Ward Melville's Drinking Incident Could Affect Sachem East and North on Lacrosse Field

Sachem and Ward Melville have long been linked together on the lacrosse field. So when the Patriots' program recently took a hit when 15 players were suspended for breaking school policy everyone in Sachem should have been thinking two things: how would you have handled the situation, and how does this affect the lacrosse scenario in Division I?

It was reported that school administrators and coaches became aware of players drinking off-campus via Facebook.

"We don't tolerate any of that," said North boys lacrosse coach Jay Mauro. "It's against our code of conduct for our team and a lesson learned for our program. Drinking and smoking are not acceptable."

In Tuesday's game against Smithtown West, the Patriots had 20 players on the sideline instead of their normal 36 (one was injured). Nine players were suspended for that game – a 13-8 Ward Melville win – and six were given an additional two-week suspension. They were all allowed to watch Tuesday's game from the bleachers.

"I had to take some action," Ward Melville coach Mike Hoppey told another local media outlet. "It's something we've talked to the players about, we've talked to the parents about, we've talked to the captains about. It's against team rules and it's something we don't want them to do. And they did it, anyway."

Ward Melville (7-1 division, 9-1 overall) is sitting in second place in Suffolk County's Division I behind West Islip. North (6-1, 7-2) is in fourth and East (5-2, 6-3) is in seventh.

The Patriots already doused East, 15-1, two weeks ago. That defeat hasn't deterred them however since the Flaming Arrows have rattled off four straight wins since. Ward Melville will play William Floyd and East Islip in the next couple of weeks. If they lose, that will help East even more in its quest for a playoff bid. With another win East should lock up a spot, but it won't hurt to have extra assistance in the division.

North has yet to play Ward Melville, but has them penciled in for May 17 on the turf at night. It's the same night Sachem is retiring Doug Shanahan's jersey, making for a good atmosphere and possibly some of the best lacrosse of the year.

"Ward Melville always has a strong team," Mauro said. "This incident could affect them, but we're only worried about ourselves. We have to take it one game at a time."

Sachem athletic directors Gary Beutel and John Mankowich, East boys lacrosse coach Rob Murphy and North girls lacrosse coach Kevin Krause did not return an email seeking comment for this story.

Note: If you're wondering ... the picture to the right is of Sachem celebrating its 1993 Suffolk County title win over Ward Melville.

Division I Standings (top 10 only... as of 4/29/10)

Team                      Division     Overall       Power Points

West Islip                       8-1-0                10-1-0               155.980

Ward Melville               7-1-0                 9-1-0                144.210

Connetquot                    7-2-0                9-2-0                139.730

Sachem North       6-1-0            7-2-0            136.950

East Islip                         6-2-0                 8-2-0                131.750

Smithtown West          5-3-0                 6-4-0                127.510

Sachem East          5-2-0            6-3-0            126.030

Walt Whitman              5-4-0                 7-4-0                117.730

William Floyd               5-4-0                  6-5-0               113.940

Smithtown East           3-4-0                  4-5-0               109.990