The 20th ranked East Islip Redmen come off the heels of a 8-8 season where they appeared in the postseason. They made it to the Class B semifinals but were defeated by rival West Islip. This was the first time since 2016 that the team did not make an appearance in the County Finals. This year they are under new leadership as Head Coach Thomas Zummo comes over from Islip to take over the program. Zummo shared his feelings on leaving Islip and getting the opportunity to coach the Redmen.
“Taking over a great program like East Islip has been a lot of fun. Leaving a program in Islip wasn’t easy. I am an Islip HS alum and loved my years there. I currently live in East Islip and have known these boys for a long time.”
A lot of the heavy hitters from last season are returning and are expected to make a major impact this season. Six players recorded at least 25 points last season and five of them are back this year. The returning players on the attack unit are Matt McIntee, Ryan Bauco (Stevenson), James Violi, and Jason Fiorello. As a freshman McIntee led the team with 41 points. The trio of Bauco, Violi and Fiorello combined for 93 points. Midfielder Gavin Herzog (Adelphi) also returns this season and had 26 points last year. The lone graduate from this offensive unit is Ryan Smith who is now playing collegiately at Hofstra.
On the defensive end the team gets senior defensemen Stephen DeAmicis (Adelphi) and Nick Perone plus senior goaltender Jack Kern (Pace). Kerns had a great 2021 in the net, making 127 saves with a 56% save percentage. All three will be leaders for the defensive unit which had nine games last year where they allowed fewer than 10 goals. Nick Allen will be a key piece on defense that is missed after graduating in 2021.
Ryan Parker and Charlie Kalinowski are two young guns that also have a chance of seeing the field this season after not being on the team last year.
Some important games that are on the schedule for East Islip this year include at Smithtown West (3/30), at Hauppauge (4/20), and at West Islip (4/26). The Redmen defeated Hauppauge in the first round of the playoffs last year, and West Islip is always a big rivalry game between the two neighboring towns and rematch of the semi-final matchup.
Coach Zummo gave some of the keys to what will make this a successful 2022 season.
“The most important thing for us is to concentrate on is us. We are all new to each other from the players to coaches. We have a ton of talent, senior leadership, veteran coaches but we need to figure all of that out and put it all together on the field. If we can dictate the middle of the field and win some extra possessions I feel confident that we’ll be able to compete.”
There have been some big time lacrosse players that came up through the East Islip lacrosse program. Mark Spruyt was an All-American goalie in the class of 1993 and played collegiately at Hofstra. Sean Sconone is currently a professional lacrosse player in the PLL for the Chrome Lacrosse Club. Mike Rooney played at Stony Brook University, graduating in 2015 as the all-time leader in assists and points. John Sidorski is currently a junior at Lehigh University and was named to the first team All-Patriot League as a sophomore.
