Manhasset looked pretty invincible during a 4-0 start to the boys' lacrosse season on Long Island, but then came a bump in the road in the form of an 11-10 loss at Comsewogue.
The Indians, though, bounced back in a big way on Saturday by edging Darien, 14-13, in a battle of nationally- ranked teams and the first game of the Battle of the Sound in Darien, Conn. Manhasset won it when University of Virginia-bound Connor English scored his fifth goal of the game with 1:51 remaining. Garden City defeated New Canaan,11-4, in the other game at that event.
Coming back from a tough setback is something Manhasset senior Zac Koufakis knows all about.
The attackman, who was the Indians’ second-leading scorer behind English last year, suffered an ACL injury toward the end of the season.
Koufakis said returning from the injury “was by far the hardest, most strenuous procedure I have ever done in my life. Throughout the summer, I would go to physical therapy for two-and-a-half to three hours three times a week, just to start walking properly again.
“Once the school year started, I would wake up at 6 in the morning to go to physical therapy before school," he added, "and continue the same process three times a week.”
Koufakis, who will spend a post-graduate season at the Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts next year, said that although he is now back at about 95 percent, the mental aspect of overcoming an ACL injury is as challenging as the physical part.
“Just being able to trust your leg again is harder than any of the lifting or running I had to do in physical therapy,” he said.
Koufakis hopes the Darien win will be the start of another win streak heading into the annual Woodstick Classic at 7 p.m. on April 25 at Garden City.
“I think overall we are a very solid team,” he said. “But there are two areas I think we can improve on. One is moving the ball around quicker on offense and finishing when shooting. The second thing we need to work on as a team is sliding harder on defense and knocking some guys down.”
Big Week for GreeleyThough four-time defending champion John Jay and Somers are regarded as the leading title contenders in Section 1 Class B, Horace Greeley is off to a surprising 3-0 start. Greeley, which has its third head coach in three years, has responded well to former Putnam Valley assistant and Yorktown standout Vin DeGregorio.
“He prepares us really well and he’s so passionate and works so hard,” senior defenseman Derek Katchis, a standout on the Hudson Valley Empire State Games team, said.
We’ll know a lot more about the Quakers at this time next week. Greeley visits Yorktown on Tuesday, host Somers on Thursday and John Jay on Saturday.
“I think we’re ready for it,” Hofstra-bound senior attackman Jordan Fried said.
Joe Lombardi, who has been a fixture
on the lacrosse scene during the sport’s rapid growth in the New
York-Metropolitan area, produces editorial and video content for
LaxLessons.com. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.
