthony’s
    3) Chaminade

    HV:
    1) Yorktown
    2) Somers
    3) John Jay
    4) L/P
    5) Mahopac

    The Hudson Valley has never been tighter. Every year, Yorktown or John Jay have been been overwhelming favorites, but out of these 5 schools, any of them can be switched around. I give Yorktown the advantage due to experience and I am a firm believer that the defending champ has to be unseated. Somers sits in at #2, they have the most athleticism in the section and they also have the talent to put it all together. JJ’s year will be next year… If last year wasn’t a breakout year for Daniello, look for Daniello to be 1 of 2 AA locks out of Section 1 along with KI.

  53. BigBadBear says:

    the backer takes some time to get good at it…J may struggle early, but if they possess smartly, they will should be getting better come play off time

  54. TriLax says:

    HV –

    1. JJ (based on showing at WI scrimmage day)
    2. Somers
    3. Town

    LI –

    1. WI
    2. WM
    3. Cham

    CT

    1. FP
    2. Bruns
    3. Darien

  55. lovelax88 says:

    HV-
    TOWN- (defending champs, ton of offensive experience, great goalie, one of the best players in the country on offense)

    JJ- Nice performance this weekend vs some pretty great teams! Little unexperienced on both ends but with Daniello and Tim Schurr, you cant go wrong

    SOMERS- Great coaching staff who will continue to have them at the top…Can they make another run without JoJo?

  56. Old Rugger says:

    S1Lax
    No 18 on JJ is Jack Lambert. I’ve seen him play since 3rd grade. He should develop into a great defender especially under Schurr. Has a good Lax IQ. All around good athlete (speed) who likes to hit. A name to follow in the future.

  57. Cardslax says:

    HV-JJ
    LI-WI
    CT-Greenwich
    You heard it here first, GHS will be FCIAC and state champs… They have loads of young talent and a new coach. Look for multiple upsets from them this year. Darien is their best match up, last game of the season 5/19 4:00PM at Darien. MSG should check that one out.

  58. LexLax89 says:

    HV:

    1. Somers
    2. Ytown
    3. LP
    4. JJ
    5. Pac

    LI

    1. WI
    2. WM
    3. St. A’s
    4. GC
    5. Chaminade

    CT

    1. Brunswick
    2. Ridgefield
    3. Darien
    4. FP
    5. NC

  59. Ram Tough says:

    CT –
    1. Darien 2. NC 2. Ridgefield 4. Greenwich 5. Brunswick

    HV –
    1. Somers 2. Yorktown 3. John Jay
    4. Lakeland 5. Iona Prep

    LI –

    1. West Islip 2. St. A’s 3. Chaminade 4. Ward Melville 5. Garden City

  60. slacrosse says:

    After seeing Staples on Sat gotta think they have the potential to be the equal of at least Greenwich or New Caanan

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