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Kings Park’s Rachel Slagle looks up the field to make a play in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park’s Rachel Slagle looks up the field to make a play in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

At 3-6, it was a must-win game for the Kings Park girls’ lacrosse team to keep its chances of a postseason appearance alive, with four Division II games remaining before the playoffs. The Bonackers of East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson led by two, but the Kingsmen turned up the heat late in the first half to surge ahead by three and held onto that margin for most of the second half, to pull out a much needed win, 12-10, Monday afternoon.

“Coming in we thought they were a little better than us, but we knew we could beat them,” Kings Park sophomore Shannon Savage said. “We took our time, we worked together and we slowed it down on offense, and we didn’t force anything in the middle.”

The Bonackers struck first, but Kings Park junior Shannon Donovan evened the score early in the half.

Kings Park’s Shannon Savage shoots the ball play in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park’s Shannon Savage shoots the ball play in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon

Again trailing by one, Kings Park junior Alexa Cebulski answered the call six minutes in, to retie the game, and sophomore Jillian Winwood drove her shot home next to give the Kingsmen their first lead of the game, 3-2.

Savage scored next to double the lead, but the Bonackers responded by rattling off four unanswered goals in just over three minutes of play to jump out in front, 6-4.

Cebulski and Winwood both found the cage with 10 minutes left in the half to again tie the game.

Savage, on a penalty shot, found the back of the net to edge ahead 7-6, and from there, Kings Park never looked back.

Kings Park junior Rachel Slagle dished one off to junior Haley Mango, who split the pipes to bring the score to 8-6.

The Bonackers’ goalie looked to clear the ball from the crease after a save, but Slagle leaped in the air and snagged the pass. She drove the ball in past the startled goalkeeper to close the half ahead 9-6.

“We played better in the first half where we scored more goals,” Cebulski said. “And we played really well on both sides of the ball today.”

The Bonackers opened the second half hitting the scoreboard first to trim the deficit.

Kings Park’s Jillian Winwood passes the ball from midfield in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park’s Jillian Winwood passes the ball from midfield in the Kingsmens’ 12-10 win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson Monday. Photo by Bill Landon

Winwood struck again for her hat trick goal, this time, off an assist from Savage, to get back up by three goals. The Kings Park lead grew to four when Winwood dished one up to Mango for an 11-7 advantage.

“We did well in transition and we slowed the offense down,” Winwood said. “They came out fast, but we came out stronger and we came to play today, so I’m really proud.”

A man up, the Bonackers took advantage of the extra stick and fired another shot home to draw within three goals, and two minutes later, found the net again to trail by two, 11-9.

Kings Park junior Kristin Frizol finished the scoring for the Kingsmen with four minutes to play, and the Bonackers wouldn’t go quietly, as they scored with 30 seconds left to play, but it was too little too late.

“The second half we took control of the game and held them defensively and we stayed calm,” said Kings Park head coach Sally Ayres. ”We kept winning the draw and we kept that three-goal lead through most of the second half.”

After Winwood’s hat trick, Savage, Mango and Cebulski added two goals each, and Slagle, Donovan and Frizol rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece.

With the win, Kings Park improved to 4-6 and needs to win three out of the next four games to ensure a postseason appearance.

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Shoreham-Wading River’s Isabella Meli pulls back to fire a shot at the cage in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The Shoreham-Wading River girls’ lacrosse team couldn’t keep up with the Golden Flashes on Friday. Despite lighting up the scoreboard early, the Wildcats fell to Sayville, 12-4.

“I don’t really think they played with a lot of heart today,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Rachel Feirstein said of her team. “They didn’t play the game that I know they can play.”

Sayville scored first but a minute later, Jesse Arline passed the ball to Sophia Triandafils, who tied the game. It didn’t last for long though — by the time another minute had passed, Sayville had edged ahead, 3-1.

Shoreham-Wading River’s Jesse Arline pulls the ball out and away from the crease to try to get an open look at the net in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River’s Jesse Arline pulls the ball out and away from the crease to try to get an open look at the net in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Shortly afterward, following a foul call, Shoreham eighth-grader Isabella Meli, a midfielder and attack, fired a shot straight up the middle from 10 yards out to pull her team within one.

“I think today wasn’t one of our best games but I think we did good on draw controls,” she said. “I think we need to have a more positive attitude while we’re playing — and less turnovers.”

Sayville then scored four straight goals, but it would have been more without Shoreham senior goalkeeper and captain Lauren Daly, who made three big saves to minimize the damage.

The half ended with the Wildcats down 7-2.

“I think we had some moments of greatness, but I think there were times where we could have won a few more 50/50 balls and taken some better shots,” Daly said. “Sayville is a great team. They have some really good players and some really good ball movement, so I think defensively we communicated well with each other.”

At the start of the second half, Shoreham patiently maintained possession of the ball for more than five straight minutes and finally found the back of the net, to bring the score to 7-3.

After another Daly save, Sayville hammered one in net and forced Shoreham to call a timeout. Daly came out of the huddle to make another save, but Sayville squeezed another ball past her to jump out to a 9-3 lead.

“I walk into every game with the same attitude, and every single game I just try to play my best,” Daly said.

After winning the draw, Shoreham-Wading River’s Samantha Higgins maintains possession of the ball as she makes her way into Sayville’s zone with a defender on her hip, in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
After winning the draw, Shoreham-Wading River’s Samantha Higgins maintains possession of the ball as she makes her way into Sayville’s zone with a defender on her hip, in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Sayville’s defense continued to pressure, forcing Shoreham outside the crease. Even there, the Wildcats couldn’t find the open looks.

Sayville scored another time before Shoreham scored its final goal of the game.

Samantha Higgins, who won possession off of several draws for the Wildcats, swiped the ball out of the air, took it all the way down the field and passed to Meli in front of the net, who whipped it in for the score.

Daly made her final of nine saves on the day, and Sayville scored twice more to end the game at 12-4.

Feirstein does not believe the game and its result are indicative of the way her team can play.

“I think the negative outweighed the bright spots, but there were some — we had an eighth-grader who scored two goals,” she said of Meli. “I have a lot of confidence in my team; they just need to show it. They need to work together as a team, and they practice it all week long — they just need to put it together in a 50-minute game.”

Daly said to end the regular season strong, the team will need to work on winning more ground balls and capitalizing on turnovers, which the girls hope to do Monday, when they travel to Miller Place at 4 p.m.

“We have some really great players and we’re a young team, but I think we’re a confident team,” she said. ”I think when we play confident and when we play our best, we’re a threat.”

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From left to right, Matt Lopiccolo, Jacob Arditti, Maki Stavropoulos, Jeff Towle and Mark Napoli signing their letters of intent. Photo from Chris Boltrek

By Clayton Collier

Five Ward Melville student athletes will continue their football careers after committing to play at the collegiate level — a rare occurrence for the lacrosse powerhouse that they hope will soon become a trend.

All-County quarterback Jeff Towle, center Maki Stavropoulos, guard Matt Lopiccolo, defensive end Jacob Arditti, and tackle Mark Napoli will all move on to play college football this fall.

Ward Melville head coach Chris Boltrek said having more of his athletes signing to play in college is essential in reviving the Patriots football program, largely because it makes the sport more appealing to other athletes at the school.

Jeff Towle reaches back to throw a pass in a previous contest. File photo by Bill Landon
Jeff Towle reaches back to throw a pass in a previous contest. File photo by Bill Landon

“To get the football program at Ward Melville to take off, the environment and the image had to change,” he said. “I thought there were plenty of good football athletes in the district that just didn’t realize the potential they had and didn’t realize that playing college football was a real possibility, and instead they gravitated toward lacrosse or baseball or other sports that they thought offered that for them.”

Boltrek, who played college football at St. Lawrence University after graduating from Ward Melville, said the program occasionally gets one player every few years who moves on to the collegiate level. Now having five in one year, he hopes it will bring new life into the program.

“To have five in one year is a pretty big deal for us,” the first-year varsity head coach said.

Towle, who will attend Division II Pace University this fall, also doubled as a talented catcher on the baseball team, but said football has long been his preference.

“I was always a quarterback at heart,” he said. “I just happened to be showing more talent in baseball at the time. Then I got my opportunity on the football field and play well. I’ve been a football guy my whole life.”

Towle was not even the starting quarterback until the final five games of the season. Serving as the reserve, Towle continued to train to ensure he would be ready should he get his chance.

“I worked as hard as I could, knowing maybe I’ll get a shot, maybe I won’t,” he said. “But if I did, I wanted to be ready.”

When Towle got his chance, he thrived, completing 13 touchdown passes and tossed for over 1,100 total yards of offense.

His mother, Jessica Spencer, said her son’s dedication led him to obtaining such an opportunity.

“He hung in there and he did everything they asked him to and it paid off,” she said. “I’m very proud of him and I’m very grateful to have him.”

Stavropoulos, a captain and three-time All-Division honoree, and Lopiccolo, who also achieved All-Division honors, will remain teammates as the pair heads to Division III Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Lopiccolo and Arditti, like Towle, had obstacles to overcome as both were cut from the junior varsity squad in ninth grade.

“I was sad because football is my sport — I’ve been playing since I was five,” Lopiccolo said. “But at the same time it gave me the drive to work harder and hit the gym.”

To ensure that they wouldn’t be cut again, the pair “lived in the gym,” as Boltrek described, working out for 90 minutes a day, five days a week under the coach’s guidance. Lopiccolo said he was thrilled when he and Arditti made the team the following year, crediting the effort they put in  aover the year to improve themselves physically.

“It’s crazy how the tiniest bit of effort can change something completely,” he said.

Napoli, the team’s final commit, was an All-Division tackle who will attend the Division III Stevenson University.

Towle said he, along with his four fellow teammates that committed to play college ball, owe their diligent work ethic and ultimate success to Boltrek for his ambition and guidance.

“To be honest, we probably worked harder than any team in the county throughout the week during the season, and that’s a credit to [Coach Boltrek],” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without him; any of us.”

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Girls’ lacrosse brings the heat en route to third straight win

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Smithtown West senior attack Amanda Tullo fires a shot through traffic in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West freshman attack Ashley Dolan races across the field with the ball in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West senior attack Kaitlin Unser fires a shot off as a North Babylon player and the goalkeeper race to defend in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West sophomore midfielder Kayla Kosubinsky takes a shot at the net through traffic in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West senior midfielder Mackenzie Heldberg maintains possession of the ball as she heads up the field with a North Babylon player at her hip. The Bulls dominated their opponent to pull away with a 16-9 victory Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West junior goalkeeper Marissa D’Amico makes one of her eight saves for the Bulls in their 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West senior midfielder Mackenzie Heldberg moves the ball across the field as she heads to the center to set up a play in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
As she races up the field, Smithtown West junior midfielder Natalia Lynch reaches to pass the ball and set up a scoring play in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West junior midfielder Natalia Lynch winds up to take a shot in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Smithtown West sophomore midfielder Kayla Kosubinsky rockets a shot at the cage off a foul call in the Bulls’ 16-9 win over North Babylon Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The connection between Mackenzie Heldberg and Natalia Lynch goes as far back as kindergarten, so when one of the junior midfielders gets the ball, the other is confident that her best friend can finish the job, the girls said.

“When I look up, I know she’ll be there cutting and I know she does the same for me, so I think that’s the best friend thing,” Heldberg said of the connection. “We knew we were going to have to play hard, so it feels really good to take away the win.”

Smithtown West head coach Carie Bodo started off by addressing her previously 5-2 team before the game and telling them that it was a game of possession.

“Win the draw and take smart shots,” she said.

Her team did just that, as the Bulls topped the previously second-ranked North Babylon, 16-9.

In the first 10 minutes of the first half, Smithtown West rattled off six unanswered goals, with Heldberg tallying a hat trick and an assist, and Lynch adding a goal and an assist, before North Babylon scored its first goal.

“I think my team really came out with a lot of fire and we really wanted this, so it feels great to win,” Lynch said. “We knew that this game was really important to us, so once we got that lead, it really helped us.”

North Babylon managed to score just two goals before the halftime break, while the Bulls scored four more to break out to a 10-3 lead.

Heldberg remained strong on the draws, and gaining that possession at midfield proved to be the game-changer for Smithtown West.

“I think it’s a big aspect for possession and I think everyone is good at getting the loose ball of the draws, even in the air like Natalia [Lynch] did a few times,” Heldberg said. “I put them up to her and I know she’s going to get them, and having [Addie Stapleton] behind me helps, too.”

North Babylon scored the first two goals of the second half, but Smithtown West countered with another six-goal tare, with Heldberg and Lynch connecting for two of them, to bring the score to 16-5.

“We played together since second grade and ever since our first year together, we would always look for each other,” Lynch said. “She’s amazing on the draws and always knows where to put it to get it to me and sees me when I’m open, and I think that helps a lot with the connection that we have.”

North Babylon went on a 4-0 run to end the game, but the team’s comeback effort fell short.

Heldberg lead the team with five goals and two assists, while Lynch finished with two goals and four assists.

“I like passing it to my players,” Lynch said. “I have a lot of confidence in them when they get opened.”

Senior attack Kaitlin Unser and sophomore midfielder Kayla Kosubinsky finished with two goals and two assists apiece, and sophomore attack Chelsea Witteck tallied a hat trick in the win.

“We did exactly what we said we wanted to do,” Bodo said. “We wanted to fast break to them and we’re definitely a fast break team, so as soon as we win the center draw, we book it and it goes in.”

Once Smithtown West realized that North Babylon’s Ally Kennedy was the team’s scorer, after she scored the first six of her seven goals, the Bulls were able to isolate her and protect their lead.

One of the Bull’s greatest benefits came from multiple girls getting their names on the score sheet, with seven girls tallying goals and nine getting at least a point.

“If one of our girls get hurt or someone is having an off-game, someone else can step up, because everyone can score,” Lynch said. “There’s not one girl that is a weakness on the field and I think that’s a great thing.”

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Girls’ lacrosse team hits 7-0 atop Division II standings

Mount Sinai's Sydney Pirreca fires a shot at the net with Huntington defenders on her back. Photo by Desirée Keegan

In a battle for first place, Mount Sinai outlasted Huntington, 14-9, Tuesday evening, under its home lights, to remain the only undefeated girls’ lacrosse team in Division II.

“It’s a great feeling to still be undefeated and it’s so much fun playing with everyone,” Mount Sinai freshman attack Meaghan Tyrrell said. “I think we did come out really hot. We came out wanting to win.”

Mount Sinai’s Kasey Mitchell maintains possession as she heads toward the cage with Huntington’s Ryann Gaffney at her hip. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai’s Kasey Mitchell maintains possession as she heads toward the cage with Huntington’s Ryann Gaffney at her hip. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Although Huntington’s senior attack Alyssa Amorison scored first at the 23:31 mark, off an assist from junior attack Katie Reilly, Mount Sinai was quick to counter with four straight goals. Senior attack and co-captain Sydney Pirreca scored the first and fourth, with Tyrell adding an assist on the first, to help the team to a 4-1 advantage.

The two teams traded goals, the goalkeepers traded saves and then traded two more goals. With the score 6-3, Huntington called a timeout to regroup.

“We need the draw,” Huntington head coach Kathy Wright told her players. “We need to get on those ground balls.”

Huntington moved senior midfielder Samantha Lynch to the faceoff in place of senior defender Heather Forster, and the switch proved to be successful.

The Blue Devils won the draw and with 6:55 remaining in the first half, sophomore midfielder Ryann Gaffney circled around the cage and passed to Lynch, who stood undefended at the front of the cage and knocked it into the right corner. A minute later, Lynch scored again off an assist from Reilly to pull within one, 6-5.

Thirty seconds later, Pirreca scored her hat trick goal. After a scrum at midfield for the ground ball off the draw, the senior attack was fouled, and jetted downfield for the score and a 7-5 lead heading into halftime.

“To me it’s not so much about being undefeated, it’s about the girls getting better every game,” Mount Sinai head coach Al Bertolone said. “Our mantra is one game at a time, to win the day, and today we did a great job. I thought it was a back and forth game early and I think we’ve really been a great second-half team, locking them down.”

Mount Sinai junior midfielder Rebecca Lynch scored the first two goals of the half within a minute of each other to put her team up 9-5. Huntington’s Gaffney scored next, unassisted, after gaining possession at midfield.

The teams continued to trade possession of the 50/50 balls, and Tyrrell added another assist when she passed the ball from behind the net to freshman attack Camryn Harloff in front of the net for a 10-6 advantage.

Mount Sinai's Meaghan Tyrrell looks up the field to make a play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai’s Meaghan Tyrrell looks up the field to make a play. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“I feel pretty confident when I pass for shots,” Tyrrell said. “Even though I didn’t start off so well, I moved forward and got better as the game progressed.”

The Mustangs scored the next three goals, with Tyrrell having a part in all three, and Huntington called another timeout. During the break, Bertolone addressed his girls: “We need five seconds of focus to win the draw and get to goal, and don’t take any lapses down there on defense.”

The Blue Devils scored after the timeout, and Tyrrell scored her second goal of the game before Huntington junior attack Emma DeGennaro sent a shot off a foul into the right corner of the net for the next score. Amorison tacked on the final point of the game at 6:38. After that, the teams exchanged the ball as the defense stood strong on both ends to bring the final score to 14-9.

“I just think our older kids are bringing these younger kids along,” Bertolone said. “We’re coming together. We have a lot of babies out here that are really growing up fast, and this is a great group with great
senior leadership.”

One of the youngest on the team, Tyrrell finished the game with two goals and five assists; Lynch and Pirreca each tacked on a hat trick; and Harloff and senior midfielder Mary Ellen Carron added two goals apiece.

“Meaghan Tyrrell is a very good player,” Bertolone said. “I’ve got two [younger players] — her and Camryn Harloff down low, and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them. They’re hardworking kids, so I’m happy for their success.”

Moving forward, he wants his team to improve in all facets of the game and to grow stronger as the season progresses. He said he believes his girls are doing all the little things necessary to be successful.
Tyrrell echoed her coach’s sentiments.

“We just have to keep getting better and keep improving,” she said. “We have a great team, we’re going to keep working together and do our best to keep moving forward and hopefully continue to win. There’s no stopping for us.”

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Middle Country’s Zach Harned puts on the breaks as he looks for an opening in front of East Islip’s net, in the Mad Dogs’ 8-5 win over the Redmen Saturday. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The Middle Country boys’ lacrosse team scored four quick goals in less than three minutes and continued to fire off shots and find the back of the cage to claim an 8-5 victory over East Islip, Saturday.

Less than a minute into the game, junior midfielder Kyle Stemke scored first for the Mad Dogs, and senior midfielder Brandon Thomas followed with a goal of his own a minute later to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

Middle Country’s bobby Emerson cuts around East Islip defenders as he makes his way up the field in the Mad Dogs’ 8-5 win over East Islip Saturday. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country’s bobby Emerson cuts around East Islip defenders as he makes his way up the field in the Mad Dogs’ 8-5 win over East Islip Saturday. Photo by Bill Landon

“We played a solid team with a solid defense today who have a lot of offensive power,” Stemke said, as his team made eight of its 21 attempts at a goal. “We made some goals when we had to and we were able to shut them down defensively at the end.”

Middle Country head coach Kenneth Budd said his team has struggled at the faceoff position lately, but that wasn’t the case for the Mad Dogs in this matchup.

Junior midfielder Declan Canevari won his third possession of the game and dished the ball to senior attack Bobby Emerson, and Canevari followed with his fourth faceoff win, and took the ball down the right sideline, cut to the inside and buried his shot between the pipes to give Middle Country a four-goal advantage.

Budd said his faceoff specialist was the difference-maker in the contest.

“Declan was phenomenal at the ‘X’ today,” Budd said. “When you control ‘X’ you get possession, and that’s how you win games.”

Middle Country senior attack Zach Harned assisted in his team’s first goal of the second quarter when he fed the ball to junior midfielder Cole Demaille, who found the back of the cage. Stemke crossed the ball over to Emerson next, who sent home his second goal of the game to take a commanding 6-0 lead.

“We knew their goalie was good, but we came out firing and we were really amped when we went up 6-0,” Harned said. “We came out clean, we maintained possession and we played hard.”

East Islip wouldn’t go quietly though, and rattled off three unanswered goals in less than three minutes late in the half, to keep Middle Country’s defense on its toes.

Harned halted the Redmen’s scoring spree, and blasted a shot to the back of the cage to bring the halftime score to 7-3.

Middle Country’s Kyle Stemke races downfield and winds up to fire a shot at the cage in the Mad Dogs’ 8-5 nonleague victory over East Islip Saturday. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country’s Kyle Stemke races downfield and winds up to fire a shot at the cage in the Mad Dogs’ 8-5 nonleague victory over East Islip Saturday. Photo by Bill Landon

East Islip found the cage late in the third to trim the deficit to three, and Middle Country failed to find the cage until halfway through the final quarter when Stemke moved down the right sideline, crossed to midfield and scored his second goal of the game to double East Islip’s score to lead 8-4.

East Islip tallied one more goal with three minutes left to play, and despite Middle Country being a man down off a penalty with 2:45 left to play, the Mad Dogs defense stood its ground.

“We stepped it up on offense and then our goalie made a big defensive stop at the end of the game,” Emerson saidå.

With the nonleague win, Middle Country ended its five-game losing streak and improved to 3-5 overall, while maintaining a 2-4 League I record.

The Mad Dogs will host Lindenhurst next, on Wednesday, at 7 p.m., where the team looks to continue its success to move up in the league ranking.

“The key to the game was us getting out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter,” Canevari said. “Even though they came back, we gave ourselves a sizable margin that we could work with. I just focused on getting possession at the X; we haven’t been doing that lately — to get possession, get the ball to our attacker’s sticks to win the game.”

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Comsewogue’s David Nodeland takes a cut in the Warriors’ 9-4 victory at Sayville Thursday, to win the series 2-3. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

These Warriors are still the superior League VI team.

Despite giving up a 1-0 lead to trail 4-1 in the fifth inning, the Comsewogue baseball team put together an eight-run rally in the top of the seventh to claim a 9-4 victory over Sayville Thursday and take the series by winning two of out three games.

Dan Colasanto crossed the plate first courtesy of Mike Stiles’ stand-up double to take an early lead, but both teams struggled to bring runners home over the next three innings.

Comsewogue pitcher Dan Colasanto hurls a pitch from the mound in the Warriors’ 9-4 comeback win over Sayville Thursday. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue pitcher Dan Colasanto hurls a pitch from the mound in the Warriors’ 9-4 comeback win over Sayville Thursday. Photo by Bill Landon

“We were all scrappy in the beginning — we had a couple of errors, a couple of bad plays,” Stiles said. “[We just needed] to get a couple of hits, a couple of walks together, and that’s just what we did in that last inning.”

Sayville’s bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth with a four-run rally to take its first lead of the game, which stood until the final inning.

Comsewogue head coach Mike Bonura told his team it’s just a three-run deficit, and to keep their composure.

“Let’s have some quality at bats,” he said to his athletes. “It’s just three runs. We just got to get to first base.”

Despite the deficit, Colasanto went back to work in the sixth inning and retired three in a row.

“We just had to keep our heads in the game and I knew my job was to throw strikes,” Colasanto said. “I knew if I could keep it in the strike zone we’d have a chance, because I have a great field behind me.”

Bonura was pleased with his player’s efforts.

“Dan didn’t get rattled after he gave up three runs in the fifth,” Bonura said. “He just stayed the course and didn’t let anyone’s mistakes in the field effect the way he pitched, and everyone feeds off of that. Dan’s been with me four years — he had a great game, he’s a senior captain who’s a team leader.”

In the top of the seventh, Comsewogue’s Vin Velazquez chopped an infield hit that fell into no man’s land to get him to first in time to load the bases with no outs.

James Mimnaugh followed with single that drove home Ryan Szalay to cut the deficit to two, and teammate John Braun smacked the ball into shallow right field for a two-run hit that drove in Robert Dattoma and Jake Sardinia, to even the score at 4-4.

David Nodeland helped the Warriors claim the lead after Braun and Sardinia crossed the plate off of his deep hit, to give his team a 6-4 advantage.

Comsewogue’s Ryan Szalay makes a grab at the warning track in the Warriors 9-4 comeback win over Sayville Thursday. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue’s Ryan Szalay makes a grab at the warning track in the Warriors 9-4 comeback win over Sayville Thursday. Photo by Bill Landon

“We all just stayed in it,” Nodeland said. “Everyone stayed alive on the bench and kept it going. Once the hits started coming they just kept rolling, so it was a nice little rally we had.”

Trying to stop the Warriors in their tracks, Sayville made its fourth pitching change of the game, but to no avail.

Colasanto ripped one deep for a stand-up double, driving in Nodeland, and after scoring a run earlier in the inning, Szalay helped Colasanto earn a run of his own with a short fly ball in the gap,

With a full count against him, Velazquez drew a walk with the bases loaded for the final run of the game and the 9-4 win.

“[We didn’t want to do] anything big, just make sure you get on base, and that’s what we did,” Braun said.

On Sayville’s last at-bat, Bonura said Colasanto wanted to close the game out, but was pulled after his pitch count reached 100, to prevent the risk of injury.

Szalay took the mound in place of Colasanto, and finished the job his teammate started,

With the win, Comsewogue improves to 8-1 atop the League VI leaderboard. The team will travel to Westhampton Beach on Tuesday to take on the No. 2 Hurricanes, at 7-2 in the standings, at 4 p.m.

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Smithtown East’s varsity kickline team poses for a group photo after winning its second consecutive national championship title. Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Jackie Gallery placed sixth in the 3,000-meter run. Photo from the Smithtown Central School District
Jackie Gallery placed sixth in the 3,000-meter run. Photo from the Smithtown Central School District

East kickline team is national champion, again
Once again the Smithtown East varsity kickline team came away victorious at the Contest of Champions National Competition in Orlando, Fla.

Under the direction of head coach Sarahbeth Cook, the team won first place in the Small High Kick, third place in the Extra Small Contemporary and fourth place in Extra Small Jazz. The team was also awarded an Outstanding Choreography Award in High Kick.

Senior Christina Montesano was awarded for placing in the top 10 in the Junior Soloists category as well. This is the 16th time that the Whisperettes were named national champions.

East track and field stars place at states

Dan Claxton took second in the high jump at the state championship. Photo from the Smithtown Central School District
Dan Claxton took second in the high jump at the state championship. Photo from the Smithtown Central School District

Smithtown High School East winter track and field competitors Dan Claxton and Jackie Gallery impressed at the New York State Championships held at Cornell University.

Claxton, the Smithtown East record-holder for the high jump, placed second in the state with a leap of 6 feet, 8 inches.

Gallery, a sophomore, placed sixth in the state in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 10.08 seconds, improving upon her previous school record.

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Ward Melville’s freshmen ice hockey team poses for a group photo after winning its second consecutive Suffolk County title. Photo from Billy Williams

The Ward Melville freshman ice hockey team capped off an undefeated season by winning the Suffolk County  Hockey League championship on March 3- with a win over Sachem.

The team finished the season with a record of 31-0, and has not lost a game in two years, with a record of 62-0.

This is back-to-back titles for the freshman team that had a dominant lineup led by Matthew Crasa, who was named the most valuable player of the playoffs, and sniper Jason Ruszkowski.

The team was led by head coach Mark Devlin, and assistant coaches Frank Catalina, Bobby Gazura and George Rainer.

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Smithtown West’s Jimmy Caddigan makes a diving shot outside the crease in the Bulls’ 17-0 win over Deer Park. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

After a sluggish first quarter, the Smithtown West boys’ lacrosse team shook off the cobwebs and went on a scoring frenzy, shutting out Deer Park 17-0 on their home turf, to keep the Bulls atop the League II leaderboard at 6-0.

Scoring two goals in the first quarter, Smithtown West junior midfielder Dan Caroussos was on fire for his team, and scored his hat trick goal off an assist from junior attack Joe Zara with 7:14 left to play in the first half, to bring the sore to 5-0.

From there, it was a Bulls scoring clinic.

Smithtown West’s Danny Caroussos receives a pass in traffic. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West’s Danny Caroussos receives a pass in traffic. Photo by Bill Landon

Freshman attack Kyle Zawadzki banked two goals, and Zara, sophomore midfielder Danny Riley and senior attack R.J. Ehli tacked on a goal apiece to end the second quarter leading 9-0.

Smithtown West head coach Bob Moltisanti said his team lacked focus when opportunity came knocking in the first quarter.

“We had our chances to score, but a dropped pass or a feed that was a little bit off or deflected by a stick and then we missed the cage,” he said. “We did a much better job in the second quarter. The kids did a nice job — they’re aggressive and they’re playing fundamentally sound defense.”

Caroussos was absent in the second half, after playing the first with a heavy heart. Just a day before he was to celebrate his birthday, he instead suffered the passing of his grandfather. He left the game at halftime to attend the wake.

Just seconds into the third quarter, Zawadzki found the cage to join Caroussos with a hat trick, to edge ahead 10-0.

The freshman attack continued to pick up where Caroussos left off, and found the cage a fourth and fifth time, to close out the third quarter leading by a score of 15-0.

From there, Moltisanti rotated his bench players to give the non-starters some playing time.

Junior midfielder Danny Varello owned the faceoff, winning almost all attempts at the “X,” which put the Deer Park defense to work.

“Danny’s faceoff performance has been tremendous this season,” Moltisanti said.
Zawadzki added that early in the game his team made mistakes, but made the proper adjustment to come away with the dominant win.

Smithtown West’s R.J. Ehli cuts outside past a Deer Park defender, maintains possession and heads toward the cage in the Bulls’ 17-0 win Tuesday. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown West’s R.J. Ehli cuts outside past a Deer Park defender, maintains possession and heads toward the cage in the Bulls’ 17-0 win Tuesday. Photo by Bill Landon

“We telegraphed our passes early in the game, but we got better reads and better feeds.” Zawadzki said. “Coach told us after the first quarter that we’d better pick it up because we’re not looking good.”

The Bulls held the ball for most of the fourth, and scored two goals while running out the clock, to bring the final score to 17-0.

According to Varello, teams like Deer Park, who have yet to find their first win, are always teams to be wary of.

“They may not be on the leaderboard, but they’ve got athletes and you’ve got to expect a team like that is going to hit you,” Varello said. “So against a team as athletic as they are, I know I’m going in with the mind-set that I can’t miss any faceoffs because if I do, we’re going to lose it.”

Moltisanti said his Bulls’ real test will be on Thursday, when they square off against Half Hollow Hills East on the road for a battle of two undefeated teams.

The opening faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Smithtown West is atop the leaderboard with crosstown rivals Smithtown East at 6-0, while Half Hollow Hills East and West Islip are also undefeated at 5-0 and 4-0, respectively.

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