Sports

Possession? Bill Landon photo

By Bill Landon

If the Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River were concerned that they trailed the Comsewogue Warriors by three goals to begin the second quarter, it was senior midfielder Ryan Wilson’s stick that breathed new life into the Wildcats offense by cutting the deficit to 4-2 in the Division II rivalry Wednesday night, March 27. 

SWR’s senior midfielder, Liam Gregorek, rattled off two unanswered goals to make it a new game at 4-4. Both teams traded goals, and retied the game at 6-6 with 2:53 left before the halftime break, which arrived with Shoreham leading 8-6 that became 11-9 after the third quarter. 

Comsewogue senior attack Dylan Rocchio split the pipes to open the final 12 minutes of play for the Warriors to trail the Wildcats 11-10. With eight minutes left in regulation, SWR’s Alex Kershis dished off the ball to Wilson who buried his shot for the insurance goal. Minutes later senior attackman Liam Kershis fired at the cage, hitting the top upright but the rebound hit his stick and he fired off his second shot for the score for Shoreham to lead by three. Comsewogue’s Ryan Meyers answered with five minutes left in regulation, but the Wildcats held on for the 13-11 victory at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field.

Topping the scoring charts for the Wildcats was Liam Kershis with nine assists and one goal and Gregorek netted four. Jaden Galfano had nine saves in net.

Senior Meyers led the way for the Warriors with four goals and two assists, and teammates Rocchio, Doug Annicelli and Andrew Krieg each scored two goals apiece.

The win lifted the Wildcats to 2-0 in the early going and Comsewogue dropped to 1-1.                                    

By Steven Zaitz

The Walt Whitman flag football team traveled just a few miles northeast to notch their first win of the season in a nonleague game against Harborfields on March 27. 

The Wildcats scored four touchdowns in the first half against the Tornadoes and cruised to 28-0 victory. Whitman quarterback Madi Richter was 11 for 14 passing for 87, including a touchdown toss to wide receiver Katelyn Adams. Whitman also shined on defense and special teams as they intercepted Tornado quarterbacks four times, returning one of them for a touchdown, which was by Nevin Letren. 

Wildcat punt returner Brittny Cisneros Campos scampered 46 yards for a touchdown, as the rules have been changed this year to allow punt returns to be advanced – as long as the ball has been fielded cleanly by the receiving team. 

Campos also scored the first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run. Whitman played against the Half Hollow Hills combined team on April 2 in a battle of predicted powerhouses. They lost 20-12 to the 2023 Suffolk County champion Lady Thunderbirds.

Tornado quarterback Kate Lysaght was 13 for 20 passing for 83 yards and defensive back Scarlet Carey led the team with six flag pulls and two passes defended.

Harborfields tried again on the road against Sayville on April 1, but were beaten 39-7. They will host Wyandanch on April 4.

— Photos by Steven Zaitz

By Bill Landon

Having lost their first two games of the season, Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats looked to put a win up on the board in this early season and win they did, defeating Kings Park 14-7 in driving rain Tuesday afternoon, April 2, at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, SWR freshman midfielder Madison Herr notched her hat trick on a penalty shot to put her team ahead 7-1. The Wildcats took the opportunity to rest some of their starters until the final buzzer sounded.

The win lifts the Wildcats to 1-2 in their division as the loss drops Kings Park to 0-3.

Both teams retake the field Friday, April 5, when Kings Park hosts Elwood-John Glenn at 5 p.m. and the Wildcats take on Westhampton in another home game at 4:45 p.m.

— Photos by Bill Landon 

Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

Mia Haynes was dealing on March 31, hurling a one-hit shutout to lead Stony Brook past Towson, 1-0, at University Field.

Haynes went the distance for Stony Brook, giving up one hit, walking two and striking out 10. She earned her sixth victoy of the season in the circle. In the batter’s box, Julianna Sanzone drove in the lone run of the contest with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

The Seawolves took the lead for good in the sixth, scoring for the first and only time in the game when Alyssa Costello came across to score on a Sanzone sacrifice fly to the opposite field.

“This was an important series for us and I’m so proud of how our team responded,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said. “Each game was different; today was a pitcher’s dual and Mia was exceptional. We stayed locked in, made plays and scratched across the run we needed. Very gritty by our group.”

Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

No. 15 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse wrapped up the month of March with an 18-8 victory against Monmouth at Kessler Stadium on March 29. The Seawolves picked up their fourth straight win, moving to 9-2 (4-0) on the season while Monmouth dropped to 5-6 (1-3 CAA).

The team was led by graduate student Kailyn Hart who scored four goals on the afternoon. Graduate student Charlotte Verhulst and junior Courtney Maclay each netted three goals, while senior Clare Levy added two. Six more players finished off one goal on the afternoon. Stony Brook tallied nine assists on Friday, led by graduate student Erin MacQuarrie and senior Jaden Hampel with two each.

Graduate student McKenzie Mitchell picked up three ground balls and Levy added two, while Mitchell and Emily Manning caused two turnovers each. Manning made six saves in the second half, allowing just two goals, while senior Aaliyah Jones got the start and made four stops on a .400 save percentage. In the circle, Levy collected a career-high nine draw controls while Verhulst contributed four of her own.

 Monmouth was led by Maddie Flynn who put up a hat trick, while Shea Berigan and Ella Spears each scored twice. Goalkeeper Katie Sullivan made eight saves on the afternoon.

 “Excited to be 4-0 in conference, and for our players to get a few days off to refuel and get right as we head into another very difficult part of our schedule,” said head coach Joe Spallina. “I really love this group and I know our best lacrosse is ahead of us.”

The team heads home to continue conference play, facing Delaware on April 6 at LaValle Stadium. Opening draw is set for noon on FloLive and Stony Brook will honor its women’s lacrosse seniors prior to the game. Stony Brook is 5-0 all-time against the Blue Hens, winning 18-6 in both the regular season and the conference tournament last year.

By Bill Landon

Ward Melville girls lacrosse team opened their season at home against the Longwood Lions on Monday, March 25, under brilliant sunshine in a Division 1 matchup where both teams traded goals through two quarters of play. Longwood found the back of the cage in the final seconds to take a 5-4 lead into the halftime break.

The Patriots dispatched the offseason cobwebs in the second half as they dominated the time of possession, and with smart clock management rattled off six unanswered goals, shutting out the Lions in the second half to cruise to a 10-5 victory.

Senior attack Kate Spinks picked up where she left off last season topping the scoring charts for the Patriots with four goals and one assist. 

Junior midfielder Ava Simonton had two goals to go along with an assist, and teammate M.J. Timpanaro found the back of the cage twice.

The Patriots looked to build on Monday’s momentum when they traveled to Sachem East Wednesday, March 27, but the result was not available at press time.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Pitcher Andrew Poxon fires one in against Grand Street Campus. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

The Ward Melville Patriots baseball team played a scrimmage against Brooklyn-based Grand Street Campus this past Sunday, March 24.

Patriot third baseman, Matt Poxon, takes a throw during a bang-bang play against Grand Street Campus. Photo by Steven Zaitz

After the all-day and night downpour on Saturday, the skies were blue on Sunday, but that didn’t mean it was ideal baseball weather. With the early-morning start time, a whipping wind, and a temperature that barely crawled into the 40’s, it was a day more suited for ice fishing than baseball.

It looked like Ward Melville was playing with some frozen fingers early on as a botched bunt play and an outfield overthrow in the second inning led to four unearned runs for the Wolves, who would win 5-1.

Nick Carnovale, Andrew Poxon and Ben Ferraro pitched for the Patriots.

Ward Melville played again on Monday and had a big, late-inning rally to beat Brentwood 9-8. First baseman Joe Karpowicz and outfielder Danny Cornish had RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Patriots were down by 8-5 entering the inning. 

Pitcher Jason Stiles threw three scoreless innings for the win in relief of starter Patrick Duryea. The Patriots played their final non league game on March 27 against East Islip and will start the regular season with a three-game set against Connetquot on April 2.

— Photos by Steven Zaitz

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

No. 14 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse scored the game’s first 16 goals en route to a dominating 21-3 victory over Campbell at LaValle Stadium on March 24.

 The Seawolves moved to 8-2 (3-0 CAA) in their first 10 games while Campbell dropped to 3-7 (0-3 CAA).

 Stony Brook was led Kailyn Hart with five goals, and the graduate student added two assists for seven points. Classmate Alex Finn set a career high with eight assists, while graduate student Jolie Creo added three. Classmates Morgan Mitchell and Charlotte Verhulst each had hat tricks while senior Jaden Hampel and sophomore Alexandra Fusco each scored twice.

 The defense was led by graduate student Kira Accettella and junior Avery Hines with two caused turnovers, while five others caused one. Stony Brook got two ground balls each from Hines, Verhulst and senior Clare Levy. Four different goalkeepers played on the afternoon, with senior Aaliyah Jones making four saves without a goal against in her first career start. Sophomore Francesca Viteritti also made four stops on the afternoon while freshman Hannah Hudson made two saves.

In the draw circle, Stony Brook was led by Levy with five draw controls, while Charlotte Verhulst added four and Hampel and freshman Isabella Caporuscio each added two.

Lexi Goff scored twice for the Camels while Mattie Riter added the other tally.

The Seawolves scored all 10 goals in the first quarter, with three coming from Mitchell and two each from Fusco and Verhulst. Finn dished out five assists in the first quarter alone. Hart scored four of Stony Brook’s five goals in the second quarter, extending the lead to 15-0 at halftime. Aaliyah Jones kept the game scoreless with two saves in each of the first and second quarters. Hampel and Millen each scored in the third, as Stony Brook carried a 17-2 lead into the fourth. Viteritti made four saves in the third period on a .667 save percentage.

Four different players scored in the fourth, with three goals coming from freshmen, as Stony Brook extended the lead as big as 21-2.

Up next, the team wraps up the month with a matchup at Monmouth on March 29, with first draw against the Hawks scheduled for 1 p.m. on FloLive. 

Catcher Chris Leone congratulates pitcher JT Raab after Sunday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

Junior Matt Miceli racked up four hits to help power the Stony Brook Seawolves baseball team over the William & Mary Tribe 12-3 on March 24, earning their first CAA victory of the season. 

Junior JT Raab (1-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Stony Brook (10-12, 1-2 CAA). The right-hander went seven innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on seven hits, allowing one walk and striking out seven. Junior Colton Book also made an impact on the mound for the Seawolves, throwing two shutout innings while allowing no hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.

In addition to his four hits, Miceli had four RBI to lead the Seawolves. Senior Cam Santerre compiled a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and two RBI. Senior Matt Brown-Eiring also contributed for Stony Brook, putting together two hits in six trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.

The Seawolves got on the board immediately, starting their scoring in the top of the first inning. Stony Brook scored two runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Santerre. 

Stony Brook kept the pressure on by tallying two runs in the next inning. Senior Matt Brown-Eiring tallied an RBI double, while graduate Brett Paulsen had an RBI-knock.

After stranding two runners in the first inning, W&M scored two runs in the second inning off Raab to push the score to 4-2.

The squad scored two runs in the third and and one in the fourth, taking a 7-2 advantage. Freshman Eric Paulsen and Miceli knocked in the runs for the Seawolves. The Tribe answered back in the fifth inning by scoring a run on a sac-fly. 

After Miceli reached on a fielder’s-choice that brought home Nicholas Solorzano in the sixth, Raab sat down the Tribe in order for the sixth inning. 

The Seawovles tallied another run in the seventh and two in the ninth to secure the 12-3 victory. Brown-Eiring would score on an error in the seventh, while Carson and Miceli had RBI-knocks in the ninth inning. 

Book finished the final 2.0 innings of the game by striking out two batters and not allowing a hit. 

Up next, the team hosts College of St. Charleston on March 29 at Joe Nathan Field. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.

By Bill Landon

After narrowly winning their first two nonleague season openers against Mattituck 6-5 and Rocky Point 5-4, Middle Country opened their league season opener at home against Half Hollow Hills Tuesday, March 26, looking to make it three in a row. Hills served notice early on this would be no walk in the park peppering the scoreboard with four unanswered goals by the halftime break. 

It was Tyler Diaz’s third-quarter score that breathed new life into the Mad Dogs to trail 4-1, but that’s all the Middle Country offense could muster the rest of the way. Hills lit up the scoreboard in the final two quarters to slam the door for the 14-1 victory in the Division I contest.

Middle Country goalie Logan Hoenig didn’t have a moment’s rest during the final 12 minutes of play, as the junior netted 12 saves on the day.

The Mad Dogs look to get back to their winning ways Saturday morning when they host Patchogue-Medford at 10 a.m.

— Photos by Bill Landon