Home Sports

Harborfields High School earns NATA Safe Sports School Award

by Press Release - August 26, 2023

0 550

Harborfields High School was recently named a recipient of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Safe Sports School Award. This recognition honors secondary schools that have met the recommended standards to improve safety in sports.

To achieve Safe Sports School status, athletic programs such as Harborfields are required to create a positive athletic health care administrative system; coordinate pre-participation physical examinations; promote safe and appropriate practice and competition facilities; plan for selection, fit function and proper maintenance of athletic equipment; provide a permanent, appropriately equipped area to evaluate and treat injured athletes; develop injury and illness prevention strategies, including protocols for environmental conditions; facilitate injury intervention and psychosocial consultation and nutritional counseling; create and rehearse a venue-specific Emergency Action Plan; and ensure athletes and parents are educated about the potential benefits and risks in sports as well as their responsibilities.

“We are honored to be recognized as a first team Safe Sports School by NATA,” said Rob Franco, athletic director. “It shows how committed we are to the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff. I would like to thank our coaches and athletic trainer, Chris Schrager, for working with me to ensure that our athletics program provides the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment possible.”

SBU Sports: Women’s soccer earns 3-1 victory over Lafayette Leopards

by Press Release - August 25, 2023

0 691

SBU Sports women's soccer — Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook women’s soccer team (1-1-1, 0-0 CAA) offense erupted to secure their first win of the season after defeating Lafayette College (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) 3-1 on Aug. 24 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

The Seawolves wasted no time getting on the board first after sophomore Gabrielle Côté put the pressure on the Leopard defense by centering a ball into the middle of the box that was deflected into the back of the net by a Lafayette defender at the 13th minute to give Stony Brook an early 1-0 lead.

Stony Brook out-shot Lafayette 9-to-1 in the first half and junior Nicolette Pasquarella made a quick-read save at the 23rd minute to keep the 1-0 lead heading into the break.

Following the half, the squad came out scorching on both sides of the pitch. After a stop by the Seawolves on the defensive side at the 53rd minute, Pasquarella sent a goal-kick to the middle of the field where it was headed by sophomore Luciana Setteducate and sent to senior Reilly Rich. The senior took the ball nearly 40 yards before finding the back of the net with her left foot to give Stony Brook the 2-0 advantage.

The Seawolves kept the pressure on by tallying another goal at the 65th minute. Côté took the ball up the right sideline before she hit a rocket into the back of the net to give Stony Brook a 3-0 lead and ultimately the 3-1 victory.

This was the first ever meeting and victory against Lafayette.

“I’m happy for the team that they got awarded with the win today,” Head Coach Tobias Bischof remarked postgame. “It was a great effort by everybody involved. We were defensively very stable and created some very good scoring opportunities. Scoring three goals in a game is always nice to see.”

Next up, the Seawolves hit the road for the first time this season on Sunday, Aug. 27 as they head to North Andover, Mass., to battle Merrimack University at noon. This will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

COMEBACK KIDS: Smithtown 14U team wins league championship

by Steven Zaitz - August 12, 2023

0 698

alex final-62 — Winning pitcher Alex Peña celebrates St. James-Smithtown Little League’s 14U championship with coach Rich Conner. Peña had two hits on the day and pitched the final 3 2/3 innings for the win. Photo by Steven Zaitz

By Steven Zaitz

In the world of Little League baseball, when players reach their 13th birthday, they are forced into retirement – barely teenagers yet too old to play.

Those days are over.

In just their second year of existence, the St. James-Smithtown Bulls won the 14U Half Hollow Hills Summer Little League Championship on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Otsego Park in Dix Hills. In dramatic fashion, the Bulls scored two runs in their final turn at bat to triumph with a 3-2 victory over Bay Shore.

This team of grizzled “veterans” now join in on the summer-long celebration of softball and baseball excellence in Smithtown.

Smithtown 14U shortstop Brandon Castoro strokes a two-run double to give the Bulls a 3-2 lead over Bay Shore in the Half Hollow Hills Junior C championship game. Photo by Steven Zaitz

The improbable win capped off a 10-6 season following their inaugural season in 2022 when they stumbled to a 5-16 record. Head coach, Rich Conner, assembled this team and applied for admittance to Half Hollow Hills Junior C League because he wanted to prolong the baseball life expectancy for kids who “age out” of traditional Little Leagues when they become teenagers.

His son Dylan, who plays second base for the 14U Bulls, wanted to keep playing without the joining the grueling and ultra-competitive travel leagues. It was out of Dylan and his friends’ desire to continue that motivated his dad to launch the team.

“Initially, we sent an email to everyone our league, I think we got three or four kids,” said the elder Conner, who played at SUNY Albany and has coached at St. Joseph’s and Hofstra universities. “Dylan reached out to some of the kids he knew and from there, with some word of mouth, we were able to put a product on the field. The first season we did this, we were a younger team and we struggled but nobody wanted to quit. One year later, look at what happened. We won the championship.”

To win it, the Bulls had to go through Bay Shore, who won 11 out of 16 in the regular season, including five in a row to end their year. The South Shore team trotted out their ace right-hander Tyler Drago to try and secure a ring. Drago was untouchable over the first four innings, striking out eight and allowing only two baserunners.

Smithtown starter Nathan LoRe, despite loads of heavy traffic, managed to keep Bay Shore off the board for three innings. He allowed the first two runners to reach and was relieved by Alex Peña, who allowed his inherited runners to score but nothing more. The only ball that was well struck in the inning was by cleanup hitter Christopher DiGiovanni, who Peña dueled for nine pitches until Giovanni knocked in the first run of the game with a single up the middle.

“Alex plays at a very high level, and he’s a perfectionist,” Conner said. “That inning could have gotten out of hand, and Alex did a fantastic job of limiting the damage and keeping us in the game.”

“I wasn’t happy giving up that hit,” said Peña, who missed a chunk of games in the middle of the year with an ankle injury. “We battled hard against each other, and [DiGiovanni] won that battle.”

The way Drago was throwing, it looked like Bay Shore was also going to win the war.

“He threw pretty hard,” Peña said of Drago. “But not only that, he was locating his pitches where he wanted to, so he gave us a hard time.”

Niko Kostas steals second base for the Bulls. Photo by Steven Zaitz

But after 106 pitches, Drago was out of the game after six innings. Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Bay Shore summoned righty reliever Jake LaGrange. The Bulls got to work on him immediately.

Left fielder D.J. Savage, who saved three runs in early in the game with a nifty, two-out, bases-loaded catch, led off the seventh with a single to left. He was sacrificed to second by Jake Scandaliato.

Peña drove a hard single to center and Conner, who is the third base coach, elected to hold Savage at third and not risk running the Bulls out of a very promising inning. After Peña stole second, Smithtown had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position for power-hitting shortstop Brandon Castoro.

Castoro drove LaGrange’s second offering deep into the left-center field gap and all the way to the wall – a two RBI double that turned a 2-1 Smithtown deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Castoro pumped his fist proudly as he stood on second base. His teammates in the dugout and Bulls fans on the first base side screamed in delight.

“I took the first pitch for a strike so Alex could steal second,” said Castoro. “After that, I was looking for something in the middle, and I put a good swing on it.”

The shortstop and his family were not even supposed to be at the game, as they had tickets to a Metallica concert in New Jersey. But after the team won their semifinal game against West Babylon three days earlier, the Castoros altered their travel arrangements.

“I’m extremely glad I was able to play in this game,” said Castoro. “It feels great and refreshing to see all the work that we put in paying off with this championship.”

Despite the sudden good fortune on the Smithtown side, it may have been lost on some folks that there was the matter of the bottom of the seventh. This was still a one-run game.

“I knew that there was still work to do,” Peña said.

Named the game’s MVP for his work at the plate, on the bases and on the mound, Peña, who pitched a scoreless 3 2/3 innings to earn the win, calmly struck out the first two batters on six pitches and got the last out on a harmless fly ball to Savage.

The game was over, and for Smithtown the rest of the day at Otsego Park was filled with bear hugs, Gatorade showers, smiling parents and photo ops with the championship trophy.

“Over the two years that we’ve done this, the players and parents have become like a family,” Conner said. “Hopefully this will result in interest from the community and let people know that baseball is not over for a large portion of Smithtown kids at ages 13 and 14, if they don’t want it to be. Just look at what can happen.”

A championship happened — pretty good for a team that is competing in only its second year with most of its members playing at the ripe old age of 14

St. James-Smithtown Little League 2023 Accomplishments:

14U
Baseball: Half Hollow Hills Junior C Champions 12U
Baseball:
District 35 champs, Section 4E finalists

10U
Baseball:
District 35 and Section 4E champs, New York State “Elite Eight”

12U
Softball:
District 35 and Section 4E champs, New York State “Final Four”

11U
Softball:
District 35 Champs, Section 4E finalists

Host Location for 2023 New York State Softball Championship Tournament for 10U, 11U, and 12U

7th annual Jake Engel Hoops for Hope fundraiser heads to Cedar Beach July 28

by Heidi Sutton - July 22, 2023

0 855

Hoops-For-Hope_Engel-Clan-2-081016_Reddingw — Geoff, Bob, Karen and Patrick Engel at a previous Hoops for Hope event in memory of their family member. File photo by Kevin Redding

Hope House Ministries will host the 7th Annual Jake Engel Hoops for Hope Fundraiser at the Cedar Beach Basketball Court, 244 Harbor Beach Road in Mt. Sinai on Friday, July 28 from 4 to 8 p.m. with a 3v3 Basketball Tournament, food, music, basket prizes and raffles. All are welcome to enjoy a fun, exciting night. All proceeds to benefit Hope House Ministries. To register for the 3v3 tournament or for more information please call 631-473-8796 or email at [email protected].

Softball championship tournament kicks off in Smithtown

by Steven Zaitz - July 19, 2023

0 868

Home team 12U Bulls lose in semifinals, but event filled with joy and excitement

1 of 33

By Steve Zaitz

[email protected]

Smithtown became the epicenter of New York softball last Thursday, July 13, as teams from all over the Empire State descended upon the hamlet to fight for the state title — with the winner earning a trip to the Little League World Series East Region tournament.

For the 12 and Under home team Bulls, it was not to be.

St. James-Smithtown was knocked out in the semifinals by the Mid-Island All Stars from Staten Island and their phenomenal pitcher Gianna DiMaso, who tossed a complete game shutout. The Bulls had won four games over the course of the weekend to make it to the final four, but DiMaso was just too tough, allowing only four Bull base runners in six innings.

Bulls Pitcher Isabella Russo, who led this same group of girls to the 11U championship in 2022, finished the tournament with a 3-0 record on the mound and pitched four scoreless innings against Staten Island in the semis. But single runs in the first two innings against Smithtown starter Julia Roman was two too many against the dominating DiMaso.

Despite the setback for the Smithtown side, the tournament has been a tremendous and entertaining success for everyone involved. It kicked off last Thursday with a festive celebration at Gaynor Park in St. James.

Town Supervisor Edward Wehrheim (R) and town Councilman Tom Lohmann (R) threw out nearly simultaneous first pitches. League President Richard Tomitz with fellow league board member Peter Russo, both of whom coach and have daughters on the 12U team, warmly welcomed the players and their families to Smithtown.

Caravans of SUVs and minivans made the trek all the way from places like Orchard Park near Buffalo, Saugerties in Ulster County, also Fayetteville-Manlius and Chittenango, both suburbs of Syracuse. The visitors spent the better part of a week here. Harrison Little League in Westchester, and the eventual champion Massapequa who beat Staten Island in the final game, also participated.

Tomitz, Russo and other league organizers made sure all the players and their families were entertained even when there weren’t any games on the schedule. Saturday night featured a skills competition at Veterans Memorial Park in St. James. Players from all teams were invited to show off their speed, throwing accuracy and, of course, home run hitting prowess. Lefty sluggers Brooke Hanson and Isabella Russo of Smithtown took first and second place in the home run contest.

Skills Night was a jovial affair with the elder Russo keeping the crowd peppy as master of the microphone. Players from different teams shared laughter and selfies until it was time for Movie Night on the Lawn. The feature presentation had to be the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.”

Last Sunday’s atrocious weather wreaked havoc on the scheduled slate of games, and on Monday and Tuesday, eleven games were played in less than 24 hours.

As Staten Island was beating St. James-Smithtown, Massapequa International was crushing Fayetteville-Manlius, 15-0. A high noon, winner-take-all showdown saw Massapequa score a walk-off 2-1 win and punch their ticket to the regionals, to be played in Bristol, Connecticut.

PJSD offering summer sports camps

by Press Release - July 16, 2023

0 461

basketball-g2d4c083ac_1280 — Photo by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

The Port Jefferson School District athletic department is offering athletic camps to Port Jefferson elementary, middle and high school students.

Camps include basketball, cheerleading, kickboxing, martial arts, tennis and more.

With athletic coaches, teachers and upperclassmen as instructors, the goal of these camps is to teach the fundamentals of the sport while incorporating essential life lessons, such as teamwork and sportsmanship, all while having fun.

Registration for the camps is available on the athletic department page of the district website at portjeffschools.org.

From A to B: Ward Melville senior travels to Oregon to compete in Track and Field Nationals

by Steven Zaitz - July 2, 2023

0 531

ASasSZ Rita-2 — Sasson on the eve of her high school graduation. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Like every other graduating high school senior across Long Island, June has been a crazy month for Ward Melville’s track and field sensation Abigail Sasson.

Abigail Sasson high-jumping at Suffolk County Winter Track Championships in Brentwood this past February. Photo by Steven Zaitz

Between the graduation parties, final exams, prom, commencement ceremonies and saying goodbye to teachers and friends, high school’s final moments are a uniquely special time.

However, Sasson’s June was perhaps crazier and a little more memorable than most.

On Father’s Day weekend, Abbi, as she is known to friends, family and teammates, had the opportunity to compete as a high jumper at the 2023 Nike Outdoor National Championships held at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Hayward Field, Oregon’s home arena, is considered hallowed ground for the sport of track and field. Nike co-founder Phil Knight is an alumnus, ran the mile for the school decades ago and since becoming a captain of industry has always had a vested interest in preserving the venue as a track and field mecca. Running stars Alberto Salazar, Keshia Baker and Steve Prefontaine were all Oregon Ducks, and this place is the track equivalent to Cooperstown or Canton.

This pilgrimage was a fitting way for the Nebraska native, who moved to Setauket when she was 10 years old, to finish off her storied career as a Lady Patriot. In wet conditions, Sasson was not able to clear 4 feet, 10½ inches in her three attempts, but for her, it was a personal victory in making the trip and earning the experience of performing on such a grand stage.

“At first it was jarring to be in such a huge and famous stadium in front of so many people, but it was great to compete against the best athletes in the country and in a setting that is so beautiful,” said Sasson, who made the 2,900-mile journey with her mom Lise. “This was the last meet of my high school career and to be able to do it at nationals in Oregon was an absolutely amazing experience that I will never forget.”

Back home in Setauket, Sasson is so much more than a high jumper, and she wears a lot of hats — as well as a lot of different shoes — for the Ward Melville track and field program. She excels at the pentathlon, which combines the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shotput and the 800-meter run. Abbi is the reigning Suffolk champion for pentathlon, capturing the gold at the Section XI Championship at Commack this past May after winning silver as a junior in 2022. The versatile Sasson has earned all-county or all-league honors for triple jump, high jump and long jump in her career at Ward Melville and has been named as a Suffolk Scholar-Athlete all four years of high school.

Abbi Sasson at Nike Outdoor Nationals at University of Oregon in Eugene. Photo from Lise Sasson

“Since the eighth grade, Abbi has shown great ability to do multiple events,” said Ward Melville girls track and field head coach J.P. Dion. “She is an extremely bright kid who retains everything she is taught and loves to pass that information on to the younger kids. But in addition to being a great athlete and leader, I think the really special thing about Abbi is her heart.”

Dion has a lot of company feeling in this way.

Last week, Sasson was presented the 2023 Ward Melville Spirit, Leadership and Cooperation Award, which was voted on by the entire Patriot athletic department. Abbi’s success on the track alone might have been enough to merit this award, but she won it while having to overcome a goodly dose of adversity, which was dealt to her just weeks into her senior year.

In October of 2022, Abbi was driving on Route 347, just south of Stony Brook University, when she was slammed from behind by another vehicle. Sasson suffered whiplash and a concussion, the effects of which she still feels today. She missed a chunk of school in the fall and was not allowed to compete for about six weeks. Although the injury made it difficult for her to read and she was not allowed to run or jump, it did not stop her from attending track practice.

“It was tough because I had to make up all my tests and get my college applications in before deadline,” Sasson said. “But I also wanted to meet my new teammates and help the coaches any way I could. It was cold, but I didn’t mind. Being around the track is always my favorite part of the day.”

One of these teammates was junior and fellow pentathloner Kate Woods.

“Abbi is like my track mom and anytime I had low self-confidence, she was always the first person by my side and cheering me up even when she was not able to compete,” Woods said. “I genuinely don’t know if I would have been able to accomplish everything I accomplished this year without Abbi. She meant so much to the whole track team because she always found the positives in all of us. Everyone loves and looks up to Abbi so much.”

Woods was named to the all-county pentathlon team along with Sasson and still has two more years as a Lady Patriot. Sasson will be pre-med at Vassar College in the fall and will be competing as a member of the Vassar Women’s Track and Field team.

But she’ll not soon forget her former Lady Pat teammates and coaches, who have helped shape her into the athlete and person she is today.

“Track, and being a member of this team, is definitely the part of high school that I will miss the most,” she said. “The friends I’ve made on this team are life-long friends and when I’m on break from Vassar, I hope they let me come back to pop in and say hello.”

With all that Sasson has accomplished and contributed to the Ward Melville community, it’s a safe bet that they will.

Carnival Closing Day: St. James – Smithtown Little League ends season with a Bang

by Steven Zaitz - June 16, 2023

0 1842

1 of 11

The smoke cleared from the skies just in time, and the St. James-Smithtown Little League concluded its regular season and playoffs with a gala, daylong championship Saturday, June 10, at Gaynor Park in St. James.

Due to the poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires earlier in the week, the weekend was jam-packed from sun-up to sundown with baseball and softball games from all age groups. In addition to the exciting action, players, parents, and fans enjoyed music, face painting, a bouncy house and the smell of smoke of a much more pleasing nature wafting from the east parking lot — free hot dogs and hamburgers all day long. There were also churros, cotton candy and big, salty pretzels.

“It was the best ceremony and festival we’ve ever had for the league,” said S.J.S.L.L. President Richard Tomitz. “We were able to raise a lot of money for (former New York Jet and current radio voice) Marty Lyons’ foundation and Legislator Rob Trotta’s donation to our league is much appreciated.”

Lyons, whose construction company LandTek helped build the league’s new turf fields, also runs a foundation that works with children from ages 3 to 18 with terminal illnesses and grants them wishes. His foundation has raised $43,000,000 since its inception four decades ago.

“Never take anyone or anything for granted in this world,” Lyons told the crowd. “What we have today, we might not have tomorrow, and we should give thanks to God for the opportunities that he’s allowed us to have. I do this every day of my life.”

Through the sale of raffle tickets and individual donations, Tomitz raised several thousand dollars for the foundation. Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta also spoke to the crowd and presented Tomitz with a check for $2,500 as Trotta’s office, S.J.S.L.L. and BusPatrol America — an organization devoted to creating a system to sustain the safety of children as they travel to and from school — have partnered to help the Suffolk County Police Department to issue tickets and enforce critical law to change driver behavior.

“We want to bring the number of school bus accidents and violations to zero in Suffolk County,” said Trotta in his remarks to the crowd.

When the microphone and podium were removed from the field, it was time for baseball. In the first game, the 11 and under minor league championship game pitted Trophy Hut v Smithtown Ninja, with Trophy Hut winning 15-9. The 12U Championship was played next and Armor Fence defeated Memas Little Italian 12-7. Armor Fence capped off an undefeated season with the win.

In Majors Softball, La Familia won the Championship 9-2 in finals vs. Team Sciortino.

For the smaller players, Tee Ball and Coach-Pitch leagues for kids 4-7 also played their finales on a colorful, balloon-filled, and sun-splashed morning, afternoon into early evening. The eight-year-old All-Star game kicked off the activities early in the morning.

Although the 2023 S.J.S.L.L. intraleague season is in the books, the action is just heating up for baseball and softball in Smithtown. Six different age groups have qualified for participation in Williamsport tryouts, which is where the Little League World Series is held each August. In July, Smithtown will host the New York State Softball tournament, which will send the winner of the 12 and under group to North Carolina to compete on a national level. The Smithtown girls who played on the 11 and under team last year, won their State Bracket. Many of them are the 12U team this year and have a real chance of playing in the national championship. Tomitz is one of the coaches on that team.

“Everyone is really excited about the softball tournament coming here,” Tomitz said. “We can’t wait to host and hopefully win again. It’s going to be awesome.”

Wall Green: Farmingdale Goalkeeper stops Northport from third straight Long Island Championship

by Steven Zaitz - June 8, 2023

0 495

1 of 19

At 5 feet, 8 inches tall, goalkeeper Michael Ippoliti is not the imposing figure of a typical lacrosse player.

But in the battle for the Long Island Lacrosse Championship against Northport on Saturday, he might as well have been the 10-foot-high, Great Green Wall of Farmingdale — a wall that stood between the Tigers and their third straight Long Island title.

On one of the largest lacrosse stages in the country, Ippoliti made a ridiculous 14 saves at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on the campus of Stony Brook University to deny Northport of this natural hat trick of championship rings as the Dalers topped the Tigers, 5-3. Northport’s mighty offense came into this match averaging 12 goals a game for the season but was stymied time and time again by Ippoliti.

Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Farmingdale scored four straight goals bridging the third and fourth quarter to take a three-goal lead. Superstar Sniper Brendan O’Keefe gave the Dalers the lead for good at 3-2 with nine and a half minutes left in the third, and Jake Norton had two goals late in the fourth to ice it. The rest of the day belonged to the Syracuse-bound Ippoliti.

“It feels great to be Long Island champions,” said Ippoliti, who transferred from St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay for his senior season. “I was seeing the ball well today and since I’m not the biggest guy, I make up for it with my speed, hands and footwork.”

One dazzling display of footwork came at the end of the second quarter when Northport’s leading scorer, sophomore Jack Deliberti, ripped a shot from 20 yards away that Ippoliti turned away with his right shin. The rebound caromed back to Deliberti and from a sharper angle and 10 yards closer, he burned in another low laser.

But Ippoliti scampered laterally across his crease to kick it away seconds before the horn sounded to end the half. These two saves kept the Tiger lead at one.

Later on in the game, Ippoliti’s quick hands got the better of Northport’s junior attacker Luca Elmaleh, who had seven goals in the three previous playoff games for the Tigers.

With the score knotted at two to start the fourth quarter, Elmaleh was able to turn the corner on All-American Farmingdale defender Trevor Gayron and flash right in front of the net with only Ippoliti in his way. Elmaleh tried to go up high, but the Daler keeper was able to get his stick and shoulder in the way of Elmaleh’s shot — which was from no more than three feet away. O’Keefe would give Farmingdale the lead two minutes later — a lead they would never surrender.

“I wish I threw maybe another fake in there,” said Elmaleh, who had four shots on goal for the game. “But I can’t go back in time. As a team, we have to move forward, practice harder and try again next year.”
Tiger Longstick Midfielder and two-time All American Andrew Miller, who put on a Tiger uniform for the final time in his illustrious high school career, will not have the luxury of another try next year. A two-time Long Island Champion in lacrosse, Suffolk champion in basketball and one of the finest athletes ever to grace the halls of Northport High School will be at pre-med at West Point in the fall. He scored two goals in this game for the Tigers, and he had previous experience watching Ippoliti play.

“We played club lacrosse together and he is very talented,” Miller, who scored two of the three Tiger goals, said of Ippoliti. “It wasn’t him alone though. His defense played well too, and they just outplayed us overall.”
Ippoliti didn’t forget about his supporting cast either.

“My defensemen played incredibly well today, and I couldn’t have done it without them,” said Ippoliti. “I have to make the saves but it’s those guys executing the game plan that puts us all in a position to win.”
This was the first Long Island title for the proud Farmingdale Lacrosse program since 2011. They won the New York State Title that year as well. They will travel to Albany to play Scarsdale in the New York State semi-final and if they win that one, they will come back to the island next weekend to play at Hofstra for the state crown.

Larry Cerasi, who in his third year as Tiger head coach was bidding for his third straight Long Island Championship, coached Northport in that Hofstra title game last year and lost to upstate Baldwinsville. Despite not earning an invitation to Albany this year, he still feels the 2023 season was a success.
“We lost a lot of firepower from last year and we still went a long way,” said Cerasi. “Winning Suffolk County and getting to the Long Island Championship game is an incredible achievement and it sets us up nicely for next year.”

As Michael Ippoliti will be in Syracuse by then, Cerasi and his guys, if they are lucky enough to be in this position again, may need not run through a wall to win it.

Third time not so charming: Northport tries to beat Massapequa three years in a row for L.I.C., loses 9-8

by Steven Zaitz - June 7, 2023

0 1416

1 of 10

It was the miracle that wasn’t.

In the Long Island Championship, the Northport Lady Tiger lacrosse team came back from a six-goal deficit in regulation capped by a goal from freshman Kate Atkinson with less than three minutes to play — only to lose the game in sudden death overtime 9-8 at Adelphi University in Garden City.

Massapequa Lady Chief Caitlyn Dorman scored with less than 20 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to win the L.I.C. and deny Northport its fourth straight Long Island Championship as well as a chance to compete for their third New York State title.

The Lady Tigers were 17-2 this year and they had handled Massapequa (11-5) the two previous years to win the L.I.C., but the Lady Chiefs came out of the gate on fire, determined to stop that streak.

Jessica Giller scored two minutes into the game for Massapequa on a free position opportunity and the flood gates were open. Allison Pertullo took a nifty feed from Bridget Valentine a minute later, and it was 2-0 Massapequa, and when Giller beat Tiger goalkeeper Megan Morris at 4:24 of the first half, it became an almost unfathomable 7-1 lead for the Chiefs.

But Northport, as everyone knows, is made of championship stuff — and they started to chip away. They got two goals in the final moments of the half — both by Kennedy Radziul and the score was 7-3 at the break.
Radziul opened the second half scoring in the first minute and the momentum was still firmly on the Tigers’ side. Emma McLam dodged her way through traffic and slipped one past GK Christina Fredella to cut the deficit to two and the Lady Tigers sideline was delirious, sensing what they thought was inevitable.

With the score 8-6 in favor of Massapequa, Northport’s Payson Hedges, who will attend Adelphi in the fall, took on three defenders with nine minutes to go and zing on past Fredella from close range. Atkinson would complete the comeback on a curl play, taking a brilliant lead pass from Radziul to tie the score at eight. On to overtime.

After Atkinson bounced a ball just wide that would have won the game, Northport turned the ball over and committed a turnover. Dorman was awarded a free position opportunity from 10 yards away to Morris’s stick side. Dorman bounced it in and Massapequa captured its first ever Long Island Championship.

Prev 1...656667...247 Next

Page 66 of 247