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2024 SEASON PREVIEW PART THREE- CLASS B PREVIEW
Nassau Class B in 2024 looks to be a dogfight between Garden City, Manhasset, and South Side. The Trojans won the NYS Class B championship last year, while Manhasset was the NYS Class C champion. Both are now fighting for the chance to win Nassau, along with a South Side squad that returns a ton of experienced players and will be a tough out.
Garden City looks to be strongest on defense, with senior goalie Denis Fargione (Villanova), defenseman Matt Kephart (Princeton), and junior two-way midfielder Owen Wuchte (Bucknell) returning as starters. Andrew Ottomanelli (Holy Cross) is a senior attackman who had 61 points in 2023 and will be a good starting point for an offense looking to replace some talented graduates, including Stevie Finnell, now at Duke.
This year Manhasset will be without the services of Cal Girard, faceoff man extraordinaire, who is now at Duke. The Indians also lost a host offensive talent but will rebuild with Navy-bound attackman Daniel Kolin (41 pts in 2023) still in the fold. Jack Mulholand (D, Dartmouth) and Matt Im (G, Tampa) will lead the defensive effort, and an infusion of younger talent will make the Indians fun to watch this spring.
South Side returns to Class B as well this spring, with a strong senior class led by faceoff stud Michael Melkonian (Cornell) who was an All-American finalist last year. Owen West (Bryant), Michael Aiello (Skidmore), and Cole DiPietro (Hobart) are returning to lead the offense, while Pat Mullin (Providence) and Jack Lozito (SSDM), will be defensive stalwarts. Keep an eye on goalie Michael Muscarella (Middlebury) who could have a breakout season as a first-year starter in goal.
Another team moving up in class in #4 seed Carey, traditionally a B school that was in Class C a year ago. The Seahawks return most of last year's squad, headlined by junior goalie Rich Metzger (Marist) and senior defender TJ Wakely (RPI). Calhoun was the Class B runner-up the last two seasons but lost a ton of talent from those squads for veteran coach Jim Femminella. He will lean on Harley Finkelstein (Bryant) and Xander Megias to help with the rebuilding efforts. Long Beach is a bit of a sleeper, with Luke Hartman (60 pts in '23), a Towson commit, returning. Roslyn will be strong facing off with Mason Wagman and Spencer Cymbler (36 g in '23) but will have to replace the scoring and leadership of Alex Gatto, who had 244 career points and is now playing at Michigan. Mepham, seeded 8th, will have a new coach in Ryan Walsh and returns junior Owen Heller, a UMass commit who had 67 points last season.
Among the lower seeded teams, there are some excellent players, including Aidan Garvey at New Hyde Park. A football star in the fall, he had 92 points last season, has 180 in his career, and will play at Adelphi. Jericho (#11 seed) has Brandon Klein back in goal for another year. He has 378 career saves under his belt. At Division Avenue, attackman Liam Burns is a top scorer for coach Rob Storrie. And let's not leave out Dan Perlman from Great Neck North. The junior had 91 goals last year, one of the top totals in Nassau history, and the most ever by a sophomore.
Garden City looks to be strongest on defense, with senior goalie Denis Fargione (Villanova), defenseman Matt Kephart (Princeton), and junior two-way midfielder Owen Wuchte (Bucknell) returning as starters. Andrew Ottomanelli (Holy Cross) is a senior attackman who had 61 points in 2023 and will be a good starting point for an offense looking to replace some talented graduates, including Stevie Finnell, now at Duke.
This year Manhasset will be without the services of Cal Girard, faceoff man extraordinaire, who is now at Duke. The Indians also lost a host offensive talent but will rebuild with Navy-bound attackman Daniel Kolin (41 pts in 2023) still in the fold. Jack Mulholand (D, Dartmouth) and Matt Im (G, Tampa) will lead the defensive effort, and an infusion of younger talent will make the Indians fun to watch this spring.
South Side returns to Class B as well this spring, with a strong senior class led by faceoff stud Michael Melkonian (Cornell) who was an All-American finalist last year. Owen West (Bryant), Michael Aiello (Skidmore), and Cole DiPietro (Hobart) are returning to lead the offense, while Pat Mullin (Providence) and Jack Lozito (SSDM), will be defensive stalwarts. Keep an eye on goalie Michael Muscarella (Middlebury) who could have a breakout season as a first-year starter in goal.
Another team moving up in class in #4 seed Carey, traditionally a B school that was in Class C a year ago. The Seahawks return most of last year's squad, headlined by junior goalie Rich Metzger (Marist) and senior defender TJ Wakely (RPI). Calhoun was the Class B runner-up the last two seasons but lost a ton of talent from those squads for veteran coach Jim Femminella. He will lean on Harley Finkelstein (Bryant) and Xander Megias to help with the rebuilding efforts. Long Beach is a bit of a sleeper, with Luke Hartman (60 pts in '23), a Towson commit, returning. Roslyn will be strong facing off with Mason Wagman and Spencer Cymbler (36 g in '23) but will have to replace the scoring and leadership of Alex Gatto, who had 244 career points and is now playing at Michigan. Mepham, seeded 8th, will have a new coach in Ryan Walsh and returns junior Owen Heller, a UMass commit who had 67 points last season.
Among the lower seeded teams, there are some excellent players, including Aidan Garvey at New Hyde Park. A football star in the fall, he had 92 points last season, has 180 in his career, and will play at Adelphi. Jericho (#11 seed) has Brandon Klein back in goal for another year. He has 378 career saves under his belt. At Division Avenue, attackman Liam Burns is a top scorer for coach Rob Storrie. And let's not leave out Dan Perlman from Great Neck North. The junior had 91 goals last year, one of the top totals in Nassau history, and the most ever by a sophomore.
