Sachem North takes lacrosse talent to next level

On cue, seven Sachem North boys lacrosse players signed letters of intent to seven different colleges Monday; then under the choreography of coach Jay Mauro, they each donned the appropriate hat. It was a nice photo op, but more importantly for the Flaming Arrows, it was a hat trick with a message.

"Our lacrosse program has made great progress since the split," Massachusetts-bound midfielder Mike Andreassi said, referring to the division of the huge Sachem school district into two high schools. beginning in the fall of 2004. "Now, when we go to tournaments, they know about Sachem North."

Or as Stony Brook-bound defenseman Alex Harris declared: "Sachem is back. We're here to make a statement."

The Flaming Arrows already made a loud statement on opening day last spring, when they handed the nation's No. 1 team and eventual state champion, West Islip, its only loss. Now, four members of that team will play Division I lacrosse - Andreassi, Harris, attack Tim Lang (Maryland-Baltimore County) and middie Jake Cabble (Robert Morris).

The other signees Monday were middie Angelo Armine (Division II Molloy), defenseman George Raum (Division II Adelphi) and middie Fred Golini (Division III Hartwick).

"The program has grown tremendously since the split and this is the evidence," Mauro said. "It's a great representation of the community, the school and the lacrosse program. These kids are all dedicated - as athletes and in the classroom."

Andreassi, Cabble, Armine, Lang and Golini are also members of the school's undefeated and top-seeded football team, which will play Floyd on Friday night for the Suffolk Division I crown and an opportunity to earn Sachem North its first berth in the Long Island Championship since the split.

"Now that we've all signed, we can concentrate on football and winning a championship," said Andreassi, one of the football captains and a star at linebacker and running back.

Andreassi and his six teammates, who also wore T-shirts from their future colleges Monday, have championship designs for next spring, too, where they form the heart of the No. 4-seeded team in the large-school division and hope to challenge West Islip, Smithtown West and Ward Melville for league, county and state supremacy.

Andreassi, Cabble and Harris already have won a lacrosse title together. They were part of the Long Island team coached by Mauro that captured the gold medal at last summer's Empire State Games in Buffalo. One of the goalies on that team was Connetquot's Zach Oliveri, who also signed with UMass.

"We're good buddies," Andreassi said. "I'm looking forward to going to college with him. It'll be fun."

Harris and Lang also will be linked at the next level, as Stony Brook and UMBC are in the same lacrosse conference, America East.

"I'll be playing him twice a year," Harris said. "It'll be a great time. Stony Brook is preranked at No. 4 . It's an honor to be on a team like that."

Monday, seven players seemed pretty proud of their current teams, too.