Coach Mauro: 'We Have Nothing To Lose'

When the Sachem North Boys Lacrosse Team takes the field today at Smithtown West they'll be doing so with an odd moniker many would never attach to a Sachem team. Underdog.

No matter, says Coach Jay Mauro, whose belief in his team was rewarded with a dominating 17-3 victory over Patchogue-Medford in the first round of the Suffolk Class A playoff tournament. They'll face a much tougher opponent in Smithtown West when they face off at 4 p.m. in Smithtown. 

Speaking of face off, it's Sachem North's faceoff expert Mike Calvagna who will need to put on a performance near to the one he did against Pat-Med last week. Sachem North won 15 draws at the X in that game, and because of the dominant play of Calvagna the Arrows had a 5-0 lead before the Raiders even had a possession.

"Calvagana's been great all year," Mauro said after the game. "He makes us better and he works at it. He does a great job."

Against Pat-Med they took the fight to them early and often, moving the ball around, making sharp, crisp passes through the crease and cashing in on just about every opportunity. Coach Mauro said in preparation for the game they preached "get after it, play-hard, play-fast" lacrosse. A similar philosophy will carry over against the second-seeded Bulls. 

"Offensively they're very talented," Mauro said of Smithtown West. "The kid at the faceoff X and Calvagna are gonna battle it out. And it's going to be about getting after ground balls. Getting the ground balls getting them in our stick and we have to make things happen."

After putting away the Raiders early and breezing through the game, one could see how the team's confidence might fall into the danger of overconfidence. But perhaps a strong sense of confidence might be the perfect prescription for the Arrows if the momentum that can swing quickly in a lacrosse game starts to work against them today.

"I want them to be confident," Mauro said. "I think we need that confidence. To be able to know that we can play in a big game and play loose and have fun and get after it."

As for being the underdog, even professional sports in recent years can attest to the power of the "us verses the world" mentality in the locker room. It can be a driving force that can unite a team and provide the emotional motivation to pull off the upset. Certainly the pressure today is squarely on the Bulls, who sit just underneath Ward Melville in the rankings and are legitimate candidates for a trip to the Suffolk County Championship game in a year where the bloom has fallen off West Islip a bit. They may be underdogs, but No. 7 Sachem North has talent in skill positions and a solid defense. 

For Coach Mauro, he has all the faith in the world.

"Bottom line is this. Everybody is going to pick Smithtown West to win, so we have nothing to lose. I believe in these guys, the coaching staff believes in these guys and they have to believe in themselves. If they do that anything can happen."