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It was a disappointing afternoon for our O'Neill players. All good reigns must come to an end eventually and today after holding the Section 9 Championship title for three years, we relinquished it to Red Hook. The loss was felt by all but probably more so by the seniors who wanted to go out winners once again. We did, however, have a great season and you all should take PRIDE in that. For many years you have helped this team achieve great success and no one can take that away by one afternoon.

To the juniors, sophomores, and freshman, there is always next year and I know you will go on to again achieve success and hopefully take back the championship title. We wish you all the best in that.

For Jeff and I, we just want to say it has been a pleasure getting to know you all for the past three years and we have enjoyed doing the website for the team and we hope that you enjoyed it as well. To the parents of all these great players, it was great meeting you and getting to know you all so well. To Mary Haskell, thanks for the brownies! We have made great friendships.

To our seniors, may you achieve great things in your future endeavors whatever they may be. Congratulations to all of our All Stars! "GO RAIDERS".


Rain, Rain, Go Away....WE WANT TO PLAY LACROSSE !.

The rain would not let up tonight, as the Seniors celebrated their last night playing lacrosse on their home turf in front of their home fans. It had been raining most of the day and continued on during the entire game. Today we also showcased our seniors with the people who have supported them many years over during their lacrosse seasons--their parents. As hard as the players play, let's not forget those friends and family who come out and support their kids rain or shine, home or away for every game.

It was a pretty unexciting game, as the Oneill Laxmen dominated at both ends of the lacrosse field tonight, handily defeating the Red Hook Raiders by a score of 16 - 3.

Red Hook is a relatively young program and the team is still growing. This is only their second year as a lacrosse program.

Senior Attackman Will Haskell was on fire tonight, as he accounted for 9 points on 4 goals and 5 assists. Fellow senior Attack/Middie Beau Girard added 5 points of his own on 2 goals and 3 assists. Finally, Senior Brian Meese added 4 more goals.

Senior Middie Louis Lauria dominated the midfield by scooping up the ground balls off the face off. Louis accounted for 6 ground balls tonight, leading the team in that category.

Oneill takes a week and a half off before they start into the post season championship rounds. The first game will be the Class C SemiFinals. The teams must have at least a .500 regular season to qualify for the post season playoffs. Red Hook is currently 4 - 2 with 2 League games left to play (Highland and Burke). Burke is 2 - 3 with 2 League games left to play (Delaware Valley and Red Hook). Neither Highland nor Delaware Valley will qualify. Watch this website for updates on games and locations.


Two new players are in the spotlight tonight, as Oneill continued its unbeaten streak by defeating the JS Burke Catholic Eagles tonight by a score of 11 to 4. The weather was overcast and it threatened to rain, but that did not dampen the spirits of our two stars from this game.

On Offense, my MVP of the game was Jack Riley. Jack, a Freshman who has a starting position on the Attack line after Beau Girard was moved to Middie, accounted for 6 total points tonight. Jack started right from the opening face off, as he scored two of the first three goals and then added another goal in the second quarter. Jack's biggest contribution though, is not so much his goal scoring, as it is his play behind the net at "X". From that position, Jack is able to orchestrate the offense, watching for the cutters and feeding the ball to his teammates for the goal. In fact, from this position, Jack earned 3 assists for a total of six points. Jack is a fine player, and as a freshman, has many years left of solid contributions to the Oneill offensive unit.

My pick for the Defensive MVP is also a player that we dont hear much from - Christian Bryan. Christian plays a solid game of defense and tonight he shone by scooping up 6 ground balls. Additionally, on several occassions, Christian personally cleared the ball across the midfield line and set the offense up for success. Christian is a Junior with 3 years of playing experience. Next year, he will likely be one of the anchors of the defensive unit.

My final highlite of tonights game is the special team of the Man Down Defense. This is a team of highly skilled defensive Middies and Long Pole Defensemen who are hand picked based upon their skills. They are called upon to try to prevent the opponents from scoring for what is normally a minute long period. What makes this unusual is that they must play with one less man than the opponents, due to a penalty on the Oneill team. This is not an easy task as the Man Down Defense is only 5 players, trying to defend against a 6 player offense trying to score. The Man Down Special Team did exceptionally well tonight. Burk had 4 opportunities in which they were a man up, and our Man Down Defense denied them every time. Additionlly, for a one minute period, Oneill was 2 men down, playing defense with only 4 players while Burke had 6 on offense. The Defense held fast and did not permit any goals during this time.

Well done, Defense.

Oneill takes the weekend off and hosts Red Hook at home on Tuesday to complete its regular season. Come on out and join us as we cheer our team to victory.


It was a beautiful day for a lacrosse game, as the sun was bright and warm with a slight breeze. The Warriors of Delaware Valley had quite a drive from upper PA, but they made it on time and the game started as scheduled.

With a final score of 18 points, many of the "usual suspects" accounted for much of the scoring, but it was a Night of Firsts - and those are what I am going to single out with this highlite.

First was Senior Defenseman Dave Corbari. Dave is a veteran defender on the team, and is the mainstay of the longpoles. He is mentioned quite frequently in the writeups for his defensive scoring - scooping up ground balls and forcing turnovers. Nothing new to report there. Tonight, however, Dave added something new to his repertoire - an offensive goal. Dave started by collecting a ground ball deep in his own defensive territory, cleared the ball across midfield himself, drove on the goal, shot - and SCORED ! Check out the video of Dave going coast to coast under the Action Videos link.

Next up, the big 5' 8" Sophomore who has yet to decide where he wants to go to college - Andrew Bean. Andrew camped himself on the Delware Valley crease tonight, pushing the defenders out of the way, and Freshman Jack Riley fed him a pass, that Andrew took and put into the net. This was Andrew's first goal of the season, but Im sure there will be more to come.

Our next accomplishment on the "Night of Firsts" parade was my personal favorite. This freshman has been playing on a youth team for a couple of years. He played goalie for a season and then decided that he wanted to score goals instead of stopping them. Tonight, he also camped himself on the crease. When he was fed a pass from Sean Jollota, he was body checked by the defender and ended up with his back to the goal. He shot a beautiful underhand shot, past the goalie hitting the back of the net. There were a couple of fans in the stands that exploded with joy. Measuring in at 5' 9" and soon to be heading off to Fort Bliss, Texas, its Cory "Little Beau" Girard scoring his first goal of the season.

The final participant in our parade of firsts, comes from a sophomore. Chris "Wardy" Wardynski took a Brian Meese feed tonight and also scored his first goal of the season. This is Chris' first season playing lacrosse and as a sophomore, he will have plenty more time to rack up more points. Now, Chris, how about getting me a signed release so I can put your picture up?

Though not quite a first, this one deserves honorable mention. Senior Attackman Will Haskell was plenty upset, when early in the game his broke the shaft on his stick. Then he got REALLY ANGRY when he watched a defenseman - A DEFENSEMAN - go down the field to score a goal. Incensed, Will was not going to be outdone. Late in the 4th quarter, he beat up Christian Bryan on the sideline and took his long pole. Then he begged and pleaded for the coach to put him in and let him play. When the coach would not let him play, he waited for a substiution whistle and went out onto the field anyway. Then, not letting Dave take all the glory, Will scooped up a ground ball, drove down the field with a long pole, shot - and scored. Not that this was Will's first goal, but it was his first goal impersonating a defender !

And speaking of release forms, we finally had to ask Luke's mother and she gave us permission. So, check out Luke's mug shot on the team roster page and his stats on this player page. Keep up the good work, Luke!

Oneill plays again Thursday as they travel to Burke Catholic. Game time is 5:30


It was a wet and extremely slippery field tonight as the Sawyers defeated our Raiders 9 to 5 in constant rain. It was a grudge match of sorts as the last time these two teams met there were many questionable hits and referee calls and O’Neill came up short on a 13-10 score.

Tonight was a different chapter of the same book. Both teams were aggressively checking and hitting. It was a very physical game and the wet and slippery field conditions set the conditions for uncontrollable and accidental contact. As the boys’ adrenaline was high on both teams, many of these instances resembled overly aggressive play.

Oneill had difficulty producing any offense tonight, only scoring five goals as Saugerties controlled the ball the majority of the game. However, when our goals hit the Sawyers net it was the result of a team effort. Four of the five goals scored were the result of players providing good assist passes to the goal scorer. Way to play as a team Oneill!

Defensively, David Corbari had a very good night accounting for 10 ground balls and 5 forced turnovers-several of them mid air steals. Additionally, Conor Quinn and Christian Bryan also played well adding 9 ground ball and 2 forced turnovers combined.

In the goal, Stose started the game but came out during a time-out in the first quarter, Mike McMahon took over the net. Mike faced 26 shots and recorded 8 saves for a saved percentage of 57%.

In the face off circle three individuals combined to win 9 out of 16 face-offs for a percentage of 56%. Good job “Bagle”, “Mikey P” and “J Latte”.

The Man Down Defense Special Team had a good showing only allowing the Sawyers to capitalize on 2 out 6 opportunities.

The Raiders get a three day rest period and then they start a series of league games to finish out the season. Oneill is undefeated in league play for three years running. Please come out and help support your Raiders as they go for a fourth season starting Tuesday at 4:30 at home as they take on Delaware Valley.


It was both a joyous night......and a somber one.

Every team member that could, got playing time tonight as the Oneill Raiders handily defeated the Highland Huskies to keep their unblemished League record perfect.

Coach Lucas Patsch did an outstanding job of rotating all the players, keeping the first line players off the field for a good majority of the game and getting the second and third string players a lot of game time. I applaud Coach Patsch for his actions tonight and I know I speak for many parents who were very glad to see him take this opportunity to get guys in the game who tend to see little game time. Good work, Coach.

Im not going to run down through all the stats that I normally do...there are simply too many good stats put in by many players. I think that everyone played very well this evening and all should be proud of his individual performance.

I will, however, highlite Ed Mrozik's performance in the goal. He went 3 quarters into the game until the Huskies found the back of the net. That nearly matches Stose's performance against Delaware Valley. Im still waiting for which one of the three goalies will enable me to write up a Shut Out....

On the somber side, we were all saddened to hear that Coach Ryan Armstrong's grandfather passed away recently. We all know how difficuly it is to lose a loved one. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this time.

Oneill will take one day off and then face Saugerties for the second time this season. Our first meeting was a tough loss at 13-10. Please join us in supporting the boys as they take it to the Sawyers on Friday. Game time is at 4:30.


Just a short note so I can try to get caught up on pics and videos.

The Defense played an outstanding game today, with Conor Quinn scooping up 6 ground balls. Dave Corbari added 3 more ground balls and 4 forced turnovers. Mike McMahon had a great game between the pipes, facing 32 Wallkill shots while recording 12 saves, for a save percentage of 66%.

Senior Beau Girard, who has been shifted from Attack to Middie, dominated the midifield game, claiming 7 ground balls and forcing Wallkill to turn the ball over 6 teams. He led the team in both categories in today's game. Additionally, Beau scored twice and also recorded an assist.

Offensively, Brain Meese accounted for 4 goals, while Will Haskell was credited with 2 goals and 5 assists. Will was the big point producer for the game.

In the faceoff circle, Sean Jollota had a good day, winning 12 of his 18 attempts. He had a good partnership with Louis Lauria - Sean would get the clamp and sweep the ball out to Louis who would scoop up the ground ball for the possession.

The Raiders are off until Wednesday when they travel to Highland to defend their unbeaten league record. Game starts at 5:30 PM.


1 minute and 38 seconds. That was all the time that was left that would have given Christos "Stose" Koutsourades a shutout and a perfect game. Stose went 46 minutes and 12 seconds, facing 16 shots and making 9 saves before one sneaked past him in the final 2 minutes of the game. We were all pulling for ya Stose, maybe next time.

So, how does a Pensylvania team get into a New York State lacrosse league? Apparently, there is no lacrosse in the Delaware Valley School District, so the Warriors pay to become part of our league. They have a beautiful facility with an artificial surface. The only downside was the constant rain during the entire game.

The weather did not appear to hamper the offense, as 6 different players found the back of the net. Freshman Jack Riley was the big point producer tonight with 2 unassisted goals, 2 assisted goals, and 2 assists awarded for a total of 6 points. Seniors Brian Meese and Beau Girard each registered 4 points (Brian with 2 assisted and 2 unassisted goals and Beau Girard with 1 assisted, 2 unassisted, and one assist awarded). Senior Will Haskell returned after having to sit out 2 games for an injury. He logged a goal of his own along with an assist. Rounding out the scoring were Sophomore Josh Daniels with 2 goals and Freshman Luke Freeman with his first goal of the season. Way to go, Luke! Now, if you will just get me a signed release form, I can put your picture up on the web site.

The defense were absolute monsters tonight, denying any penetration and constantly stripping the ball. Dave Corbari was awesome, registering 6 forced turnovers and scooping up 6 ground balls. Conor Quinn was right there as well with 2 forced turnovers and another 6 ground balls. And to round of the top three defensive producers, Sophomore Brendyn Barber forced 2 turnovers and scooped up 2 more ground balls. In total, 12 Oneill players registered defensive "points" either by forcing a turnover or scooping up a 50-50 ground ball. This is a significant improvement over previous games. These defensive points are extremely valuable as they prevent the opposing team from scoring a goal and give our offense a chance to score a goal. Great job Defense!

We still have problems in the face off circle, though. Tonight, 4 different players tried the faceoffs without great success. Of the 18 faceoffs, Oneill only won 8 of those opportunities. Many of the losses were called on procedure errors. This stat has been consistent across many games and highlites and area that we need to work.

Oneill gets one day to rest and then they take on the Wallkill Panthers at Oneill. This will be the second meeting between Oneill and Wallkill this season. Game time is at 2:PM.


What a difference a week makes, not only in the weather but in the play of a well rested team. We traveled yesterday to play the Red Hook Raiders in Dietz Stadium in Kingston. The Red Hook Raiders are in their second season as a varsity team and this was a league game, so both teams were out for a win.

Oneill started out a bit slow but gradually gained momentum as the game went on. Our Raiders put the first mark on the scoreboard, but then it became a ping pong table. They would get a goal, then we would get a goal. As we went in to half the teams were tied. Coming back to the second half, Red Hook put the first ball in giving them the lead, but then O’Neill came alive. Seniors Beau Girard, Brian Meese, and Mike Perkins went on full steam ahead. They started clicking, picking up ground balls, getting those forced turnovers and putting the ball in the net to bring our Raiders way ahead. However, not to be outdone, adding a few of his own goals to the mix, was our hero of last week, freshman, Jack Riley

We had difficulty tonight with faceoffs winning only 11 out of 32 attempts putting Red Hook on the offense two times out of every three.

In the goal, Red Hook took 33 shots on goal tonight. Eleven of those shots found the back of the net with Mike stopping 10 giving him a 50% save percentage. Keep up the good work Mike.

On the downside, we gave Red Hook the advantage of some man up plays as two of our players got severe penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. We must remember to keep our cool out there and not speak to the referees.

Even though the air was cold as the day turned into evening, the O’Neill Raiders did well scoring one more league game win towards that Section 9 championship once again.

Thursday we take to the road again to take on the Delaware Valley Warriors. Game time is 5:30. Hope to see you there!


The Raiders took on the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders and the Minisink Valley Warriors back to back during spring break. Although I came into the Monroe-Woodbury game during the third quarter I could see that it was going to be a tight game. I was informed by other spectators that the Raiders were ahead but only by a small margin. The Raiders were playing their very best especially under difficult conditions due to the fact that they were playing on a baseball field instead of a lacrosse field. Dust was the name of the game that day and hot heat. In the fourth quarter we tied it up and sent the game into overtime. I cannot tell you all the stats and even if I had taken pictures most of them would have been filled with dust, but what I can tell you is that the hero of that game was Jack Riley. He grabbed the ball as a scuffle went on near the goalie crease and tossed the ball into the net putting the Raiders one up for a total of 10 to 9 in overtime. “Way to go J Riles”.

However, the same did not hold true for the Minisink Valley game. I again arrived a bit late and we were already down by 3. The Warriors played a hard game and after having played six games in a week, our guys were just exhausted. Minisink Valley walked away the winners from that game but in my book, our Raiders are the better team. They have continued to give it their all despite back to back games, hot heat, and a few more skillful teams.

The Raiders get a well deserved break until the Red Hook game on 04/29/2008. Come out and support our favorite lacrosse team as they take on the Red Hook Raiders..


After I wrote and published this highlite, I was informed that I had mistaken which goalie was in the net (I really wish we could get to one set of fixed jersey numbers). I apologize to Ed and his family - I in no way meant to slight you. In fact, my comments about Stose apply to Ed as well. Ed is brand new to the team ( a freshman) who has started several games in this key position as goalie. Ed is doing equally well in goal as the other two and deserves just as much credit and praise as I attributed to Mike and Christos below. To Ed and the Mrozik family - I am sorry and I will try to do better.

A fabulous game turned in by the entire team.

Some individuals may take exception to what I say - or may have said in the past - here in the highlites portion. You may think that I am overly critical or cruel. After all, they are just boys playing a game.

Well, I am an equal opportunity webmaster - I can be critical but I also freely and publicly reinforce what I think is outstanding performance.

There are three things that I want to highlite out of today's game.

No, they are not who scored the most points (Brian Meese with 8 goals and 1 assist for 9 points, followed by Beau Girard with 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points, and Freshman Jack Riley with 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points).

No, they are not who got the most ground balls and forced turnovers (Conor Quinn with 4 GBs and 4 FTs, Sean Jollota with 4 GBs, and Beau Girard with 3 GBs and 1 FT).

It's not even who did well in the face off circle (Sean Jollota - perfect at 7 out of 7).

No, I don't want to highlite any of that.

The first thing that I want to highlite is the behavior of all of the Oneill players, both on and off the field. It is no secret that Burke is our rival. Its also no secret that many questionable penalties were called today that perhaps should not have been called. In EVERY instance, the Oneill players acted as they should - they accepted the referees call and left the field. This is good sportsmanship. I know that I have been critical of you previously because of your unsportsmanlike conduct and I want to publicly congratulate you on your behavior today, both on the field and off.

The second thing that I want to highlite is the coaching staff's committment to rotating players into the game. I started this website three years ago, the same season that the coaches began their coaching career. On several occassions, I have been critical of them for not capitalizing upon games in which we had a significant lead to utilize that opportunity to get the younger and newer players some game experience. In two games now, every player got some game time and game experience. I congratulate the coaching staff for its committment to developing the boys, and not running up the score.

The third and last thing that I want to highlite tonight are our two goalies - Christos Koutsourades and Mike McMahon. For those of us who have followed the Oneill lacrosse program for the last 3 years, we know that these two are relative nobodies - and I dont say that to be mean. Stose was on the team last year and was rostered as a Middie. He saw virtually no playing time the entire season. Mike has been with the program for two years, but was a statistician and never played a minute of any game. Look at them now! Neither of them has had any previous experience playing lacrosse let alone in a key and critical position as Goalie. Both are doing remarkably well, both with a season average of 57% saves. To me, this deserves a special highlite - very good job Stose and Mike - keep up the good work!.

The Raiders get a much needed break after playing 3 games in a row. The rest tomorrow and are back on the playing field on Monday at Central Valley Elementary School to play the rain-rescheduled game against Monroe-Woodbury. Game time is 4:30. Please come out and support your Raiders.


It was a gorgeous afternoon, the sun was bright and the moon was full for this evening's game as the Oneill Raiders played host the the visiting Thundering Herd from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Carlisle Lax team is a perennial favorite in the Middle Pennsylvania conference, winning the title 5 out of the last 6 years..

There is really no other way to say it - though the boys played their hearts out, the were beaten by a much better team..

Carlisle dominated in virutally every aspect of the game. The Herd won 17 out of 20 face offs, launched 37 shots against our goalie, and controlled the tempo of the game by maintaining possession of the ball for most of the game.

On the positive side, Oneill players kept their cool and sportsmanship even when the scoreboard turned against them. Oneill finished the game with only one penalty assessed against them.

Sophomore Mike McMahon was continually tested this evening. Facing 37 shots (an unusually high number for a game), Mike was often left by himself to face the attacking Herd offenseman in a one on one situation. These plays almost certainly conclude in a goal, but Mike was able to hold his own on a couple of the shots.

The Oneill schedule most certainly had an impact tonight, as the boys did not have much of a rest, playing last night against Highland. The schedule will have an even bigger impact as they play their third game (in as many days) tomorrow against Burke High School. This will be a League game - so the outcome of this game will effect Oneill's standings and chances for a League Championship playoff spot.d one out of five attempts.

Oneill plays again tomorrow at home against Burke Catholic at 2:00. This is a League game and counts against our standings in Section 9. Come out and support your Raiders!


It was a beautifual afternoon for a lacrosse game, the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was quite warm. This was the venue as Oneill played their first League Game against the Highland Huskies, a newcomer to league lacrosse action.

The visiting Huskies came into the game with a 1 - 4 record, losing all of their games to tough Class A schools and defeating Delaware Valley in their only win.

The Oneill offense put on quite a show, with 8 different players scoring goals. The high scorer was Senior Attack Brian Meese with 4 goals and an assist, but fellow Senior Attack Will Haskell was right there with 3 goals of his own. More impressive, however, was Will’s 7 - count ‘em - 7 assists this evening. Along with his 3 goals, that gives Will 10 points for the game, a phenomenal feat. Adding goals of their own were: Seniors Louis Lauria and John Nagel with one each, Sophomores Sean Jollota with 2 and Josh Daniels with 1, and Freshmen Jack Riley with 2 and Jake Padilla with 1. Many of these players had seen little to no playing time prior to tonight’s game.

Sophomore Middie Sean Jollota appears to have found himself a home in the face off circle. Out of his 13 attempts, Sean won 9 of them giving him a 69% success rate. Sean is also doing quite well on offense, contributing 2 goals in tonight’s game.

The Oneill close in defensive team of Long Poles Senior David Corbari, Juniors Christian Bryan, and Connor Quinn, as well as Sophomore Long Stick Middie Brendan Barber have formed into a solid defensive crew. Oneill recovered 27 ground balls and forced 11 turnovers. These are superb numbers and reflect opportunties for the offense to score.

Freshman Ed Mrozik started in the goal tonight and was doing well until part way through the second quarter he left the crease and got into a pushing match with a Highland player. That caused him to incur a penalty and he never returned to the game. Ed faced 15 shots and recorded 4 saves for a 57 % save percentage. Sophomore Goalie Christos Koutsourades filled in for Ed when he was pulled. Christos faced an additional 17 shots and recorded 5 saves for a 55% save percentage. Over the past 3 games, Stose has faced 78 shots and has earned a 56% save percentage. Pretty good for his first year in the net.

In my opinion, the most impressive statistic from tonight’s game, however, was not recorded on any scoreboard or any log book. It was the manner in which the coaches rotated the players into the game. I believe that every player on the Oneill squad got some game time tonight. This enabled them to get some actual game experience and gave the coaches the opportunity to look at the young talent pool. Im sure that the young men who are not on the starting lines were excited and thrilled to get the opportunity to get some playing time. Thank you, Coaches for a job well done.

Oneill plays two more games back to back this week. Tomorrow night, they take on the visiting Thundering Herd from Carlisle, PA and then Saturday they play their rivals from Burke Catholic. Both games are home. Come out and support your Raiders as they go for 4 Section 9 Championship seasons in a row.


Initially, it did not look like it was going to be a good afternoon for the Raiders, as the Panthers jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter scoring three unanswered goals. You could almost see the desire draining from the players, as the Panthers recorded goal after goal. It was not until Will Haskell fought his way to goal for his first unassisted goal of the evening that we saw a spark of life in the team.

This was not the Oneill team that the fans are used to seeing. The offense was not passing crisply and cleanly - many errant passes were missed and dropped thereby turning the ball over to Wallkill. We seemed to have great difficulty with ground balls, giving up many of the 50-50 balls to Wallkill instead of winning them ourselves.

Offensively, 6 of the 16 goals were scored by Brian Meese who also added an additional 2 assists. Will Haskell checked in with 4 of his own, along with 4 more assists. Mike Perkins came alive tonight by adding 2 of his own goals, Freshman Jack Riley added 2, John Nagle recorded a goal as did Harrison Green with his first goal. Though the scoring was high, it did not reflect what appeared to be a broken down offense. 9 of the 16 goals were scored unassisted. This is not the norm for Oneill as they have always been a solid passing team that has moved the ball around the box very well - working the passing to find the open man. Not tonight. Tonight it appears to be a group of invdividuals.

Faceoffs also appear to be an area where we need to work. Tonight, we only won 7 of 28 faceoffs. The last game against Saugerties, we only won 4 of 23 attempts. Each lost faceoff is a missed offensive opportunity.

In my opinion, the offensive players of the game was "Mikey P" Perkins. Though Mike only recorded 2 goals on 3 shots, it was his solid performance in the transition game that earned him that title. Mike recorded 9 ground balls and a forced turnover and was instrumental in setting up the Attack to score the goals. The Middies are the backbone of the team and rarely get the glory - tonight, however, Mikey P deserves some time in the spotlight.

Defensively, the Long Poles were without Dave Corbari this evening. Connor Quinn had an exceptional game, recording 7 ground balls and 4 forced turnovers. Christian Bryan added 2 ground balls and 1 forced turnover as well as twice running the ball across midfield to get the clear.

Junior Christos Koutsourades started and played the entire game in goal tonight. The Panthers fired 48 shots at Christos, many of them going wide and high. Christos had a good game, recording a 47% save percentage for the game. Now, he just needs to get a signed release form in so that I can post his picture on the website.

At this point, I am going to take some editorial license. I am seeing something that greatly concerns me.

Iam concerned about the conduct of some of the players on the field. In the game against Saugerties, we had a player ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct. That may or may not have been warranted - but tonight we had multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and one player was ejected from the game. The fact that it was one of the Team Captains makes me even more concerned. Captains - I'm speaking to you. You are the leaders on the field. You have supposedly earned the title of Team Captain because of your ability to lead your teammates. Do not permit yourselves or any of your teammates to question the referees or to display unsportsmanlike conduct. You need to lead by example. The younger players are looking to you to set the tone of the game and the behavior standards of the team. The Coaches are depending upon you to control the team on the field. A Team Captain getting ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct is inexcusable. You currently have a reputation as a strong team that plays tough and clean lacrosse. You dont want to earn a reputation as a team that plays dirty or one that does not conduct itself properly while on the field. Players - get control of yourselves and get control of your teammates. Help each other out - if someone is getting heated, cool them down or get them off the field where they can vent their anger on the sidelines. Captains, lead your team.


Well, we were all there. We saw the game, the penalties that were called, and the many more that weren't. Instead of lamenting on the quality of the refs, lets instead focus on the positive. Let us be the bigger team.

For example, how 'bout Brian Meese....what a scoring machine! Brian accounted for 7 of our 10 goals, 3 of them unassisted. Fellow Senior Attackman Beau Girard added a goal of his own, along with 3 assists, 2 of those assist going to Brian Meese goals. Freshman Attackman Jack Riley had a great showing with one goal and one assist. Will Haskell rounded out the scoring with a goal and Sean Jollota added an assist on a Meese goal. Our Man Up Special Teams also showed well, converting on 3 of 4 opportunities.

Defensively, our two backup goalies saw plenty of net time tonight as Ed Mrozik played the entire first half and Christos Koutsourades played the entire second half. Ed faced 21 shots with 5 saves and Christos faced 15 shots with 8 saves. It was the first time in goal for both of these young men and they faced a determined Saugerties offensive unit.

The Raiders get a break after playing two games back-to-back. Oneill's next game is Monday 14 April at Wallkill starting at 1700. Come out and support your Oneill Raiders as they turn it around and work to put another game in the "W" column.


The Raiders Lax Team notched their first win against the men from Middletown High School, defeating them 17 - 8 in their season opener. The men showed well and did not show the normal "first game of the season" jitters.

Led by Senior Co - Captains Beau Girard, Brian Meese, and Will Haskell, the Attack proved that they will be a strong force this season. Beau and Brian seemed to be unstoppable, generating 11 of the 17 goals between them. Beau found the net 6 times and added 4 assists while Brian Meese added 5 of his own goals and 2 more assists. Rounding out the scoring machine was Will Haskell with 4 more goals and 3 assists of his own. Adding to the scoring flurry were Sophomore Attack Sean Jollota with 1 goal, Freshman Attack Jack Riley with a rebound goal, and Senior Middie Mike Perkins added an assist. The Oneill Man-Up special team did not fair well, failing to convert on 2 opportunities.

Not to be outdone, the defensive squad had an equally impressive game. The long sticks recovered 14 ground balls and accounted for 10 forced turnovers. Returning Senior Dave Corbari provides the necessary leadership while returning long poles Junior Christian Bryan and Sophomore Connor Quinn have plenty of experience. Defensively, Senior Middie John Nagel had an impressive game. John was very aggressive with his short stick and came up with 4 ground balls and a forced turnover. On man down situations, the Raiders special team preformed exceptionally well, only allowing 1 man-down goals out of Middletown's 7 opportunities.

In the goal, Sophomore Goaltender Mike McMahon recorded 11 saves while Middletown took 27 shots on goal. This is Mike's first year getting net time as a goalie and he appears to be very comfortable at that position. As he gains more experience in the net, we expect great things from Mike

Overall, the game was an opportunity to "shake out the bugs" and the team looks very strong again this year. Though we have areas that we need to work on, I look forward to a successful season. Please come out and support your Raiders Laxmen as they meet Saugerties tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday April 9th) on the home field. Game time is 4:30 PM.