One of Long Islands programs with a rich lacrosse history the Ward Melville Patriots come into the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings at number six. The Patriots are looking to get their way back to the county finals after being defeated in the semis the last two seasons. Led by Head Coach Jay Negus, Ward Melville returns with a large group of juniors and seniors that are fresh off of playing in the LILJ HSWL as they get set to hit the ground running this spring.
Ward Melville’s attack will be headlined by Sacred Heart bound senior Stephen Rosano, senior Iona commit Zach Brittman, and junior Liam Banks Jr. Rosano the lefty is their leading scorer among their returning attackmen after a 44 point season in 2023 with 28 goals and 16 assists. Brittman dished out 18 assists with eight goals for 26 points last season, while Banks Jr. tallied 12 points as a sophomore and will likely be a huge part of Ward Melville’s offense this season. Also adding to the depth of their attack is senior Mount Saint Mary commit Aidan Kilduff.
The Patriots have a well balanced midfield with multiple players that can beat teams from different areas of the field, between Harvard commit Callan McLaughlin, Brody Morgan the Towson commit, Bryant commit Quinn McKay, Stony Brook commit Thomas Murphy, and Andrew Buscaglia. As a collective they each showed this winter that their midfield will be right up there with the other midfield units across Suffolk County. Last season they were a high powered offense that averaged 11.4 goals per game. The face-off X is where they have a huge advantage over a number of teams with the return of senior FOGO Madden Murphy who’s committed to Boston University.
Defensively Ward Melville sees the return of key defensemen Aidan McMinn the Binghamton commit, Saint Leo commit Jake Sudaley, Devon Larsen, and Ben Ehlers. Their two goalies this season are senior Davon DiFede and Ethan Shulder who each shared time in the net this winter and have a chance to share the goalie duties this season. The Patriots are a program that historically always has an upper echelon defense and they look to replicate last seasons statistics where they allowed slightly over six goals per game.
