(Photo Credit: Gordon M. Grant)
It is always hard to begin a new journey. Having to get the ball rolling, overcoming new barriers for the first time, but after the first steps are made you can start to enjoy the rewards. That is exactly what the South Fork Islanders are hoping for in only its third season in program history. The team is comprised of players from Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Southampton, Pierson and Ross high schools.
Some of the hardships the Islanders faced were the injuries that plagued the team throughout the 2019 campaign. The most notable player that caught the injury bug was attackman Luke Marro who faced multiple injuries throughout the season but was still able to score 32 goals and add 19 assists. Also getting injured was cage minder Hudson Brindle who missed the first 12 games with a broken hand.
Speaking with head coach Matthew Babb about last season, he said the most significant players from last year were Marro, attackman Zac Mobius who scored 18 goals with 6 assists all the while missing some games. The third player Babb mentioned was Senior midfielder Logan Gurney who played all 16 games scored 19 goals with 6 assists.
The Islanders come into the 2020 season with a couple of spots to fill after losing captains Brian Damm (20 goals), Connor Rozzi (10 goals, 6 assists) and Cole Shaw (6 assists) all to graduation.
The players highlighted in by Coach Babb was Maro returning for his fourth year on varsity with a career goal count of 71, 39 assists and 177 ground balls. Senior captain Jameson Willey returns to South Fork after missing last year while playing for IMG Academy last year. Senior captain Logan Gurney has made his coach proud with Babb recalling Gurney as a “solid mid that plays fill speed at all times and has the ability to take over the game.”
A pair of third-year varsity players round out Babb’s player profiles as he focused on junior attackman Zac Mobius and Copper Brindle. “Brindle is great on ground balls and on-ball defense, he has great vision on offense as well,” said Babb on his junior midfielder.
After moving up to Section XI Division I, due to an NYS enrollment rule concerning teams made up of combined schools Babb believes his team can go far this season. “We feel that when healthy, we can compete for a playoff spot and that is our goal.”
Looking at the upcoming schedule for South Fork:
The Islanders will start the season with a road trip to face Miller Place on March 20. Their home opener will be on March 26 when Commack takes them on at 4:30 p.m. They will take on Northport. The Islanders will take part in the 12 annual ‘Lax Out Cancer’ when they take on Lindenhurst on May 9. South Fork ends the regular season on May 9 when they host Miller Place on May 14 at 4:30 p.m.
