(Photo Credit: Bob Sorensen)
It is always hard for high school teams when they lose players due to graduation but not often do coaches leave and come back years later. Sachem North is one of those schools with the exception, as head coach Jason Mauro returns to lead the Flaming Arrows for the 2020 season.
After coaching Sachem North from 2005-2015, Mauro decided to leave the team to volunteer at nearby Stony Brook University until 2018. Last year Mauro was at Half-Hallow Hills East as the defensive-coordinator and came back to his old position. Mauro returns to his old team a season after the Flaming Arrows went 9-7 and earned the 12th seed in the Section 11 tournament which matched them up against fifth-seeded Bay Shore.
Sachem North comes into the 2020 season losing four seniors to graduation. “Last year losing defensemen Matt Griffin and Ryan Kinsley will be impact loses along with Attackmen Cole Stassi and Frank Quadrino.”
The Flaming Arrows are hoping the senior class will be able to pass down some of their talents to the underclassman who will take over following their own departure. “We are looking to lean on our seniors to teach our younger guys to develop a culture for the program to be successful,” Mauro said.
While none of the players will remember the coaching style of Mauro, they can expect a lot of hard work and tough practices as Mauro is hungry for a tournament run. “Our goal is to improve each practice. We do believe that we have a team that can compete at a high level and plays hard each game.”
Playing in section 11 class A can sometimes be frustrating as many of the teams in the class had good records from the 2019 season many of them couldn’t crack the top spots but Mauro and his staff are hoping Sachem North can do it this season led by returning defenseman Nick Davide, goalie Anthony Mancino, attackers Andrew Calabria, Christian Quadrino and James Butler.
While head coach Mauro believes every single game is an important one here are some of the matchups to look forward to:
Regular season play begins on March 16 when the Flaming Arrows host Eastport/ South Manor.
Sachem North takes on the defending section champions, Ward Melville on the second day of April
On April 29, Sachem North looks to get revenge when they take on Bay Shore during the annual Laxin’ For Autism hosted by the Sachem lacrosse program. The last time the teams met was on May 14, 2019, when the Marauders defeated the Flaming Arrows 6-3 in the opening round of the section 11 tournament.
May 6 is when Sachem North takes on Smithtown West, the 2019 section 11 runners-up.
The team will finish the regular season with a visit to Longwood on the 14th of May.
