At number 12 in the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings is one of Nassau’s Power Conference teams the Wantagh Warriors of Class C. As one of the teams that can say they’ve been knocking on the door of winning a county championship, this looks to be Wantagh’s best opportunity to do that with the current players they have on their roster. They were in the county final last season where they pushed top seeded Manhasset to the brink through three quarters. Now with Manhasset moving up to Class B, the time is now for this talented Wantagh team to establish themselves as the team to beat.
On the offensive side of the field, it starts with Army bound midfielder Jake Martini in the senior class as their top returning scorer. The quick and shifty Martini tallied 56 points in 2023, and was Wantagh’s leader in goals this winter in the HSWL, scoring 19 times through six games. Surrounding Martini at midfield is a combination of Jack Dankenbrink (Molloy) and sophomores Carter Loughman and Joe Nicholson, who are all likely to see a surplus in production this year.
The attack graduated a big piece last season in LIU freshman Anthony “Bam” Tsakos, who accounted for 74 points last year, but they return junior Albany commit Dylan Martini who has a combination of speed and finesse in his game to beat defenders, and was second on the team in goals this winter with 12, after a sophomore campaign where he scored 26 goals with five assists for 31 points. The depth in the sophomore class on this team continues, with Devin Paccione as one of the premier 2026s at attack. Paccione continues to make a name for himself, showing that he will be a force the next three seasons after a 45 point spring last year as a freshman. Also in the sophomore class that will likely see added playing time this season is Matthew Giacobello, while eighth grader Luke Martini is a name to look out for in this program as he enters his second season on varsity. Facing off for Wantagh will be Adelphi commit Will Greaves, looking to own the battle at the X and get plenty of possessions to this potent offense.
Defensively it is a group of upperclassmen that includes returners Thomas Carlo (Ithaca), Thomas Conway (Air Force), Mario Innella, and Luke Perfetti, with freshman Patrick Forthofer. In the cage for his senior season the lefty Kyle Conklin who made saves at an an extremely high rate last season, stopping 220 shots. Looking to pick up where he left off, Conklin did just that in the winter as he was a brick wall for the Warriors and is line for another huge season for this Nassau County contender.
