We begin with the LILJ preseason rankings with the William Floyd Colonials who are ranked 25. They are coached by Desmond Megna and are coming off of a 9-7 season where they lost in the first round of the playoffs to Smithtown East. This year they have hopes of finishing with another above.500 record and making a significant playoff run in Suffolk’s Class A division. Coach Megna shared his thoughts on the upcoming season and how they are going to have to make up for the loss of some major contributors from last year.
“We lost a ton of offense. Long Island’s leading goal scorer Julian Duque and All County A/M Jake Taylor and Jezayd Hall (Albany) one of the top Fogo’s on the island.
Megna is looking forward to the opportunity that has presented the players who are returning.
“We have a ton of new, young faces ready to step up. I believe we have one of the best midfielders in Suffolk in Nick Muelthaler coming back from an injury suffered late last year. He is the complete package. Connor Murtha started every game for us on attack and will be looked upon to lead the offense. Nick Taiani had a great summer and will be a solid contributor. Gianni Lubitz will be asked to step up as well as Owen Taylor and Conner Langdon as returners that will now start.”
William Floyd has all of their starters on defense returning this year led by All-Division Ryan Flaherty and Joshua Sutherland. That defensive unit also includes Liam Taylor who Megna describes as an “aggressive takeaway defender” and Mike Ladanza and Kyle Inguanta who also help lead the defense. The last line of defense is senior goaltender Cain Harrison who will be replacing Anthony Loicano as the starting goalie.
The Colonials also have a few young guns who are in the fold and will see significant playing time this year. Jayden Bonner will be one of their starting attackers who Megna describes as “a BIG kid with great feet and hard shot. He is a tough cover.” Midfielder JD Dolezeal has the ability to do a little bit of everything and will “play all over”. Marc Pluchino is only an eight grader but is smart and talented and will also get minutes this season.
A few notable alumni that played at William Floyd and have taken their game to the college level are Steven Murphy (Notre Dame), Andrew Miller (Hopkins), and Jezayd Hall (Albany).
There are a few marquee games that are on the docket for William Floyd this season that could see where they stand against some of the elite teams in Suffolk County. They play at home against Northport on March 29th, home against Bay Shore on April 25th, and at Ward Melville on May 5th.
