John Roca signs to play Men’s Lacrosse at Dowling College

On Monday, December 8th, John Roca signed to play Men’s Lacrosse with Dowling College. John is a goalie on the RHS Varsity Lacrosse team, who, according to his coach, Victor Guadagnino, “is a very good goalie. He makes the ‘dramatic saves’,” adds Coach Guadagnino. In addition to playing for RHS, John made the Suffolk/Nassau Lacrosse Team and is on the Team 76 and LI Rebels travel teams.

“I am very happy for him,” shared John’s dad. “He’s worked very hard and sacrificed a lot. John is a real team player. He was sought out by a few other colleges, but he started playing lacrosse in third grade at a program at Dowling, and said then, ‘Someday I want to play for this college.’ Ironically, he has come full circle and recently decided that Dowling was the best choice for him. We’re very excited for him.”

In addition to playing lacrosse, John is a wrestler weighing in at 182,  is an NJROTC Cadet, and is employed at the Maximus Gym in downtown Riverhead. John, who caries a 3.3 GPA and is ranked in the top third of his class, will be receiving a combination academic / athletic scholarship from Dowling and plans to major in English Education.

“I’m excited about going to Dowling,” shared John. “It’s close to home and my family will be able to come watch me play. Plus, Dowling has a really good lacrosse team.”

Photo Caption: L-R Seated: John’s sister, Jenna, John Roca, and John’s dad, John. Back: Coach Vic Guadagnino and Athletic Director Bill Groth.

Source: Press release issued by Riverhead Central School District, Dec. 9.