LIer brings his California team back home

If Duke is sometimes referred to as the Harvard of the South academically, might San Ramon Valley High be referred to as the Garden City of the West lacrosse-wise?

It's well on its way.

Peter Worstell, a high school All-American at Garden City in 1975 and '76, moved to the northern California town of Danville, 10 miles east of Oakland, for work about 10 years ago and started a youth program, which has blossomed into the local public school's varsity squad of which he is the coach.

On Thursday, Worstell, also a collegiate All-American at Maryland, brought his San Ramon Valley team to Garden City where the Trojans earned a 14-7 win. Despite the lopsided outcome, Garden City coach Steve Finnell came away very impressed. Said Finnell: "They would be one of the better teams in Nassau County."

San Ramon Valley trots out a starting midfield committed to big-time lacrosse programs like North Carolina, Penn State and Syracuse, where Worstell's son, Patrick, is slated to play in two years. So Worstell believes he has the horses to play with the best of the best.

"Now is the time to come back East," he said. "Coaches like Coach Finnell were kind enough to open the gates and allow us to play an iconic lacrosse program like Garden City."

Added Finnell: "No question it was the right thing to do. The Worstells are the first family in Garden City lacrosse."

Worstell's brother, Tim, still lives in Garden City and has a 10th-grade son on the varsity team.

Peter Worstell's team also played John Jay (Westchester) on Saturday after watching the Duke-Denver game at Bethpage High School. They also snuck in a trip to Manhattan, a place Worstell estimates 70 percent of his team has never seen, as well as tours and sitdowns with the coaches at Adelphi and Hofstra.

For Garden City, Thursday's game was the first in a 10-day stretch against teams from out of state. On Saturday, the Trojans welcome one of Maryland's best, St. Paul's, and next week, they will play one of Massachusetts' top teams, Duxbury, at Harvard Stadium before the Crimson takes on Penn.

"As a player, who would you want to play? You'd rather be challenged," Finnell said. "Win or lose, you're going to end up going to school with some of these guys."

At schools like Harvard. Or Duke, the Harvard of the South.