PATCHOGUE, N.Y. | Men's lacrosse games within the Skyline Conference schedule are always important to Farmingdale State College head coach Sean Chamberlain's Rams, but this past Saturday's game at St. Joseph's College of Long Island took on special meaning for his student-athletes and staff, as the two sides competed against one another in the Long Island Metro Lacrosse Foundation's (LIMLF) "Legends Game," which honored the lives of four gentlemen who made exceptional contributions to the sport.
The teams played their annual conference tilt in custom uniforms for the occasion, as the afternoon celebrated the lives and contributions of Jack Kaley, Tom Postel, Ralph Pepe and Farmingdale State Hall-of-Famer Mike Thearle. FSC pulled away in the second half for a 12-7 triumph, but the day was truly about the four legends who were recognized.
"(St. Joseph's-Long Island head coach) Tom Rotanz and I thought about this awhile back, having the game honor some local legends who truly laid the path for everybody involved with Long Island lacrosse," said Chamberlain.
Kaley was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, starting his coaching career in 1964 at the high school level. Later, he coached both the German national team and the New York Institute of Technology, where he led the Bears to numerous national titles at the NCAA Division II level.
Pepe was a beloved coach who was known for being the cornerstone of Sachem Lacrosse and Football. He also coached lacrosse at Southampton College, as well as Westhampton Beach High School.
Like Kaley, Postel was a National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee after a storied playing career, and then two-decades-long head coaching stint, at Long Island University-C.W. Post – where he guided the Pioneers to their first Division II title in 1996.
Thearle was a two-time All-America selection from his defense position at FSC, before he moved on to earn the 1973 Schmeisser Award as the country's top defenseman at the University of Maryland, where he helped the Terps to a national title. He was inducted into the halls of fame by the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, U.S. Lacrosse's Long Island Metro Chapter, the University of Maryland and Farmingdale State.
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