Newsday Athlete of the Week is Glenn's Matt Triolo

Matt Triolo is motivated to get the Glenn boys lacrosse team to the playoffs for the first time in his five-year varsity career.

"Every year, we have gotten better," said Triolo, a senior attack who as an eighth-grader was on the team that went 0-14. "This year, the big motivation is making the playoffs."

Triolo, who has started all five years, has been training and putting in effort during the offseason so the Knights can achieve their goal. 

"Playing with older people showed me what I have to be when I get older," Triolo said. "If I wanted to get to the next level, I have to work hard, and now I'm at the point where I want to be."

"His effort and energy separate him from any lacrosse player I have ever coached," coach Jaron Batts said. "It's on a whole other level."

His hard work has certainly paid off.

The Knights are off to a 3-0 start. Triolo scored the winning goal with under two minutes left against Mattituck/Greenport/Southold in a 12-11 victory on April 2 in the Suffolk II season opener. He finished the game with five goals and four assists. In the middle of the game, he scored his 200th goal.

"Going into the game, I knew I was three goals away from scoring 200," Triolo said. "Once I got the 200th goal in the net, I ran got the game ball."

He added: "Not too many people achieve 200 goals in their career, and the chance that I got to do it with my whole senior year left is a great feeling."

After a shaky start, Triolo scored five goals in the second half in a 16-9 victory against Port Jefferson this past Wednesday. He finished the game with six goals and three assists.

For his efforts, the senior is Newsday's Athlete of the Week.

"I don't know what the other team thinks, but I know every time I step on the field, it's an opportunity for me to prove myself, Triolo said. "That's what pushes me because I can get better every time. I can show the other team and other coaches how I can play."

Triolo doesn't just like to score. He also has a knack for getting his teammates involved.

"He constantly wants to get his teammates involved,"  Batts said. "He always starts practice and engages with them going so they can be on the same level."

His unselfishness goes beyond his play on the field. Triolo finds time to help the community. He was part of Habitat for Humanity; an organization that helps build houses for the homeless and people who can't afford homes.

"Anyone can be an athlete on the field, but it's what you do off the field that puts you in an overall category as a person," Triolo said. "I like to do as much as possible on the field, but at the same time, I like to do as much off the field to help other people."

Triolo also volunteers his time by coaching kindergarteners' lacrosse or being a recreational activities leader at Vacation Bible School in East Northport.

"When I teach the younger kids, I like to teach them to be the best lacrosse player they could be. One day, I'm going to look at Newsday and see the kids I trained," Triolo said. "A big part of my lacrosse journey is God, so I try my best to give back to the church and community."

Triolo believes the Knights have a real shot at making a deep postseason run this time around.

"We play in one of the hardest public school leagues in the country, so making the playoffs is the number one goal, Triolo said. "We have a very gritty team this year, and we fight until the last second no matter what."