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By Steven Zaitz

Northport High School lacrosse stars took the field on July 6  in a friendly battle between Tigers past and present in a jovial but competitive alumni game.

Spanning five decades of Tiger grads, the White team held on for an 8-7 victory over the Blue team in front of an enthusiastic crowd of about 100 fans. But on this salty, sticky afternoon, it was more about the camaraderie than the game result.

“It’s important to have guys who have played here at different times to make connections, have some fun and bond with each other,” said head coach Billy Cordts, Class of 2003, who organized the event with help from the Northport Boys Lacrosse Booster Club.

“We tried to plan this well in advance so guys who are scattered all over the country can plan their annual Northport trip around the alumni game, and the turnout was great. I think that speaks to our program, a program that prides itself on the brotherhood that is Northport lacrosse,” Cordts added.

Brotherhood was the order of the day as Quinn Napolitano, who just graduated from Northport High School and was the team’s starting goalkeeper, was in the nets for the Blue team. His brother Shaun, Class of 2016, was on his team as a defender, and his other brother Ryan, Class of 2012, playing for the White team, scored two goals against his younger brother early on, as the White team jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

“I should have stopped those two against Ryan,” said Quinn, who led the Tigers to the Suffolk County finals this past June. “But it was special sharing the field with my brothers. They started peppering me with tennis balls in the backyard since I was little, so they really helped me get to where I am today. Playing with them and some of the older guys was great, and I’m excited to play in this game next year.” 

Nick, Anthony and Vin DeCeglia (2013, 2015 and 2017) were another trio of brothers who suited up, and Cordts’ own brother Tommy, Class of 2011, started in goal for White.

But the one family tie that got perhaps the most attention was that of Dylan and Dan McNaughton. Dylan, Class of 2022, a bruising linebacker, power forward, lacrosse midfielder and nine-time varsity letterman, is going into his junior year at Indiana University. He took the field with his father, Dan, Class of 1982, who coached Dylan in his youth in basketball, baseball, football and lacrosse.

“I never thought I’d be able to play with my dad in an actual game,” said Dylan, who won the Suffolk County basketball title in 2021 over heavily favored Brentwood and was a member of the Tiger lacrosse team that beat Syosset a few months later to win the Long Island championship. “This was an amazing experience, and I hope we can do it again next year,” he added.

Dan McNaughton started the game as an attackman for Blue with Billy Cordts watching his every move. The father played the first 10 minutes or so and watched from the sidelines the rest of the way.

“I had a good scoring chance, so I’m happy,” Dan said. “I played in the first-ever alumni game in 1986 or ’87, and I also remember playing in it when Dylan was just a baby, and my mother was rolling him around in a stroller on the sidelines. Those were fun times when I could move around better. These guys out here today are fast.”

For the record, Dylan McNaughton, a finance and accounting major at Indiana University, is now 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 225 pounds of muscle.

So much fun

Another impressive and muscular specimen who was marauding all over the field for the Blue team was Class of 2015’s Austin Henningsen. The faceoff ace played for the 2017 Maryland Terrapins team that won the NCAA championship and is one in a long line of fabulous Northport faceoff men. He is currently serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and, as ferocious a player as he is on the field, he was as gracious off of it.

“This game was so much fun to play in,” Henningsen said. “It gives us a chance to play with the great players that recently graduated and the guys that I grew up playing with. In Northport, we’ve had so much support from the parents and the community on both boys and girls sides. I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Aside from goalkeeper Napolitano, 2024 grads Ryan Cash, Luca Elmaleh, Jack Maisch, Tim McLam and long-stick All-American Giancarlo Valenti also played. Late in the game, Valenti marched through a tired Blue defense to score a goal in the fourth quarter. Recently graduated stars like Nick Tzimas, Tyler Kuprianchik, Jonathan Alfiero and Jack Helrigel suited up for White. Tim Kirchner, Matt Webb, Michael Meyer and Luke Lamendola played for Blue.

Lamendola, Class of 2022, who attends the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, is still involved with lacrosse not only as a player but as an ambassador of its safety.

“I’m studying industrial design, and one of the things I’m interested in doing is designing a safer helmet,” said Lamendola, who was in goal for the Tigers most recent Long Island championship in 2022. “Reducing head injuries in lacrosse has always been a passion of mine.”

The team that won the New York State championship 21 years earlier in 2001 was well-represented on Saturday. Seniors on that team in attendance were Jimmy Taylor, Brian Amen and Jeremy Kahn. One of their teammates that magical year was a sophomore named Billy Cordts.

“I really looked up those guys and tried to emulate them back then,” Cordts said. “Playing with them again almost 25 years later, along with the guys who are just starting out in the world, is really a full-circle kind of thing for me.”

Despite blowing its big lead, White held on for the one-goal win, and the players and their families shared a sweaty group hug near the middle of the field. Selfies and laughs were shared as the group retired to Napper Tandy’s for a post-game celebration to reminisce about old times, revel about the game and look forward to next year when they can take the field with each other once again.