Vestal boys lacrosse team not done after putting together historic unbeaten regular season

A 10-day interval between a victory over Ithaca and the start of the Section 4 tournament provided the Vestal boys lacrosse team a chance to reflect on the first undefeated regular season in a program history that dates back to 1967.

Reflection time lasted about five seconds.

During a mid-week practice, the energy level was high and focus evident as the top-seeded Golden Bears prepared for their next challenge. They take on fourth-seeded Union-Endicott in a Section 4 Class B semifinal at 7 p.m. May 21, with a win putting them into the final May 23 at home against either second-seeded Horseheads or third-seeded Binghamton.

"It's cool to say, but to be honest with you it's one game at a time," 11th-season head coach Chris Dutkowsky said of the 15-0 regular season. "Yeah, we won them all, but that's in the past and now we're looking forward to today's practice and getting our playoffs started."

Vestal has won 11 Section 4 titles in the last 12 seasons, including five in a row. But this team has set itself apart in more ways than the record, riding a combination of team-focused offense, suffocating play on the defensive end and faceoff dominance from Tucker Zostant to a season for the books.

Dutkowsky credits the Golden Bears' senior class with spearheading the ride, many of whom were part of what a roller-coaster season two years ago.

"Since then, their junior year and up until now, they've matured a lot and they've kind of carried us," he said. "It's a great group. They're all leaders, they've all been playing together for a long time, and we're just trying to take it day by day and live in the moment because this is a special group."

The seniors have played together since they were little kids, coming up through Vestal's strong youth program and joining forces in travel lacrosse and Vestal's well-attended offseason workouts.

"We have a lot of seniors that have played together for a long time," Zostant said. "We have a really good connection. We play together really well. A great group of kids we have."

More: NYSPHSAA Section 4 boys lacrosse 2024 tournament pairings

All-Americans among talented group

Within that group are a pair of recently named U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans in senior midfielder Sammy Baek and senior attack Braden McMahon.

Fellow seniors Zostant, Xavier Shuler, Graham Sholett, Max Fiumera and Korbin Mercia were selected Section 4 Division 2 first-team all-stars along with Bears sophomore Michael Hogan and twin junior defensemen Brody and Ronan Crowley. Tom Vallely and goalie Cam Adams were second-team all-stars and Dutkowsky was voted Section 4 Coach of the Year.

Key part of a team filled with all-stars is no one acts like one. Zostant said the Bears' unity has led to an environment in which nobody thinks they have to do it all on their own and in which players pick each other up when things go wrong. Vestal averages 15.5 goals per game and has hit double-digits every contest.

"We definitely move the ball well," Zostant said. "In years past we had people that tried to be heroes, this year we don't really have any of those. Everyone plays a part and we win a lot."

Faceoff dominance, defensive excellence

Zostant's dominance on the faceoff X has played a key part. He has won 76% of his faceoffs and Dutkowsky praised Zostant as "a machine" on ground balls.

"He's in the trenches for us, he does all the tough work," said Dutkowsky, who added Zostant has excelled at making in-game adjustments against quality faceoff foes.

The key to faceoff success? "Just work hard for the ball," Zostant said. "If you don't get it clean, make it a scrum, do everything you can to get it."

The Crowley twins have joined Mercia in leading the way on defense, helping the Bears limit opponents to five goals per game.

"They're only juniors, but they're playing like they're seniors and have been for the past couple years," Dutkowsky said of the twins.

More work to do

Zostant said the 10-day break between games has given Vestal a chance to focus on smaller details, such as communication. He credited Dutkowsky with running energized, fast-paced practices that keep players engaged.

Some may wonder why Vestal is ranked only 13th in Class B in the New York State Sports Writers Association rankings despite a perfect record. That comes down more to the strength of lacrosse on Long Island and other parts of New York, along with Section 4's limited success in state competition.

Vestal has made it a point to face strong competition outside of Section 4. Notable victories include a 13-12 win over Section 3's Liverpool and a 10-7 triumph against Section 1's Scarsdale, both Class A teams. Zostant said the Liverpool game in particular was a confidence booster.

"We want to battle and be battle-tested and learn from it and see what we need to work on and improve on once we get to this point of the year," Dutkowsky said.

Bottom line is to keep this journey going for as long as possible.

"Just looking forward to as much time as we have left with these guys because it's a special group," Dutkowsky said.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Vestal boys lacrosse delivered first unbeaten season in team history