Entering the top three of our top 20 rankings, the reigning New York State Class C Champion Manhasset Indians come in at No. 3. A team that will be poised to repeat will have a bit of a different look with some key graduates in the class of 2022, but they return a strong core that will have them right back in contention. Head Coach Keith Cromwell says he looks forward to seeing how his team responds as they come in as the ones being hunted this season. “Excited to see many different players step and how this years team handles being state champions last season. There’s great competition on both sides of the ball especially the defensive side along with the goalie position. Excited to see the guys compete in the early part of the season to earn spots.”
Their key returning players feature a number of a strong upperclassmen that were a vital part of last season’s run. Starting with their offense, senior Jack Petersen (Harvard) will be one of the primary focal points. Petersen had a monster 2022 season with 32 goals and 33 assists for 65 points. He’ll once again be very tough for opposing defenses to handle as he’s equally skilled attacking his matchup going both left and right. Adding to this prolific midfield is Liam Connor (Colgate) who will once again be racking up the goals this season after scoring a team high 45 last season. Additionally the team welcomes back senior Matt Cargiulo (UMass) and Aidan Haggerty (Villanova). Two big pieces of last year’s midfield were 2022 graduates Joey Terenzi and Hunter Panzik. Neither are players that are easily replaced, but it creates an even bigger opportunity for those returning to increase their level of play. They are also without 2022 attackmen Matt Perfetto and Dawson Reilly who accounted for a large amount of their offense.
Arguably the biggest advantage that Manhasset has is their elite face-off specialist Cal Girard. The senior who’s committed to Duke is an All-American, All-Long Island, and All-County FOGO who is in a class by himself. Girard has unbelievably quick hands and has shown that he’s more than just a FOGO with his ability to win the face-off and push the pace to score in transition. Last season he found the back of the net nine times.
Two of Manhasset’s anchors on defense are juniors Jack Morrison and Jack Mulholland (Dartmouth). Adding to their roster as a returning long pole is the junior LSM Rowan Collins the LeHigh commit. As for the goaltending, on the roster includes junior goalies Matt Im and Tyler Godfrey. Last season it was Im who saw the majority of minutes and tallied 67 saves. Statistically their defense allowed 6.8 goals per game last year.
This season Manhasset will open their regular season against South Side on March 29th in a rematch of last year’s county championship game. During the course of the season some of their other matchups against high level teams include Darien (4/8), Mercer Island (4/13), Cold Spring Harbor (4/19), Garden City (4/29), Rumson Fair-Haven (5/5), Wantagh (5/11), and Chaminade (5/13).
