CLOSE
Tags Posts tagged with "Comsewogue"

Comsewogue

by -
0 101
The Sound Symphony Orchestra’s Family concert will feature music from ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and ‘Frozen.’ File photo

The Sound Symphony Orchestra is putting a twist on a classic family-friendly composition. Nearly every year the orchestra holds its family concert, and this year is no exception with its unique rendition of “Peter and the Wolf — Lost in the Museum!” this Sunday at the Comsewogue School District’s John F. Kennedy Middle School, 200 Jayne Blvd., Port Jefferson Station.

“We’ve built an extended narrative around Peter and the Wolf. So while the kids and their families are going  to be hearing the story of “Peter and the Wolf” in its entirety, we’ve embedded it in a larger story,” said Dorothy Savitch, music director and conductor of the orchestra.

The original “Peter and the Wolf” symphony was written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 with the intent to cultivate “musical tastes in children from the first years of school.” The story follows a young boy named Peter, a bird, a cat and a duck on an adventure to catch a devilish wolf.

However, the Sound Symphony Orchestra’s rendition depicts a boy of the same name whose drawing of a wolf comes to life and jumps into a painting during a trip to the art museum. The orchestra helps bring the paintings and the story to life alongside narrator Comsewogue School District Superintendent Joseph Rella, as Peter gets lost during his quest for the wolf.

According to Savitch, the orchestra hopes to excite children and spark their imaginations by incorporating paintings from the Brooklyn Museum.

“I think by letting our imaginations go, by allowing different kinds of art to speak to each other and speak to us, we can better express ourselves,” Savitch said.

“Frozen” will also get its five minutes of fame as the orchestra highlights portions of the film in the concert, which is always a big hit among younger audiences. Savitch added that “kids always start singing along with all the melodies they know so well.”

But viewers of all ages won’t simply be entertained but also treated to passes to the Brooklyn Museum upon request. The Brooklyn Museum donated 125 passes to the orchestra in light of the concert. Those interested in exploring the museum and finding the painting incorporated in “Peter and the Wolf — Lost in the Museum!” can get a pass at the door once the concert ends. Children can also receive handouts with games and puzzles based on the concert.

While children do not perform in the orchestra, the 65-member ensemble has a variety of musicians from 17 to around 80 years old. Savitch said some orchestra musicians have served the ensemble for around 30 years. Now, they have several generations of family members who perform for the ensemble. Savitch started working with the orchestra around 20 years ago.

For Savitch, the concert’s story line hits a sweet spot. “For me and for many people [in the orchestra], the composition was our doorway into loving classical music.”

Residents can see Peter find his wolf and a way home on Sunday, Jan. 31, at the John F. Kennedy Middle School’s auditorium at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and will be sold at the door. Admission is free for children 12 years old and under. For more information, call 631-827-9022.

by -
0 58
Drug busts are becoming more common in Suffolk County. Above, drugs and other items seized during one such bust. File photo

Overall crime is dropping in the 6th Precinct — but one wouldn’t know that by looking at the number of drug arrests.

Fewer crimes are being reported across the board while heroin arrests have doubled in the last five years, according to Suffolk County Police Department statistics shared at a joint meeting Tuesday night of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association and Comsewogue Community Crime Awareness Committee. Inspector Bill Murphy, the head of the precinct, said those arrests numbered 148 in 2011 but ballooned to 298 last year.

“And that’s just our arrests,” he said, noting that it doesn’t account for all heroin use. “Those are times that we come across it.”

Comsewogue area residents and visitors from neighboring civic associations vented their frustrations about local drug-related crimes and activity at the meeting in the Comsewogue Public Library on Terryville Road as they received the most recent data about police action on the issue. Despite the overall drop in crime, Murphy said drug addicts are still behind many of the reported incidents in the 6th Precinct.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the serious crimes we have are driven by drug abuse: The people addicted to heroin and they’re so addicted to it, they have to get money to go and buy these drugs,” he said. “They’re doing stickups, they’re doing burglaries.”

The police are cracking down on the drug trade, however. Murphy noted that officers had executed search warrants on three “drug houses” in the past week alone. One of them was in Centereach, where he said cops busted a repeat offender and caught him with 4 ounces of cocaine and 2 ounces of heroin.

“He’s going away for a long time,” Murphy said.

But the police activity is not limited to arrests. Officers also attack local drug addiction when they save people from opioid overdoses using Narcan, a medication they carry that stops overdoses of drugs like heroin, Vicodin, OxyContin, Demerol and Percocet.

Officer Will Gibaldi said at the meeting that in the past four weeks alone, they responded to three overdoses in Port Jefferson and one in Port Jefferson Station.

“We do handle a decent amount of them,” the officer said.

Police have been relying on Narcan so much in the few years since they first got access to medication that the department has stopped keeping track of how many lives officers have saved with the overdose antidote.

“We actually stopped giving statistics on it,” Murphy said. “After we broke the ‘500’ mark, there were just so many of them, it was senseless to even bother keeping numbers.”

For residents who are concerned about drug activity in their neighborhoods or want to report it to the police, Gibaldi emphasized that communication with the public is a department priority, saying, “Our door is always open.”

Likewise, Murphy invited people to reach out to him.

“If you contact me with a problem, you will get a response. You will not be ignored.”

by -
0 1777
Port Jefferson's Courtney Lewis, who scored a double-double off a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds, goes up for a layup in the Royals' 55-31 win over Southold/Greenport on Jan. 25 to extend their winning streak to six games. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Behind Courtney Lewis’ double-double Monday night, the Port Jefferson girls’ basketball team kept the ball rolling with a 55-31 victory over Southold/Greenport to extend the Royals’ winning streak to six games.

Port Jefferson's Courtney Lewis reaches up to the board. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Port Jefferson’s Courtney Lewis reaches up to the board. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Lewis recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assits.

“They’re starting to come together,” Port Jefferson head coach Ed Duddy said. “We started off slow in the beginning … [but] now I think everyone knows their role.”

Port Jefferson had trouble getting shots to fall until Lewis’ field goal at the 5:17 mark, which started the junior forward and guard’s 10-point tear in the first quarter.

“She’s a great captain,” junior point guard Jillian Colucci said of Lewis. “She boosts us all up and she’s so talented. Her scoring gets us all going and gets us working hard.”

Southold remained in the game by scoring seven points to Lewis’ 10, but Port Jefferson sophomore guard Annabelle Soucy nailed a three-pointer with 30.6 seconds left to extend the Royals’ lead.

Lewis tacked on a three-point play to start the second stanza and then added four more points while Colucci tacked on a three-pointer to put Port Jefferson up 23-20 at halftime.

But the Royals were just getting warmed up.

Port Jefferson's Annabelle Soucy drives to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Port Jefferson’s Annabelle Soucy drives to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“Our coach’s halftime speech motivated us to come out stronger in the second half,” Lewis said. “I think our teamwork and team chemistry was great. We had a lot of assists and connected our passes a lot, and our fast breaks were great today.”

Those fast breaks and assists helped the Royals jump out to a 43-25 lead by the end of the third, with Lewis scoring 11 of the team’s 20 points and Colucci adding six.

In the final quarter, the Royals limited Southold to just two points by the 2:22 mark, while scoring eight more of their own. Southold added a field goal and two free throws in the final minutes, but Lewis added two free throws of her own to finish 9-for-10 from the charity stripe on the evening, and Soucy completed the scoring with a layup.

Colucci finished with 11 points and eight rebounds to help Port Jefferson to a 7-1 record in League VII.

“It’s Courtney, it’s Jillian, it’s a little bit of everybody,” Duddy said. “Jillian had a terrific game today. She did everything a point guard has to do with great passes and great defense and assists, but Annabelle and Jackie Brown have been playing very well, too. They’re all part of the team, but I think they all feed off of Courtney, and when she gets double- or triple-teamed she can kick it out to her teammates and they get easy layups.”

Port Jefferson's Jillian Colucci crosses the ball into Southold/Greenport's zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Port Jefferson’s Jillian Colucci crosses the ball into Southold/Greenport’s zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan

As the team moves forward with only one loss in its conference, Colucci said the Royals have their sights on the top spot in the league, where Mattituck currently sits at 10-1.

But the point guard said she’s confident in her team’s ability after the Royals edged out Mattituck, 53-52, back on Jan. 11.

“That was a really good booster for us,” Colucci said. “But since we’re a core group of juniors that have been playing together for so long, the teamwork that we’ve developed helps us most.”

Lewis said the team had a rough first half the season, starting it off with losses to Comsewogue, Mount Sinai and Pierson/Bridgehampton, but has come together to propel the Royals to their winning streak.

“This is my favorite sport and my favorite team,” Lewis said. “They’re all so great and we all help each other do better. We had a rough first half of the season but we picked it up and we took off. We don’t want to lose another game. We want to finish the season on a streak.”

by -
0 1221
Comsewogue's Tyler Timpanero leaps up to the rim and scores. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Harborfields’ boys’ basketball team remains undefeated as the Tornadoes took down Comsewogue in a blowout victory, 69-35, in League V basketball action Tuesday night. The Warriors struggled to keep pace, and despite a third quarter rally, Harborfields was too much to handle.

“We caught them a little flat when we came out, but Comsewogue opened the second half and played like we’re used to seeing,” Harborfields head coach John Tampori said. “My guys, they come to play every day and tonight we shot the ball really well.”

Harborfields' Robert Pecorelli battles Comsewogue’s David Heller on the glass. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Robert Pecorelli battles Comsewogue’s David Heller on the glass. Photo by Bill Landon

Harborfields led by 10 after three minutes of play, with the Tornadoes finding its three-point rhythm. Harborfields senior guard Robert Pecorelli led the way with four three-pointers, followed by senior guard Malcolm Wynter, who drained three, all in the first quarter, to help the Tornadoes gain momentum and break out to a 34-9 advantage after eight minutes of play.

“We didn’t expect to win by this much,” Wynter said. “We’re in a tough league, but when we play our best we can score and we can stop a lot of teams.”

The Tornadoes’ defensive pressure was relentless from the opening tipoff, and the Warriors struggled to clear the ball. Harborfields junior forward Alex Merhige owned the boards as he led his team with 14 rebounds, highlighted by a two-hand jam on a putback.

From there, the Warriors dug their hole deeper, managing just five more points to the Tornadoes’ 15, for a 49-14 halftime score.

The Warriors opened the second half unlike the first, as their defense came to life, grabbing rebounds while mixing in several fast breaks. Comsewogue senior forward Dylan Cervini led the way, nailing a pair of three-pointers and a free throw for seven points, as teammate David Heller, a sophomore forward and center, banked four. Comsewogue outscored its opponent 16-7 in the third, to begin the final quarter down 56-30.

“We had to keep our intensity up in the second half,” Wynter said. “We obviously slacked off there in the third quarter, but we stayed together, we pushed hard.”

Merhige said his team had to adjust to Comsewogue’s defensive pressure in the third quarter, which proved to be difficult at first.

“They opened the second half guarding us down low, and they boxed out really well and they started grabbing rebounds,” he said. “They came out in the second half and started knocking down threes.”

Harborfields' Alex Merhige scores two points. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields’ Alex Merhige scores two points. Photo by Bill Landon

Comsewogue’s rally would be short lived, as the Tornadoes turned up the heat, denying the Warriors a field goal the rest of the way. Comsewogue earned its final five points at the free-throw line.

“We needed better communication on defense and we cleaned that up in the third quarter,” Comsewogue senior guard Travis Williams said. “But we always know what we’re getting from Harborfields. They’re very well coached, so respect to them.”

Joey Carillo, a Comsewogue junior guard, agreed with Williams that Harborfields is a tough competitor and more than his team could handle.

“Coach told us at the half that we needed to work harder, move the ball and trust each other,” Carillo said. “They’re a tough team — if we played like we did in the third quarter, we would’ve had a better game.”

Cervini lead the Warriors with 13 points, followed by Heller with six.

Pecorelli topped the leaderboard with 18 points, Merhige netted 15 and Wynter added 14.

With the win, Harborfields improves to 8-0 in league play, while Comsewogue dropped to 3-5 with four games remaining on its schedule.

by -
0 4075
1 of 9
Rocky Point's cheerleading squad takes first place with its performance in Small School varsity Division I "A" during the cheerleading sectionals on their own home mat on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue cheerleaders compete in Small School varsity Division I "B" at the cheerleading sectionals held at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. The Warriors walked away with a first-place finish. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park cheerleaders compete in Small School varsity Division I "B" cheerleading sectionals at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Northport cheerleaders compete in Small School varsity Division I "A" during the cheerleading sectionals at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue cheerleaders compete in Small School varsity Division I "B" cheerleading sectionals at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's cheerleaders hold up signs during their routine that earned them first place on their own mats during the cheerleading sectionals on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue senior captain Brooke Piligian gets the crowd going at the cheerleading sectionals held at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue cheerleaders leap in the air during their routine that earned them first place in Small School varsity Division I "B" during the cheerleading sectionals at Rocky Point High School on Jan. 10. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's cheerleading squad took first place in Small School varsity Division I "A" during the cheerleading sectionals on Jan. 10 on the Eagles' home turf. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Cheerleading squads from all over Suffolk County converged on the mats of Rocky Point High School Sunday for the Suffolk County cheerleading sectionals, where Rocky Point and Comsewogue ran away with first-place finishes.

Cheerleading officially became a recognized sport in the 2015-16 school year, making this sectional event the first time that the competition is overseen and sanctioned by the New York State Public High School Athletics Association.

Rocky Point was the first of 31 teams to take to the mat first in Small School Division I “A,” and the squad wowed the crowd with a two-and-a-half minute routine, despite head coach Anna Spallina feeling less impressed with her Eagles, which are 12-time regional and three-time national champions.

“You have two and a half minutes to prove yourself out on the mat — if you don’t prove yourself in those two and a half minutes, you don’t get a second chance,” Spallina said. “You can’t go to the net again with a ball, or throw that pass one more time, so one little slip, an inch this way or an inch that way, and you can throw it away.”

Pleased or not Spallina’s squad earned first place in the division followed by Longwood and East Islip came in third.

With a squad of consisting of mainly eighth and ninth-graders, and only three seniors, Rocky Point senior Courtney Kelly said the Eagles’ only competition was themselves.

“We don’t worry about any other teams, we just worry about ourselves because the only routine we have to beat is ours,” she said.

Brittany Reh said there are some other challenges now that cheerleading is recognized as a sport, such as a different scoring sheet and new rules, but thought her team performed well despite the changes.

“We had a pretty good performance,” she said. “We stayed positive.”

Claire Johannesen said her team has had better execution on the mat, but will continue to work hard to remain at the team’s standards.

“Today was an okay performance, so we definitely have things we have to go to work on in practice,” she said. “But we did many things well that we’ll build on going forward.”

Northport hit the mat next looking to give Rocky Point a run for first place, and after a performance that impressed the judges, the Tigers’ head coach Danielle Milazzo talked about the adjustment her team has had to adjust to the scoring changes.

“The whole scoring rubric is completely different from last year, so we’re trying to get used to that,” Milazzo said. “We’ve reworked routines to align them with the scoring sheets to try to make sure we get the maximum number of points from New York State.”

Comsewogue hit the mat in the second session, as did Kings Park, competing in the Small School Division I “B.” The Warriors put on a flawless performance as the crowd exploded in applause with their finish, but head coach Stefanie Breitfeller was just relieved that the routine was behind her, as the team had yet another hurdle to jump prior to a competition.

“We had a major change this morning as I found out last night one of the girls came down with pink eye,” Breitfeller said. “We had to replace a starter, so we came into this thinking this could go badly or it could go very well.”

Comsewogue senior Samantha Donlon was thrilled with her team’s first-place finish.

“We did absolutely amazing — we have worked so hard for this day and I’m really proud,” she said. “I’m so happy and this will make us perform even harder next week.”

Comsewogue senior Rachel Steck said she thought her Warriors team also performed well, but thinks that like always, there is room for improvement.

“It could’ve been a little tighter, but I’m just so proud of my team,” she said.”We did our best today. We’ll practice our routine; we’ll make it harder and we’ll make it cleaner.”

For junior Brittany Dein, she thought her team performed beyond its expectations with the last-minute change.

“All week we’ve been running the routine a whole bunch of times and I can’t fault any part of our performance,” Dein said.

The teams will reconvene on Sunday Jan. 24 at Hauppauge High School for the second round of competition.

by -
0 1260
Stock photo

Comsewogue kids are going to get another view of their education system.

“Beyond Measure,” a documentary by director Vicki Abeles about “America’s troubled education system,” will be screened on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium, in an event hosted by TASK, Comsewogue High School’s student government. The film is a follow-up to Abeles’ 2010 documentary “Race to Nowhere,” which provided a close-up look at the pressures placed on young students in America.

“In Beyond Measure, we find a revolution brewing in public schools across the country,” according to a description on the film’s official website. “From rural Kentucky to New York City, schools that are breaking away from an outmoded, test-driven education are shaping a new vision for our classrooms.”

Comsewogue school district and its superintendent, Joe Rella, have been at the forefront of the battle against the Common Core and standardized testing, standing out as one of the strongest voices on Long Island and in New York State. In addition to appearing at local protests, the district even went as far last year as considering a proposal to refuse to administer state exams unless the state delivered more education aid and reduced the weight of student test scores on teacher and administration evaluations.

The description of “Beyond Measure” on the documentary’s website echoes some sentiments expressed by educators and parents who oppose the Common Core and state testing.

“We’re told that in order to fix what’s broken, we need to narrow our curricula, standardize our classrooms, and find new ways to measure students and teachers,” it says. “But what if these ‘fixes’ are making our schools worse? In ‘Beyond Measure,’ we set out to challenge the assumptions of our current education story.”

Screenings of the film have taken place across the United States over the past year, with more scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

“I am thrilled that our high school students are actively playing a role in exploring education policy, and look forward to their insight,” school board member Ali Gordon said in an email. “I believe that the issue of standardized testing is central to the debate about the direction of public education all over the nation, not just here. Education policies created at the federal and state level focus heavily on data collected from standardized testing, which has resulted in a huge shift away from student-centered learning.”

Tickets to attend the screening of the film at Comsewogue High School are $10 and are available online or at the door prior to the event.

For more information about the film, visit www.beyondmeasurefilm.com.

by -
0 2533

Skeleton racer nabs first place in 2016 IBSF World Cup race in Lake Placid

Annie O'Shea, of Port Jefferson Station, practiced for the World Cup skeleton race in Lake Placid, NY earlier this week. O'Shea won her first World Cup gold medal in the event on Jan. 8 Photo by Pat Hendrick

On her home track in Lake Placid, Port Jefferson Station’s Annie O’Shea won her first gold medal in a World Cup skeleton race.

O’Shea scored a combined time of 1 minute, 50.34 seconds, beating out Switzerland’s Marina Gilardoni by 0.09 seconds for the top spot. O’Shea slid down the track in a time of 55.26 seconds in her first heat, which was good enough for third place, a tenth of a second behind the leaders. She followed that up with a time of 55.08 seconds in her second run, tying a track record.

Annie O'Shea, who graduated from Comsewogue, recently won her first World Cup gold medal in a skeleton race in Lake Placid, NY. Photo from the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Annie O’Shea, who graduated from Comsewogue, recently won her first World Cup gold medal in a skeleton race in Lake Placid, NY. Photo from the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

“I wanted this for so long,” O’Shea said. “Everything I’ve done these past 10 year — to become better and work on myself and the process, has paid off.”

After her second run at the 2016 International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Cup event on Jan. 8, O’Shea stood at the bottom of the mountain watching as the only two racers who could beat her time took their turns. When she saw that she’d won, her jaw dropped as she leaped in the air before hugging her assistant scouting coach, Zach Lund.

“I started crying at the bottom and I couldn’t stop,” she said. After the awards ceremony, O’Shea stopped to sign autographs for young fans.

The Port Jefferson Station athlete, who graduated from Comsewogue and was a 2004 outdoor track and field state champion in the pentathlon when she attended SUNY Plattsburgh, had been ranked 11th in the world coming into this World Cup event in Lake Placid, which is home to the “Miracle on Ice” USA men’s ice hockey team that won a gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics.

O’Shea said she appreciates the consistent support from her family, friends and community.

“It’s nice to feel when you go home that people kind of have a place for you or are cheering for you,” she said.

O’Shea had previously won a silver medal in December of 2011 in La Plagne, France. This, however, is her first gold at this level of competition.

Tuffy Latour, the head coach of the skeleton team, said O’Shea has been building towards this moment for several years, and has come on strong this year.

“Her potential [has been] through the roof,” Latour said. “It was kind of story book for her. She [was in] third and then put down a very fast heat.”

Port Jefferson Station's Annie O'Shea, center, claimed a first-place finish behind Marina Gilardoni from Switzerland, left, and Laura Deas from Great Britain, right, in the World Cup skeleton race in Lake Placid, NY. Photo from Amanda Bird
Port Jefferson Station’s Annie O’Shea, center, claimed a first-place finish behind Marina Gilardoni from Switzerland, left, and Laura Deas from Great Britain, right, in the World Cup skeleton race in Lake Placid, NY. Photo from Amanda Bird

Her mother, Linda, watched the race at her desk in the Comsewogue School District’s district office. She said she jumped out of her seat and cheered with one of her colleagues who watched the finish with her, drawing a crowd of people to her desk, who were quick to share I the excitement.

“I’m so proud of her,” Linda O’Shea said. “It’s the perfect start to a new year.”

Competitors in skeleton use the same curved ice track as racers in luge and bobsled. Bent over and holding onto the sides of their sleds, they sprint for five to six seconds, then dive headfirst onto their sleds. Clad in aerodynamic suits, they slide down the track at speeds of over 80 miles per hour, banking through turns with slight shifts of their body weight.

The next World Cup skeleton race will take place in Park City, Utah on Jan. 15th and 16th. The World Cup races are the second-largest events in the sport behind the Olympics. The skeleton team is currently preparing for the 2018 games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

by -
0 117
James Thristino (No. 11) beats out a defender and the goalkeeper before sending his shot into the net. Photo by Brian Ballweg

Everyone was giving 110 percent at practice, but since his adjustment from high school to college ball was challenging for him, former Comsewogue soccer standout James Thristino had to put in that much more effort.

The payoff proved to be worthwhile, as the Adelphi University freshman forward earned Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors as a result.

“I had to come in fit — keep working as hard as I can because I was just a freshman going into a team that’s very good,” Thristino said. ”And in the beginning, it started off a little slow for me.”

Matt Giaconelli, a sophomore midfielder for the Panthers, said he was excited to see what his new teammate, who was Long Island’s leading goal-scorer and point-scorer as a junior and senior, would bring to the team.

“I thought he was going to be a big help right from the start,” he said. “Any goal-scorer is going to be useful on any team.”

Giaconelli said the freshman forward was a little discouraged at first, because he needed to adjust to the speed and physicality of the game at the next level, but he adapted in his first season. As a result, Thristino’s efforts also earned him an ECAC Second Team placement.

“He scored plenty of goals and he helped us out a lot,” Giaconelli said. “He had a great season and he deserved it. He worked hard.”

James Thristino moves between two defenders to grab a pass. Photo by Brian Ballweg
James Thristino moves between two defenders to grab a pass. Photo by Brian Ballweg

Head coach Carlo Acquista also noticed his player’s dedication to the game.

“He showed his talent and ability and why we recruited him,” he said. “He came in and needed to adjust a little bit, but he did a good job. He was right on course to do what he was supposed to do and what we expected him to do.”

Thristino said he worked with the juniors and seniors on the team, especially captain, midfielder and forward Alejandro Penzini, one of his roommates, to work on adjusting his game, despite being intimidated by the upperclassmen from the start.

Acquista said he worked with the team’s assistant coaches as well.

“He did a little bit of extra individual work and he really absorbed all the information that I brought to the table,” he said. “I think he did a good job of picking up the learning curve very quickly.”

Rooming not only with the captain, Thristino bunked with junior midfielder Caelan Hueber, who scored the most goals on the team — with 11 on the season — and had five assists. Thristino said he didn’t think he’d scored as many as the eight goals and two assists he did, which was good for second-highest on the roster.

“The college game is faster, more physical, hard-working and demanding — everyone expects more because they’re great players from all around,” he said. “You need to improve.”

And with each game, he did. Thristino wasn’t a starter, but he found a way to make his presence known.

In the team’s Sept. 26 game against Vermont’s St. Michael’s College, Thristino was subbed into the game about 20 minutes in, and with his first touch on the ball, beat out a defender and scored to put the Panthers’ first point on the board. After the Knights scored the equalizer, the former Warriors star tapped in a rebound to score the game-winner.

“Scoring the second goal to put us ahead was a good feeling,” Thristino said. “After, my teammates grabbed me, hugged me in the corner. That made me think, ‘All right, I like this feeling. I need to keep it going.’”

And he did that, too.

He scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Stonehill College in Massachusetts on Oct. 10.

“It was all hard work,” he said of the different ways he scored to help his team to another victory. “To be successful at college soccer, you need to be hard-working. You need to give 110 percent every time you step onto the field” because the competition is better than it is on the high school level. “You don’t get that many chances on the ball sometimes, so if you get one, you have to capitalize because you might not get many more.”

James Thristino sends the ball into play for Adelphi University. Photo by Brian Ballweg
James Thristino sends the ball into play for Adelphi University. Photo by Brian Ballweg

Following both games, the forward earned separate Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week honors.

Some of the freshman’s most memorable moments from the season include scoring his first playoff goal against Le Moyne College in the quarterfinals and celebrating in front of a large crowd. Another was when his team was tied 1-1 against Merrimack College and, with five minutes left in the game, he stole the ball away from the goalkeeper and knocked in a shot from 30 yards out that ended up being another game-winner.

“I ran into the corner and one of my best friends was on the sidelines and he tackled me to the floor as we celebrated,” he said. “That’s probably the most memorable one because that brought us to the championship for the first time in school history.”

His coach thanked him for being in the wrong position on that play.

“He made me look like a genius,” Acquista said. “I’m always excited for my guys to do well, and he took his role every game and he learned from it.”

As a result of his hard work and garnering his accolades this season, Thristino is looking forward to the next chapter of his college career.

“Getting that [Rookie of the Year] award boosted my confidence to the next level,” he said. “Knowing I could do even better next season, I’m going to keep raising my standards even higher, like I did in high school. It worked for me and I always want to do something better than what I previously did because I like to prove people wrong.”

The head coach said his athlete listened to what he needed him to do and did it, and it led to a successful season. He’s hoping for more from his forward in the future.

“For James to get Rookie of the Year is impressive because [in] the Northeast-10 Division II you get a lot of older international players as well,” he said. “So for a true rookie, 18 years old, to get Rookie of the Year in the conference is pretty unheard of … so that’s credit to him. … I just want James to keep growing and keep getting better.”

by -
0 1865
Comsewogue sophomore Victoria Blaney shoots while Rocky Point's Madison Hrysko defends. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Comsewogue sophomore Nora Gabel makes a play. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore Nora Gabel makes a play. Photo by Bill Landon

Behind Nora Gabel’s 23 points and eight steals, the Comsewogue girls’ basketball team led coast to coast in Tuesday’s League V opener on the road at Rocky Point, turning a 9-4 lead after one quarter to a 43-22 victory.

Comsewogue controlled the tempo from tipoff, dominated the time of possession and hit the scoreboard over and over.

By halftime, the Warriors battled their way up to a 20-8 lead, but Comsewogue head coach Joe Caltagirone said he knew Rocky Point would be athletic, despite not knowing how they’d be offensively.

“They put a little ball pressure on us and they contested all of our shots,” Caltagirone said of Rocky Point, adding he was pleased with how his team played defensive. “Offensively, I think we have a little ways to go to get to where I want to be this season.”

Despite several turnovers in the first half, the Warriors got their rhythm in the second as the team found the rim. Gabel, a sophomore guard, lit up the scoreboard for Comsewogue with 11 points, which included a pair of three-pointers. Rocky Point senior forward Julia Jauhiainen scored all of her five points in the third quarter, as her team trailed 33-13.

With 5:52 left in the game, Comsewogue worked to unwind the clock, and the teams traded points as time expired.

Gabel, who nailed three treys on the evening, said that she was surprised by the margin of victory.

Comsewogue freshman Julianna Watson goes up for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue freshman Julianna Watson goes up for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

“In the huddle before the game, I said we have to be hungrier than they were,” Gabel said. “So we went out there and played our hardest and we left it all out on the court.”

Following Gabel for the Warriors was junior guard Megan Turner with seven points, and forwards Sam Collins, a junior, and Victoria Blaney, a sophomore, chipped in four points apiece.

“They’re a strong team, but I don’t think we played up to our standards,” Turner said. “Defensively we’re strong, but our offense needs a little work.”

Rocky Point senior guard Michaela Peacock and junior center Allyson Greenstein matched Jauhiainen with five points each.

Rocky Point head coach Scott Lindsay said Comsewogue is always a tough team to play because they’re physical and have two strong guards.

“They play a strong defense up top, which caused a little problem when they started pressing,” Lindsay said. “With our second group, I was really impressed with how they were moving the ball. We’re improving from game to game — they played hard the whole way and I think we’re building on something here.”

Comsewogue will host Harborfields in its first home game of the season on Thursday. A 5:45 p.m. tipoff is scheduled.

by -
0 1739
Miller Place's Kristin Roberto and Comsewogue's Brooke Cespites fight for possession in a semifinal game. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Comsewogue field hockey has come far this season.

After making it to the playoffs with a 9-5 overall record, the No. 4-ranked Comsewogue Warriors made it past the first round of playoffs for the first time in school history, topping No. 5 Bayport-Blue Point, 1-0.

Unfortunately for the girls, their undefeated semifinal opponent, No. 1-seeded Miller Place, wanted to stay that way, and eliminated the team from the postseason with a 4-0 shutout Monday.

Comsewogue's Brooke Cespites and Miller Place's Arianna Esposito fight for possession in a semifinal match. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Comsewogue’s Brooke Cespites and Miller Place’s Arianna Esposito fight for possession in a semifinal match. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“It’s awesome to make history — I’m really proud of our team,” Comsewogue junior defender Megan Turner said through tears. “It’s awesome. I really love these girls.”

Both teams stormed the field, playing with intensity and pressing for possession.

“I think they came out really, really strong,” Comsewogue head coach Katy Dornicik said. “We didn’t have a lot of scoring opportunities, but I feel like in the middle of the field we were evenly matched, we just didn’t come out strong at the end.”

With 26:42 left to play in the first half, Miller Place senior forward Danielle Powers broke the ice when she scored off a corner with an assist from junior Arianna Esposito.

“A lot of their passes were connecting, they were looking up, which was great,” Miller Place head coach Alana LaMorte said. “That’s what we want to do, and their corners were phenomenal today.”

Comsewogue came through with some big blocks off more corners to stay in the game, but after the Panthers called for a timeout, the team kicked it into high gear, leading to another goal off a corner, this time by senior forward Alyssa Parrella, off an assist from sophomore Crystal Esposito.

Miller Place's Emily Contrelli catches a loose ball in a semifinal game against Comsewogue. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Miller Place’s Emily Contrelli catches a loose ball in a semifinal game against Comsewogue. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Coming out of the halftime break with a 2-0 lead, Miller Place cheered and shouted to build up the intensity as the team took the field. That strategy worked — the last two goals for Miller Place were again scored off of corners. With 13:59 left to play, Parrella found the right corner of the box from the far left side, off an assist from junior Julia Burns, and rounding out the scoring with less than five minutes left to play was Powers, off an assist from the younger Esposito.

“It feels great, but we’re looking forward to the next one,” LaMorte said of the win. “I think they both came out really intense. I do think that Comsewogue really put up a very big fight. It was not easy for us even though the score differential says otherwise. I think both teams came out tight, we just were able to put it in.”

Miller Place moves on to face Rocky Point in the Class B finals on Thursday at Dowling College at 4 p.m., while Dornicik is forced to say goodbye to some of the girls she’s coached since they were in seventh and eighth grade.

“It’s rewarding to see how far they’ve come now that I’m the varsity coach,” she said. “I’m very proud of them.”

Turner said her Warriors team had a lot of confidence coming into the game and believed it could overthrow its No. 1-seeded opponent. She said the team, the coaches and the fans have been nothing but supportive throughout this season’s journey.

“We were all there for each other, we really tried our hardest and this is definitely one of the best teams I’ve ever been on,” she said. “I think it’s a very big self-esteem booster considering how far we made it.”

Prev1...141516...19Next Page 15 of 19
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©