William Floyd’s Varsity Lax Teams Are Playoff-Bound

SHIRLEY, NY — In a double-header for William Floyd High School, its boys and girls varsity lacrosse teams are playoff-bound this week.

The achievement follows a strange season with unforeseen challenges and circumstances, but the Colonials persevered and will be well-represented in this year’s Section XI Division I playoffs, school district officials said in a news release.

Desmond Megna, head coach of boys varsity lacrosse, called the season “an absolute grind,” but his “philosophy from the beginning was to play as many kids as possible early to get as much experience as we could.”

“It has been very beneficial as the season progressed to keep kids fresh and ready to play,” he said. “The Colonials needed a strong start to their season to put themselves in playoff position, and they did just that by winning five of their first seven games.”

Julian Duque lead the Colonial charge with 64 goals in just 13 games, topping all of Long Island in that category, making for a historic season, school district officials said. Jake Taylor also ranked fifth in Suffolk County, and Jezayd Hall played a key role in face-offs, winning 75 percent of his draws this season, they said.

Coach Megna said he doesn’t think people “truly understand” what the players accomplished.

Last season’s team was “poised to be the best team” the school “ever had,” but due to COVID-19, they had to replace their leader in points, top midfielder, and entire starting defense, Megna said. “To come back this season and make the playoffs in the best public school division in the nation is incredible,” he said.

The team was set to square off against Smithtown East on Tuesday.

Girls varsity head coach Paul Vassallo said that this season, he did not know what to expect from his team following the cancellation of last season.

“Some of our wins shocked all of us – not every day does the 16 seed beat a four seed,” he said.

Vassallo, however, did believe that his team had the talent and drive to accomplish great things, he said, noting that the team started the season against two of the top teams in the division, and he used that as a benchmark to see just how good they could be. As it turned out, two of the toughest games of the season were against Northport and Commack, he said.

“We knew it would be tough playing the defending state champions in game one of the season. We played them very tough and learned a lot about our team,” he said.

The team, which had a 0-2 start, dominated in Division I, winning 11 of their final 12 games and secured an 11-3 record, and tied for the third-most wins in their division, according to school officials.

“We have a lot of talent across the board with many different skillsets,” Vassallo said. “Our defense is ranked eighth out of 46 teams in goals allowed throughout Long Island led by Emily Murtha and Jackie Sutherland. Kayla Gilmore proved that she is dominant in draw controls and also ranked eighth in total points in Suffolk County.

The girls team hosts Sachem North on Wednesday.