Follow the NLF on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
In a high school lacrosse landscape where private schools have largely staked claim to being the top programs nationally, Long Island still likely holds the title of having the best public school teams top to bottom.
Philly’s Central League might have two of the best three or four public teams in the country, but in terms of depth, Long Island is still king. Tuesday, Garden City racked up a big 13-6 win over Massapequa to further stake its claim as the Island’s No. 1 public team, too. Luke Cascadden, a senior Navy commit from Long Island Express, won 12 of 14 faceoffs to completely stifle the Chiefs’ offensive time of possession. His twin brother, Blake, a Cornell commit, shined at LSM after primarily being a short-stick defensive midfielder until this year. Standout sophomore Anthony Asaro scored four times in the win, while Charlie Koester (Lehigh) bagged three goals and an assist for the Trojans.
Cascadden Rules the X
Is there a better public program on the Island? Probably not. It helped Garden City’s cause that the Trojans always had the ball thanks to Luke Cascadden’s mastery. Cascadden fended off four different Massapequa faceoff guys, including a pair of poles. He was incredibly diverse in his exits, collected his fair share of ground balls and also showed that he could run by 3v3 traffic to get the ball to the Garden City offense. It was because of Cascadden that Massapequa barely touched the ball in the first half and enabled the Trojans to take a 5-1 halftime lead.
“It’s difficult when I get different looks because it’s hard to adjust to what someone does,” Luke Cascadden said. “One guy will have two or three different moves and counters, so I kind of know what to do to exit. But when they throw multiple guys at me and two poles at me, it’s kind of hard to determine where to exit with the ball.”
Not a FOGO
One of the biggest problems for some faceoff midfielders is that they can struggle with handling the ball and running the field after the win. Cascadden is decidedly not a FOGO, and it’s something in which he takes immense pride. It’s something that could help him get on the field early at Navy, too.
“My size isn’t great, so me being athletic kind of balances it out,” Cascadden said. “My speed is pretty good and my IQ in the game has grown. I take pride in the fact that I can run and play with the other players and I’m not what some people think is a standard FOGO that throws the ball and runs off.”
Team 91 Long Island 2027 Rocco Spallina paced the Chiefs with a hat trick, while 91 running mate Nolan Wieczorek had assists on two of Spallina’s goals. Senior goalie Michael Jannotte (Stevens) stopped 16 shots in the Massapequa cage. Other than Jannotte and do-it-all midfielder Matt Pettis (Team 91 LI / Albany), the Chiefs are a pretty young team. There’s a lot to like for the future, but Tuesday, it was Garden City that looked like the present as a team that should content for a state championship.
“Our offense is younger guys, but they’ve been super locked in. We’ve got serious athletes on the field,” Luke Cascadden said. “I think we’re going to make a run in June. Every team should have the mentality that they’re going to make it to states and win states, but I truly think we’re on a good path right now. If we stay on this path, … I think we’re going to make some really, really loud noise in June.”
Garden City vs. Massapequa Standouts
Anthony Asaro ’27, midfield, Garden City (N.Y.)
Asaro looks the part of one of the top midfielders in the class of 2027. At 6-2 and probably around 185 pounds, he’s got the frame that everyone loves in a top-flight midfielder. He’s also quick enough to create separation on his dodges. Against Massapequa, he was a matchup nightmare off of sweeps and alley dodges and was able to bully his way to the rack. He twice beat his defender down the alley and snapped home high-to-high finishes. Later, he added a topside sweep for another high-to-high finish. Also a standout football pllayer for the Trojans, Asaro seeks out contact on his dodges because he knows he’ll usually win the battle of physics.
Blake Cascadden ’25, LSM, Garden City (N.Y.) / Long Island Express – Cornell
A short-stick defensive midfielder by trade, Cascadden picked up a pole this year to help the Trojans’ defense out and he’s been a revelation. He can turn and run with anyone, thanks to the plus athleticism that helped him secure a commitment to the Big Red like the Cascaddens’ older brother, Cornell faceoff midfielder Jack Cascadden. But he also showed that he’s got the stickwork to be effective with the pole as he collected a handful of ground balls and snapped home a transition goal to effectively end any shot at a Massapequa comeback.
“Using a long stick makes it a lot harder to control your stick skills,” Cascadden said. “I’ve just mainly been working on that. It definitely took a little bit to learn the logistics of defense with a long stick because it does feel a lot different. I’m grateful I’ve got great coaches.”
Charlie Koester ’26, midfield, Garden City (N.Y.) – Lehigh
If Asaro was the dodging threat for Garden City, Koester was the time-and-room finisher for the Trojans. He got his day started with an easy finish off of a one-more look in transition and later snapped home a feed from Michael Berkery (Long Island Express / Villanova). Koester also had a nice setup for a Ben Smith (Long Island Express) finish in the fourth quarter. The future Mountain Hawk finished a hat trick and an assist, showing soft hands and deft finishing ability in spades.
Michael Jannotte ’25, goalie, Massapequa (N.Y.) – Stevens
Jannotte was the only reason why the game didn’t get out of hand in the first half. The Stevens commit made 10 of his 16 saves in opening half, including a bevy of in-tight gems on what should have been easy goals. He had a fantastic high 1v1 save in tight early off on off-ball cutter that was right on top of the crease. Jannotte moved very well from pipe-to-pipe and, for the most part, was only beaten on shots in tight.
Rocco Spallina ’27, attack, Massapequa (N.Y.) / Team 91 Long Island
The Chiefs struggled to get anything going offensively for most of the game, but when they did, Spallina was in the middle of it. He timed up a terrific off-ball cut off of a dime from Massapequa and Team 91 teammate Nolan Wieczorek for his first of the game. Later, he got open on the backside and quick sticked another Wieczorek feed. He capped his hat trick by picking up the trash and snapping home a backhander for the Chiefs. Spallina’s incredibly smart, especially off-ball, and he knows how to find the soft spots in the defense, even if it’s just for a split second.
