Authors Posts by Bill Landon

Bill Landon

It was Avery Gennaro’s stick who broke the ice for the Eagles of Rocky Point in the quarterfinal field hockey playoff opener at home, where they squared off against East Hampton April 17.

Protecting a one goal lead 11 minutes into the 3rd quarter it was Reagan Lane who punched in the insurance goal on a penalty shot to put her team up by two. But the Bonacker’s wouldn’t go quietly when Malina Sarlo rocked the box for East Hampton with 11:02 left in regulation to erase Lane’s insurance goal.

A yellow card against the East Hampton coach 2 minutes later didn’t help East Hampton’s rally and the Eagles held on to win the opening round of the Class B title chase 2-1.

Jenika Cuocco had four saves in net as Lilia Schafer stopped 3 for the Bonacker’s.

Photos by Bill Landon 

Fresh off their win in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs, Centereach (8 seed) hit a road block in the quarterfinal against top seeded Ward Melville where the Patriots struck early and often blanking the Cougars 5-0 at home April 16. 

Junior midfielder Kate Ancona’s strike found the net seven minutes in followed by senior Katie Cosenza who found gold a minute later to take a 2-0 lead. Nicole Fabris was the go-to senior for Centereach but was doubled teamed all game and struggled to find a look for the Cougars.  

With 24 minutes left in the half, Peyton Costello’s foot spoke to put her team up by three. 

Abigal Foster answered the call 16 minutes into the second half when her shot found its mark for the Patriots to take command of the game, and teammate Ryley Meckley joined the scoring frenzy to ink the 5-0 win and with it, advance to the semifinal round. 

Centereach senior Gianna Oliveri had six saves in net and Elyse Munoz the sophomore stopped five for the Patriots. 

The Patriots retake the field April 21 in the semifinal round where they’ll host Northport (No. 4) at 4pm. 

After a scoreless first half, Centereach senior Nicole Fabris broke the ice for the Cougars at the 24-minute mark to take the lead against Smithtown East in the opening round of the Suffolk Class AA playoffs April 14.

Smithtown East struggled to keep the ball upfield desperate to tie the game with 15 minutes left on the clock but Fabris found herself in front of an open net and tapped in the insurance goal for a 2-0 lead. 

Ava Ruiz had an assist in Fabris’ first goal, and Kelly Malheiro assisted on the second. Centereach senior Gianna Oliveri had eight saves in the win. 

Smithtown East concludes their COVID-abbreviated season at 6-4-1 

The Cougars advance to the next round where they’re face the No. 1 seed Ward Melville on the road Friday,

April 16.

Alexa Timo with the return for Centereach in a League III matchup at home April 11. Photo by Bill Landon

The Cougars of Centereach in a rare Sunday morning performance took the best of four sets in a League III matchup from visiting West Babylon 25-9, 19-25, 25-16 and 25-14 April 11. It was senior day for the Cougars and before the game the team honored seniors Kimee Sokolowski (defensive specialist) and (outside hitter) Alexa Timo.

Centereach won the opening set-in convincing fashion before falling in the second to make it a new game. The Cougars found their stride and put away the next two sets for the 3-1 win.

Sokolowski had four aces and five digs and Timo had 11 kills. Gianna Buscarino a junior tallied 18 assists.

The win lifts the Cougars to 4-5 in league and will retake the court in a home game against cross town rival Newfield April 14 and finish up regular season play with a road game the following day against Eastport South Manor. First service for both games is 4p.m.

Photos by Bill Landon 

Sophomore Morgan Truesdell attacks at net for Shoreham-Wading River in a home game against Islip April 12. Photo by Bill Landon

The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats had their hands full at home in a League V contest with Islip and despite leading the Buccaneers briefly in the second set, fell 25-21, 25-20 and 25-6 April 12. The loss drops Shoreham-Wading River to 5-9 on the season eliminating any possibility of post season play.

The Wildcats retake the court in a home game April 15 before traveling to Hampton Bays the following day to conclude their season. First service is 4p.m. and 6p.m. respectively. 

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Olivia Alvarez digs one out for the Royals in a home game against Mattituck April 10. Bill Landon photo

The Port Jefferson girls’ volleyball team at (4-2) had their hands full when they hosted Mattituck (10-1) in a League VI matchup April 10. On paper the Tuckers should’ve made short work of the Royals but that’s not what happened. Mattituck edged the Royals in the opening set winning it 25-19 but the Royals rallied back in the second nipping Mattituck 26-24 to make it a new game. The Royals went toe-to-toe in the 3rd set forcing Mattituck to win it by two, 26-24. The Tuckers stretched their legs in the 4th set with a 25-19 victory to win the game 3-1.

The Royals win in the second set forced Mattituck to go beyond 3 sets for only the third time in this season.

The Royals had a busy weekend with a double header later in the day against Pierson-Bridgehampton then have a road game against Greenport the following day.

The win lifts the Tuckers to 11-1 while the Royals fall to 4-3 looking to secure a playoff berth when post-season begins April 19  

Photos by Bill Landon 

 

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The Bulls of Smithtown East had their hands full with visiting Walt Whitman in a League II matchup April 9, where Whitman blanked the Bulls in three sets, 25-13, 25-13 and 25-20.  

Smithtown East (9-3) in third place in their division, looked to gain ground on second place Bay Shore but Whitman with the win ties the Bulls for third. The Bulls are back in action with a road game against Huntington April 12 before returning home for Senior Night two days later. Game times are 4:15 and 5 p.m. respectively.

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The Ward Melville Patriots field hockey team showed why they sit atop the Division I leaderboard in a home game against Sachem North controlling the tempo of the game from the opening possession dowsing the Flaming Arrows, 4-0, April 8. 

Sophomore Jaedyn Scarlatos’ stick spoke first when her shot found the back of the box at the 4 minute, 21 second mark in the first quarter. Ward Melville senior forward Jill Calaci’s shot found its mark for the insurance goal as time expired in the third for a 2-0 lead. 

With 5 minutes and 18 seconds left in the game, Scarlatos struck again to put the Patriots out front by three. Sachem threatened briefly in the final minutes but the Patriots pressure was too much when Olivia McCulloch rocked the box in the final seconds to put the game away. 

Ward Melville senior Amanda Lee had an assist for the Patriots, and goalie Bella Ospitale, a junior, had three saves on the day. 

The win lifts the Patriots to 11-1 with two road games remaining before post season play begins April 16, where Patriots seeding earns them a bye in the opening round. In this COVID-compressed season, venues and times have yet to be determined. 

It was Centereach attack Alicia Ciauri’s shot that found the back of the cage in the final minute of the 1st half that put the Cougars on the score board in a Div I matchup at home against William Floyd April 6. 

Floyd struggled to stay up-field as Centereach tried to run out the clock hoping for the 1-0 win. 

The Cougars would have to wait. Floyd managed to find the cage with less than 13 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 1-1 to force overtime. The contest was still dead-locked as the 10-minute overtime period expired, forcing the best of 5 shootout to decide the win.

The Cougars made good in a matchup they almost squandered when Mia Juvelier drove here shot home in the shoot-out, followed by Lia McNally who scored and at cleanup was Reilly Schmidt whose shot rocked the box to win the game.

The win lifts Centereach to 5-5 in their division with three games remaining before post season play begins.

Photos by Bill Landon 

 

The Comsewogue Warriors at 0-2 this season looked to notch its first win when it hosted the Eastport South Manor Sharks at home in a League V conference matchup in a rare Monday night game April 5. Comsewogue’s first win would have to wait as they fell to ESM 20-8. 

The Sharks set the tone early when on their opening drive consumed nearly 7 minutes off the clock to punch in on a touchdown pass to take the early lead. Comsewogue struggled to get traction and after a blocked punt gave the Sharks another scoring opportunity with 9:06 left in the half for a 13-0 lead. 

With less than a minute left in the 3rd the Sharks found the endzone again to take a 20-0 lead. The Warriors took the egg off the scoreboard in the final 2 minutes and were able to convert for two more but it was too little too late and that elusive victory will have to wait.

The Warriors conclude their COVID shortened season with a road game against West Babylon April 10. Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m. 

Photos by Bill Landon