Sports of All Sorts: Ferguson Stands Out at Section 1 Lax Shootout

Game 1 was under way and Connor Ferguson spent the time wisely.

The Mamaroneck rising senior watched and observed as action got underway at the Section 1 All-Star Shootout at John Jay High School in Cross River.

"They seem like they're moving the ball well and not trying to force things," Ferguson said. "That's the main thing."

Then, Ferguson got his chance. Playing for the West team, Ferguson, who was an all-section defenseman this past spring, quickly came away with three ground balls and made a nice clear in the opening minutes of a game against the East team.

Even had he not played well, Ferguson would have been hard to miss. He was wearing a bright orange jersey that undoubtedly caught the eye of the many college coaches on hand evaluating the more than 60 players from the Westchester/Putnam/Rockland/Dutchess region competing in the second annual event.

Action began with the first game at 6:45 p.m. and continued well past 10 p.m. Last year's inaugural event had been held on a Sunday afternoon.

"Based on input we got from college coaches, they said Friday night would be a good time for them to be able to get here and watch the games," said Ernie Lupinacci, who is an executive member of John Jay's Booster Club and who helped organize this year's shootout.

This year's second annual event had even more importance because it was tied in with the tryout process for the Hudson Valley Empire State Games scholastic men's team. Final cuts for that team are expected to be made later this week.

Ferguson was one of two Mamaroneck players who competed. Rising junior goaltender Jake Danehy was the other.

Section 1 Class B champion and event host John Jay was well represented, with 17 players competing: rising seniors Trevor Caviola (defense), Evan Chen (midfield), Kevin Duffy (goaltender), Alex Lanza (defense), Brendan Morris (attack), Jimmy Morris (midfield), Billy Pray (attack), Jack Stewart (midfield), Mike Lupinacci (attack), Tom Mertens (defense), Forrest Walter (midfield), Jake Weil (midfield) and Malcolm Winter (defense) and rising juniors Tom Branca (goaltender), Matt Ferentini (attack), Brandon Lew (midfield) and Reid Maxmin (midfield).

Somers, which fell to John Jay in the sectional final, made its presence felt right away as rising senior midfielder Anthony Lombardo, a Yorktown Heights resident, scored four goals for the South team in the opening game of the night, vs. the North team. Lombardo has attracted recruiting interest from such Division I programs as Army and Marist. Also on hand from Somers were rising seniors Kieran Donohue (attack), Taylor Miller (defense) and Eddie Schurr (defense), rising junior Kevin Schurr (defense) and rising sophomore Chris Marasco (attack).

Scarsdale was represented by rising seniors Brian Bauersfeld (attack) and Logan Sedelmaier (defense) and rising junior Connor Wolfe (goaltender).

Wolfe was one of several goaltenders who performed well – a group that included Clarkstown South rising junior Kristian Alleyne, Horace Greeley rising senior Gabe Weissmann as well as the aforementioned John Jay goaltenders.

In addition to Weissmann, Greeley had three other players compete: rising seniors Josh Begleiter (midfield) and Brian Dubs (defense) and rising juniors Jack Gladstone (attack) and Alex Scott (attack).

Rising seniors Justin Mabus (midfield), Ty Schuldt (midfielder), Alex Poritzky (midfield), Alex Terry (midfield) and Tyler Fahey (defense), rising junior Conor Gately (attack) and rising sophomore Nick Mariano (attack) represented Yorktown.

Rye players on hand were rising seniors Max Bonsall (defense), Chris Bonaventure (midfield), Barton Briggs (attack), Michael Collins (defense) and Brian Pickup (defense) and rising junior Greg Stern (attack).