The Smithtown West Bulls head into the 2022 season as the 19th ranked team in the LILJ preseason rankings. Last year was a very good season for the Bulls that saw them go 12-4 and make an appearance in the Suffolk Class A semifinals. They were defeated by Northport who went on to win the LIC. Smithtown West moves to conference B in 2022. The Bulls are coached by Bobby Moltisanti who is hoping for another successful season and a chance at another deep playoff run.
The team is returning a number of players from last years’ team who are expected to make a significant impact. Three senior attackers who are returning are Colin Hansen (Adelphi), Ronnie Trebing (Geneseo), and Ryan Trebing (Geneseo). They are part of an offensive unit that scored more than 15 goals six times last season and averaged just under 12 goals per game. FOGO Nicholas Cottage, LSM Ryan Downing (Quinnipiac), and defenders Dylan Rail and Aiden Greene (Oneonta) are also key returning players.
They will be without All-American midfielder and Ray Enners winner Ryan Bell (Providence), and All-American attacker Danny Caddigan (Cornell). The two were both an offensive force and accounted for the majority of the team’s points. All-County Goalie Dan Erler is also a 2021 graduate, and it remains to be seen who will be their goaltender this season.
Smithtown West has plenty of games that will feature other elite teams in Suffolk County that they did not compete against last season. A few notable home games on the docket are against East Islip (3/30), Mt. Sinai (5/3), Bayport (5/9), and West Islip (5/12). Two big away games are at Shoreham (4/2) and at Comsewogue (4/23).
The lacrosse program has had some significant players play for them that have gone to have incredible lacrosse careers at the collegiate and professional level. James Pannell played collegiately at UVA and has played five seasons in the PLL, most recently for the Atlas Lacrosse Club. His brother Rob Pannell played collegiately at Cornell and is currently playing in the PLL for the Redwoods Lacrosse Club. Kyle Keenan was a college player at Duke where he won two national championships, and his brother Ryan Keenan played collegiately at Penn State and professionally in the MLL for the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Connor Calderone is currently a junior playing at Boston University.
