LI Lacrosse Journal
March 9, 2026
2 min read
No. 10 Ranked Sayville Golden Flashes Team Preview
March 9, 2026
2 min read
The Golden Flashes notched 11 wins for a consecutive year in 2025, building on their momentum from the season prior. Sayville’s playoff run was cut short in the County semifinals in a 13-4 defeat to the eventual champion Kings Park. The loss revealed this group still has work to be done, but if you look in the rear view for a moment, it’s not difficult to see this is a program on the rise going into 2026. 24th year Head Coach Christian Doller has positioned his program to compete in the Class C as a real contender as he’s chasing his first County title since 2012. With his main contributors being another year older with plenty of varsity action under their belts, this could be his team’s best season in the last 15 years.
Sayville is stacked on offense with four of their top six scorers returning, featuring junior Javen Taff (Army), senior Tristan Vitale (Salisbury), junior Connor Batterberry (Siena), and junior Jamison Holt (Manhattan). The talented quartet had a combined 187 points last season and could easily level that number up this spring. Joining the mix through the midfield is junior Dan Babcock in his first season with the team, who’ll have quite the cast to help get him acclimated. Even with Drexel’s Tommy McCann no longer in the mix, the Golden Flashes should be one of Suffolk’s most dynamic scoring attacks again in 2026. Coach Doller’s defense averaged less than eight goals per game a season ago, and replicating that force on the back end could be their key to winning a county title this year. Sayville’s junior tandem down low of Cole Canterella and Alex Bausch (LIU) will play lead roles in that effort with sophomore goalie Troy Kauter expected to defend the cage in his second varsity season. Arguably the biggest returner for the Golden Flashes is senior face-off specialist Sean Casey. The future Manhattan Jasper eclipsed 500 career wins at the X in 2025 and is highly regarded as one of the best in the conference. Between the team’s offensive firepower and Casey’s dominance at winning face-offs, Sayville’s ability to play “make it-take it” could be their biggest strength. On the hunt for the program’s first Suffolk County championship in over a decade, the Golden Flashes kick off their 2026 season at home against a high-powered Port Washington team.
