Ward Melville’s powerhouse boys lacrosse team is proving that even with a season off, it’s possible not to skip a beat. In a battle of undefeated teams Thursday, senior midfielder Trevor Dunn racked up three goals and two assists, and senior midfielder James Araneo score four times, while junior goalkeeper Zach Licavoli made 16 saves to help Ward Melville to a 12-7 win over rival Smithtown East and advance to 5-0.
“It was a big, strong win,” Licavoli said. “We knew we had to be good defensively. We stayed energetic. We’re trying to prove we’ve got the talent.”
Araneo’s talent was on display early, as the senior racked up a hat trick in the first half to help his team to a 7-1 halftime advantage. What made his showing even more impressive is that the midfielder is actually first and foremost a wrestler, and prefers defense to offense, but said he knew he needed to step up with some of his teammates out with injuries.
“If I can put a few into the back of the net to help us win, I’m happy,” Araneo said. “But the win is even more rewarding.”
Licavoli made multiple crucial saves in the first half, only letting up a goal to sophomore midfielder Joe Hobot (two goals) just under 40 seconds into the second quarter. Araneo said those stops lit a fire for his team.
“He plays his best when he needs to,” the senior said of his goalkeeper. “Especially when he’s in the limelight, he plays his heart out. I love him for it. He’s a great kid. He played amazing.”
But in the second half, it was Dunn’s turn to flip the switch. He scored his second goal of the game 50 seconds into the third quarter, and earned his hat trick seven minutes later for a 9-1 Ward Melville advantage. But junior Marcus Wertheim proved Smithtown East (4-1) wasn’t about to lay down or give up.
The midfielder scored four goals in a four-minute span to cut the Patriots’ lead in half. He rocketed his first shot into the back of the net with 1.5 seconds left in the third — the team’s second goal since the start of the second quarter — and found the cage for his fourth with 8:05 left to play. Just under a minute later, Licavoli stopped the bleeding when he snatched a bullet up the middle out of the air in front of him.
“You never want to feel comfortable, because when you get too comfortable, you get what you saw toward the end of the game; it got kind of rough,” the goalkeeper said, adding he was quick to let his defenders know what needed to be done to counter Wertheim. “He was coming right down the middle. I told the defense if he does it again to knock him off his path. I think they learned not to let that happen again.”
Chris Simonton scored off a Giovanni Serratore assist for Ward Melville before Smithtown East’s Owen Carroll and Wertheim sandwiched Araneo’s final goal to give the game its final score. Junior goalkeeper Nick Matthes finished with 11 saves for Smithtown East.
Araneo said it felt good to pull away with the win over what he called a great team and a big rival.
“We poured our heart and soul into this offseason, and today, we showed it,” he said. “We played hard, we hurried to the next play — we never let anything get to us and we always played for each other.”
Speaking of playing for each other, the senior said that’s what this season is all about.
“Not being able to come out here … it was sad last year. I felt for the seniors,” Araneo said. “No matter what, we’re brothers for life, so this year, we’re playing for them. I think we can win it all, and we’re going to do it for them.”
