The North Haven boys’ lacrosse team stumbled through the season last spring and faced a variety of struggles, learning a lot about the program along the way. This year, they hope to grow on the foundation that was created last spring and find a path to prominence utilizing the experience of several returning veterans.

Head Coach Justin Blood, who is currently in his second season with the team, is confident in the experienced players to help lead throughout this season as North Haven tries to make a run toward conference and state postseason play. Michael Masto (senior, goalie), Jeffrey Karavas (senior, midfielder), and Salvatore “Sal” Demaio (senior, defender) are serving as the captains.

“All three of them are natural born leaders. Michael was the junior captain last year, so he has shown already that he has great leadership skills and is able to lead the team by instruction and example,” said Blood. “Jeffrey and Sal were also football captains, so they have already shown their leadership skills by winning a state championship. All three of them are honestly tremendous. They work hard, their work ethic is very high, and everything they do is with 100%.”

The Nighthawks compete in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) for conference play, as well as Class M. Last season, they finished with an overall record of 4-12 and Blood hopes to build on that this spring with the team transitioning to a less competitive division.

“Last year we laid the foundation for what the program is going to be moving forward. We played in Division I for the SCC, it was a very competitive league versus high caliber teams,” said Blood. “This year moving forward we moved to Division II, and I expect to have a very successful season with goals of continuing onto state playoffs, honestly building off last year. The goal is to become a powerhouse in the SCC and the state for lacrosse.”

The Nighthawks lost their first game of the season in a 21-1 contest vs. Fairfield Prep on April 4, but Blood mentioned that Fairfield Prep is the 22nd best team in the country.

Size of the team can say a lot about a program, and North Haven’s roster volume has increased this season from previously in the 30s to now 44, including a variety of returning players. The defensive line of Demaio, Chase Mangino (senior), and Tyler DiMauro (sophomore) with Masto in goal can be a force to be reckoned with. On the offensive side, Ben Pizzano (sophomore), Jack Marro (sophomore), and Connor Keaney (sophomore) are all returning players. Alex Gaetano (junior, midfielder) is a big threat and has a great shot while dodging hard.

“We have our returning starting defense from last year, they understand the system from last year so they will be a step ahead. I think Ben is definitely a player to watch, he is highly skilled, he has a hard work ethic, and plays lacrosse year-round,” said Blood. “All three of the attackmen are offensive assets. Christian Mongillo (sophomore, midfielder), is our faceoff/midfield. He also plays lacrosse year-round, and I expect him to be a key player.”.

Besides Masto manning the net, Jayesh Komal is the backup goalie but will see a lot of minutes with this being his final season on the team, according to Blood.

As the spring progresses, Blood hopes to build quality leadership and life skills in his players that they can carry with them beyond the lacrosse field, a sentiment that has always been important to him and his coaching staff.

“Myself and for all of the coaches is that we have a philosophy of cultivating life skills, leadership skills, and teamwork. We focus on every decision a player makes and focus on having a positive impact in their life. Working hard in one aspect of something can actually translate into a lot of different facets of their life,” said Blood. “That is our big thing we try and teach. It is not about lacrosse types of skillsets. Ultimately it is cultivating young leaders and helping them decide what kind of path they want to go on, being a positive role model.”

Blood is assisted by Colin Uyeki, Conor Daley, Dan Zullo, and Nick Mongillo.

The Nighthawks full team roster includes Brian Lastomirsky (senior, midfielder), Masto, Nicholas Magro (senior, midfielder), Mateo Raiano (senior, attacker/midfielder), Alex Peterson (senior, midfielder), Karavas, Demaio, Mangino, Keaney, Komal, Aiden Touch (senior, attacker), Camren Thompson (junior, defensive midfielder), Nolan Cole (junior, midfielder), Musa Shanawar (junior, midfielder), Jeremiah Lopez (junior, midfielder), Yaseen Mahmoud (junior, defensive midfielder), Nicholas Richitelli (junior, defender), Saleem Khan (junior, attacker), Gaetano, Ty Ellis (sophomore, defensive midfielder), Pizzano, Nicholas Ramano (sophomore, goaltender), Jonah Hammarlund (sophomore, long stick midfielder), Mongillo, Marro, Bryce Montabana (sophomore, midfielder), Pruthvi Patel (sophomore, attacker/midfielder), Dimauro, Jake Pieper (sophomore, midfielder), Cody Vanacore (sophomore, midfielder), Noah Holt (sophomore, defender), Kevin Parker (sophomore, midfielder), Christian DeMaio (freshman, long stick midfielder/defender), Cameron Samperi (freshman, midfielder), Lucas Knauft (freshman, defender/long stick midfielder), Ronan Holt (freshman, goaltender), Paul Mastriano (freshman, midfielder), Hayden Minns (freshman, midfielder), Andrew Porto (freshman, defender), Gavin Knauft (freshman, attacker/midfielder), Justin Katz (freshman, midfielder/attacker), Colton Kennealy (freshman, defender), Christopher Consorte (freshman, attacker/midfielder), and Michael Demezzo (freshman, midfielder).

Nighthawks Boys Lacrosse 2023 Schedule:

Tuesday April 4: vs Fairfield Prep at 7 p.m.

Thursday April 6: vs Wilbur Cross at 7 p.m.

Saturday April 8: vs Haddam-Killingworth at 11 a.m.

Tuesday April 11: vs Hamden at 5 p.m.

Tuesday April 18: vs Jonathan Law at 7 p.m.

Thursday April 20: vs West Haven at 6 p.m.

Tuesday April 25: vs Lyman Hall at 3:45 p.m.

Saturday April 29: vs Farmington at 9 a.m.

Tuesday May 2: vs Branford at 7 p.m.

Thursday May 4: vs Sheehan at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday May 6: vs Fitch at 11 a.m.

Tuesday May 9: vs Foran at 7 p.m.

Thursday May 11: vs Shelton at 7 p.m.

Saturday May 13: vs East Lyme at 11 a.m.

Tuesday May 16: vs Cheshire at 7 p.m.

Thursday May 18: vs Waterford at 7 p.m.