UAlbany Lacrosse Adds Another Attack to the Already Impressive List

Dwayne Stewart, the Copiague senior is the third oldest of six children, four of whom live with their single mother. Stewart balances schoolwork, practice, and a job at McDonald's and still finds time to practice with his siblings, hoping to give them an earlier start than he had.

A college scholarship is the reward.

"Once I told my mom I had [colleges] looking at me, she told me you have to get your little brothers to play," Stewart said.

His brother Justin is a sophomore on the varsity and Isiah, a seventh-grader, is just starting to pick up the sport.

Dwayne Stewart, who started playing in eighth grade, is a senior All-County attack was looking for the right local college scholarship offer at the Division I level.

The family could not afford a home phone when college coaches began trying to contact Stewart. His job helped him recently to buy a prepaid cell phone for the family.

"I almost get tears in my eyes thinking about how this kid's life has grown and what he has overcome," Copiague lacrosse coach Jim Konen said. "He does it every day with a smile on his face. He has younger brothers and he brings them around and he is a leader for them."

Stewart, who started on the varsity as a sophomore, has used his quick first step, hard shot and feeder mentality to score 24 goals and pass for 31 assists this season for Copiague (3-7).

"His best days of lacrosse are ahead of him. I think he is a hidden gem," said Paul Carcaterra, a lacrosse analyst for CBS College Sports and co-founder of No Limit Lacrosse camps, which Stewart has attended the last three summers. "If I was a Division I coach, I would take a chance on Dwayne Stewart. I don't even know if I'd call it a chance."

Stewart is also an All-County quarterback who led Suffolk with 19 touchdown passes last season, but lacrosse is where his heart is and where his best chance for a Division I scholarship lies. He quit the basketball team this season to focus on lacrosse.

"The kids have to be big in basketball and football. Division I schools are looking for the 6-2 to 6-4 kid," Copiague football coach Bruce Muro said. "He's a really good athlete. Being a 6-foot kid, he falls more into where the lacrosse kids are."

Stewart realizes this and that the same could be true for his brothers. "My brother in seventh grade, he kind of loves the sport like me," Stewart said. "He could excel right past me." That's the plan.
Courtesy: Newsday