Mineola High School head boys lacrosse coach Mark Miller has hopes his team will be good enough to qualify for the postseason. That, of course, won't be determined until the dust settles on another challenging season. But, Coach Miller went into the season saying, "We hope to be very competitive and earn a spot in the playoffs." Miller has eight strong returning players from last year's team who should set the tone for the 2002 season.

In speaking of his returning veterans, Coach Miller mentioned the following:

Matt Bispo, Jr., Second year varsity midfielder with good speed and stick, go-to-man on midfield, captain, very good on ground balls.

Joe Cerulli, Sr., Attack, captain, team leader, works very well from behind.

Ben Lee, Sr., Defense, plays good position defense.

Danny Mehra, Jr., Defense, second year varsity player, takes charge of defense, good stick and feet.

Marcos Mendes, Sr., Attack, reliable back-up.

Steve Ricciardi, Jr., Midfield, second year varsity starter, good at finding the open spot.

Peter Wain, Sr., Midfield, anchor of second midfield line, good hustle, touch and faceoff man.

Chris Williams, Jr., Attack, second year varsity starter, sees the field well and good, quick stick.

Those eight will, of course, need help from some hot newcomers in order for the Mustangs to reach their goals this season. Coach Miller is counting on junior goaltender Matt Grilo and a group of sophomores such as attackman Tom Grimaldi, midfielder James Holubowich, midfielder Ivan Anania and defenseman Billy Mills.

In order to make the playoffs, the Mustangs will have to notch some victories against some tough opponents. Coach Miller said, "The best in the league will be Cold Spring Harbor, Manhasset, Locust Valley and Seaford. Our make-or-break games will come against North Shore and Clarke.

In summing up his team for this spring, coach Miller said if you're watching us play, these will be the players to watch this season: captains Joe Cerulli (#16), Matt Grilo (#34), Matt Bispo (#6), along with Tom Grimaldi (#13), Chris Williams (#12), Danny Mehra (#22), Ben Lee (#37), Peter Wain (#10), Steve Ricciardi (#11).

Coach Miller will be aided this season by varsity assistant coach Tom Reynolds. The coach of the Mustang JV team is Mike Simone. The head coach of the 7th and 8th grade team at Mineola Middle School is Steve Mitchell. He is assisted by Dan Lawrence.

As Barry Silverstein fields another Mineola junior varsity baseball team, he'll do so with a small nucleus returning from last year. Silverstein, who was the Nassau County Coach of the Year in 2000, is counting on five sophomores who played last year to show the way in 2002. Úquot;We'll be a little inexperienced. But, our nucleus is intact, and the crop of freshmen is made up of hard-nosed players. We also have about five sophomores who took the year off last year and are now back. They should be able to contribute,Úquot; said Silverstein.

The players upon whom coach Silverstein is counting include his co-captains, Peter Averiamo and Danny Medlock. Úquot;Averiamo is strong defensively at second base and is a very timely hitter. Medlock has a great work ethic and is a student of the game,Úquot; according to the coach.

Medlock will play first base and pitch and is the team's power hitter as he'll back clean-up. The other returnees who will be a key to the Mustangs success are catcher-pitcher Joe Wissler, third baseman Chris Sallie and centerfielder Jerrill Harrison. In talking about those young men, coach Silverstein said, Úquot;Wissler has an excellent arm and will add an occasional punch to our line-up. Sallie is a good offensive player and will round off our line-up from top to bottom. Harrison has great speed and an above average arm.Úquot;

As far as the hot newcomers to this Mustang junior varsity team are concerned, the coach pointed to Dereck Webber, Mike DeStefano, Mike Bencivenga, Anthony Allegra, Ben Molina, Ben Volino, Caesar Portela, Pat Gaffney, Tommy Owens, Bill Campagna, Matt Shanahan, Chris Lyons and Vito Errico. In addition to Medlock and Wissler, the pitching staff will also include Webber and Owens.

Coach Silverstein summed up his feelings by saying, Úquot;If we limit our mental mistakes and keep our physical errors to a minimum, we will be very competitive.Úquot;

In glancing at the Mustangs schedule, the coach pointed out, Úquot;This year they will all be tough. But, after beating Clarke last year on a one-hit shutout, I think they will be out for blood. I promise we will give it all we have every inning of every game.Úquot;

Mineola High School girls varsity lacrosse coach Katie Sheehan knew the 2002 season would be challenging. After all, the Lady Mustangs were stepping up to the top league in Nassau County. The early schedule has proven that to be true. Mineola opened the spring vacation week with a road game at Syosset. Coach Sheehan said, Úquot;This new opponent brought the girls much uncertainty before the game. Though their efforts were not enough to ensure a win, they walked away knowing they belong on this level of competition.Úquot;

Fourteen minutes into the game, the score was tied 2-2. But, Syosset scored four unanswered goals in an eight-minute span to open a 6-2 lead. Maryanne Georgeou countered by scoring the second of her three goals to close the gap to 6-3 at halftime. Syosset started quickly in the second half, scoring twice to open the lead up to 8-3. But, the Lady Mustangs took over for the final 20 minutes of the game and outscored Syosset 6-4. But, it proved too little too late and Mineola dropped a 12-9 decision.

Coach Sheehan credited her girls for their effort, saying, Úquot;Though the record book shows a loss today, the girls played extremely well. This was evidence by the fact that six of the nine goals were scored off assists. This development of timely and well-placed passes bodes well for the rest of the season.Úquot;

Danielle Adams and Maryanne Georgeou each scored three goals in the game. Alison Carnabuci added two and Lauren Anderson scored once. Coach Sheehan also gave credit to the defense, saying, Úquot;As in the past, the defense played spectacularly. Úquot;

Perennial standouts Lauren Anderson and Theresa Dolan were well supported by Joanna Canning, Alison Auriemmo, Amy Kemmler and Leanne Bohach. In net, Allyson Murphy had another great performance, making 14 saves. If Ally puts in more performances like she did today, there are definitely wins in our future,Úquot; coach Sheehan said.

The next day, Mineola played a non-conference contest and was defeated by Kellenberg 16-6. Danielle Adams and Alison Carnabuci scored two goals apiece while Victoria Montalbano and Juliet Barber each scored once for Mineola. Coach Sheehan summed up the game this way, Úquot;Maybe it was too much vacation or too much Easter candy. But, we did not play at our usual level. This is not to detract from Kellenberg, which is a very fine team.Úquot;

Sheehan pointed out that the defensive zone saw most of the action and played well, led by Lauren Anderson and Theresa Dolan, who played exceptionally. The coach also said the rest of the defense played strongly too, especially Joanna Canning. Allyson Murphy made 10 saves in net while Melissa Dadich stopped two shots from the Firebirds.