No. 18 Ranked West Islip Lions Team Preview
February 16, 2022
3 min read
After a strong 2021 campaign West Islip comes into the 2022 season ranked 18 in the LILJ preseason rankings. Led by Head Coach Tom Corcoran, they went 12-5 last season and made it all the way to the Suffolk Class B Championship Game where they were defeated by Comsewogue. However, this year the team will be without a lot of their heavy hitters that helped make last season such a success. Despite losing a significant amount of players, Coach Corcoran believes the division is still there for the taking.
“I believe the division is wide open. It’s not where you are in March but where you are in May. The teams who stay healthy and starts to gel at the right time can make the championship push.”
On offense, the key players they will be without this year are Tommy Corcoran, Parker Reilly, Joe Costantino, and Ryan Behrens. At the attack position, Corcoran led the team with 59 points and Reilly was second with 53. Costantino and Behrens combined for 72 points last season as well.
This will present a big opportunity for returning players Kyle Cinotti (Western Connecticut), Max Esposito (Geneseo), Dillon Gagliardo, Konrad Maciejny (Geneseo), CJ Schwarz (Albany), and Cole Sparks. Sparks was called up to the varsity team last year as a sophomore and recorded the most points out of any underclassman on the team. Each returning player will have a significantly enhanced role and the team will need a ton of production from them offensively. Last season, the Lions averaged 10.6 goals per game.
The defensive unit will be without PJ McGoldrick and Chase Cassagnau who were among the team leaders in ground balls and were part of a defense that held opponents under 10 goals 14 times. They are getting back JJ Gitzinger (Western Connecticut) and LSM’s Jack Dellipizzi (Stony Brook) and Matt Kramer (Mercy) who will help the team remain stout on the defensive end of the field.
The Lions have a few young guns on the roster, these young guns may get an opportunity to see the field this year. Kevin Cinotti, Mason Solomon, Brendan Obloj, and Carmine Vandenburg are all players that might have a chance to contribute.
West Islip’s Schedule will feature quite a few notable games against some tough divisional opponents that can ultimately decide where teams finish in the standings. Some notable division games that they will play at home are against cross-town rival East Islip (4/26), Shoreham (5/3), and Comsewogue (5/9). A few marquee away games include at Mt. Sinai (4/2) and at Bayport (4/23). The team also has an inter-county game at Farmingdale on March 28th.
Throughout the program’s history that has seen them win 28 consecutive Super Six Champions, 10 County Championships, and five New York State Championships, West Islip has a number of notable alumni. A few recent notables include Michael Alexander & Jared Paquette, who were high school All-Americans who made the U19 USA World Team and currently attend Yale. Nicky Galasso is the current all time points leader in NY State, he also has received ROY & All-American honors. Jack Kelly is a 2x USA World Team member, and Justin Turri is also a World Team member and is currently an assistant coach at Michigan University.
