Dozens of Sachem alums are playing college lacrosse and earning praise
It has been a busy and successful stretch for a number of Sachem alumni playing or coaching college lacrosse, and even for some folks associated with other programs in Suffolk County.
Joe Amplo, Marquette: Sachem alum Joe Amplo’s Marquette team lost to No. 3 Denver in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals. He heads to Israel this summer as an assistant for Team USA.
Paul Benway & Justin O’Connell, Hills East: Both are Sachem teachers. O’Connell is a Sachem alum and Benway is a former varsity coach at Sachem North. They are the coaches at Hills East and will be playing in the Suffolk County Class A championship next week.
Michael Bollinger, Stony Brook: The Sachem East alum from the Class of 2016 just finished his sophomore season at Stony Brook and was an integral part of the team’s America East regular season title. He has a .500 save percentage and was twice named America East Defensive Player of the Week this year.
John Calabria, Syosset: John, a Sachem alum and resident, is the head coach of Syosset boy’s lacrosse, which is playing for a Nassau County Class A championship this week. Syosset is regularly one of the top lacrosse programs in the top lacrosse regions in America.
Eve Calabria, Bucknell: Following in her dad’s footsteps on the lacrosse field, Eve, who played at Sachem North, put in an incredible freshman campaign at Bucknell. She led Bucknell in goals (19), assists (14) and points (33) and has a bright future ahead.
Jason DeBenedictis, St. John’s: Jason was a two-year captain at Sachem East and graduated in 2014. He led Long Island in goals as a senior. This year he graduated from St. John’s where he played for Terry Mangan, another Sachem alum, who is an assistant with the Johnnies. Jason was an attackman who continued to re-write the record books over his four years. A two-time selection to the Big East All-Academic team and All-Big East Second Team, he graduated ranked fifth all-time at St. Johns in goals scored. He became only the 10th player in program history to accumulate over 100 career points. It also ranked him sixth in scoring in the Big East.
Tom Haun, Stony Brook: The Sachem North alum garnered All-Conference accolades for the second straight year at Stony Brook University after being named to the All-Rookie team in his debut season. Haun led the team in scoring and points, tallying 11 multi-point games this season.
Jay Mauro, Stony Brook: Sachem alum and teacher and former varsity lacrosse coach Jay Mauro is an assistant at Stony Brook, which won a regular season America East title this year.
Cara Trombetta, Florida: The former Sachem East lacrosse star is shining at the collegiate level to no surprise. She was named a First Team Big East selection, First Team All-American and First Team IWLCA All-South. She set a program record for most caused turnovers in a season with 42, beating her previous program-best of 27 from 2017.
NYIT Crew: A handful of Sachem alums are tearing it up at NYIT. Mike Sofia (2015 North), Mike Locastro (2016 North), TJ Micheli and Nick Johannsen (2017 East graduates) helped NYIT win their second straight ECC Championship game and lost in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals to Merrimack.
There are dozens of Sachem alums playing college lacrosse. We can’t possibly know about every one of them, so if you have lacrosse news from a Sachem alum you would like to have mentioned in this notebook, please email Editor@SachemReport.com.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro