LI Lacrosse Journal
March 6, 2026
2 min read
No. 15 Ranked Farmingdale Dalers Team Preview
March 6, 2026
2 min read
Coming in at No. 15 is another Nassau Class A juggernaut, the Farmingdale Dalers. Third year Head Coach Eric Dunne was promoted to lead the program back in 2024 after serving as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2011. Dunne didn’t let the team skip a beat when he took over, guiding the Dalers all the way back to the state championship game in his inaugural season. The team regressed a bit in 2025, finishing with a 10-8 record and a loss to Port Washington in the county semifinals, snapping their two year reign as Nassau County champions. A far cry from the previous two seasons, but it’s reflective of the war zone that Class A is. One of the hardest leagues to win on Long Island, Farmingdale will look to regroup and reclaim their top spot as the premiere program in Nassau County.
Senior attackman and Mercy commit Sean Shumeyer headlines the returning offensive production for the Dalers in 2026, though this time around he’ll be without his fellow Maverick Dean Kott who moved on to the college level after last season. Senior Cuinn Sunde (Georgian Court) should help Shumeyer carry the primary load of this scoring attack, with Matteo Asencio (Adelphi) Jack Watrouss and Lucas Galvez slated for more work as well. Farmingdale averaged about nine goals a game on offense a season ago, leaving room for improvement for their new look unit who’ll be working in quite a few fresh names to the equation including Jake Kunz, Luca Spano, and Jackson Defendini. Luckily for Coach Dunne, he won’t have nearly as much turnover on his defense from last year’s team. The Dalers welcome back senior UMass commit Mike Malgano, senior Mercy commit Thomas Goodrich, senior Teigan Sunde, and juniors Michael Bilello and Braeden Lyons, all returning starters who bring a wealth of skill and experience to that side of the ball. Farmingdale will be breaking in a new goaltender this which could be senior James Emde, who hasn’t seen much varsity action in his career thus far. If he is in fact the starter Emde’s comfortability in the cage could be the catalyst in the Daler’s success in 2026, but with this well-known defensive group watching his back there’s a lot to be hopeful about if you’re a Farmingdale fan. Eric Dunne has only been at the helm for a short time, but his areas of focus for his team reflect those of a coach with multiple decades under his belt. Emphasizing on the fundamentals is a recipe that’s served this program well in recent history, and Dunne doesn’t appear to be changing that philosophy this time around. “[We have to] do the little things really well,” Dunne said to LILJ. “Pick up tough groundballs, play great defense, limit unforced turnovers, and finish our opportunities. Make the details matter!” Farmingdale kicks off the season at Huntington for a cross-county Class A duel with the Blue Devils.
