Luke LaMontagne Of Chaminade High School Named 2025 Lacrosse Showcase MVP

Chaminade High School midfielder Luke LaMontagne scored three goals and received the James C. Metzger Most Valuable Player Award when he led Nassau County over Suffolk County 11-7 in the Long Island Lacrosse Showcase Top 25 Game of Rising Freshmen of 2025. The game was held at Hofstra University on Thursday, June 26.

The winning Nassau team, coached by John Nessler of MacArthur High School (Levittown), Ryan Walsh of Mepham High School (Bellmore) and Justin O’Connell of Half Hollow Hills West High School (Dix Hills), accepted the Metzger Cup. The cup is awarded to the winning teams at each of the four games of Rising Freshmen, Rising Sophomores, Rising Juniors and Rising Seniors at the Lacrosse Showcase. Suffolk won three of the four games.

The awards were presented by James C. Metzger and Vincent J. Sombrotto. Metzger was a lacrosse, football and basketball standout at Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills and a lacrosse All-American at Hofstra University during the 1970s. He received the 1977 Lt. Ray Enners Award for outstanding Suffolk County lacrosse player when he scored 102 points and received All-American honors. Metzger’s support for Long Island lacrosse includes boys high school leadership, MVP and outstanding player awards for teams in Nassau and Suffolk counties. He is the founder and chairman of Whitmore – The Agency, an insurance and financial services firm in Garden City now known as Acrisure.

Sombrotto attended Chaminade High School in Mineola during the 1970s and was a Hofstra All-American midfielder. He was named to the 1982 All-World Team and is a member of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Showcase Format

For more than a decade, the Long Island Lacrosse Showcase for boys attending local high schools has been recognized as the premier event that allows players to display their talent for college coaches. The Long Island Lacrosse Showcase format originally was featured in the former New York Empire State Games. The Nassau County Lacrosse Coaches Association and the Suffolk County Lacrosse Coaches Association recreated the format during 2009.

Players compete during tryout rounds to determine the top athletes at each grade level. Fifty players from each county for each grade level are selected to compete in the Final 50 games. The 25 players selected from the Final 50 games represent their county at their grade level at the Long Island Lacrosse Showcase Nassau versus Suffolk Games. Players for these games also earn roster spots to represent their county at the New York State Regional Championships held during the summer.