No matter which way you slice it, the Blue Devils were a threat in their Huntington boys lacrosse team’s 16-7 road win over Commack Saturday morning.
Whether it was Anthony Annunziata’s faceoff wins, Robbie Smith’s goal scoring, Aidan McNulty’s ability to find the open man, Lucas Petrizzi’s faceguarding, Ryan Porzio’s defense or Sammymac Arner’s save making, the balance on both ends of the field and ability to keep a level head made it difficult for the Cougars to mount a comeback.
“We did a great job of possessing the ball,” Annunziata said. “Our offense made sure to stay poised and worked the ball around a few times before attacking the net, and we really focused on matchups and who we had to guard defensively and who to attack on our offensive end. We knew their guys couldn’t keep up with ours, so we just had to wear them down.”
Smith, who recorded four goals and two assists, scored off an Annunziata feed with 7.6 seconds left in the first quarter for a 4-1 Huntington lead. Just minutes later, the senior midfielder secured his third off a rocket from the right side of the cage nearly 20 yards out.
“After losing to Cold Spring Harbor two games ago, we needed to get things going again,” Annunziata said. “After watching film, we understood that they would most likely come out in a zone. So, we made sure to have multiple offensive sets to beat their zone, and they worked pretty well.”
What also went pretty well for the Yale University-commit was securing possession for his Blue Devils (4-1 overall, 4-1 in Division I) off the faceoff. And after two straight Commack goals — including James Pagano’s second of the game, which closed the gap to 4-3, and Brandon Berozi’s wraparound for a score — one of his team-high three — to trial 5-4 — each second with the ball mattered.
“We still have some things we need to work on, and we need to continue to get better, but overall it was a great team win,” said the junior midfielder, who finished with four points off a goal and three assists. “Every player contributed.”
Coming out of halftime hot were McNulty and senior attack Liam Lennon. The pair scored back-to-back to double Commack’s score, for an 8-4 lead. McNulty, a senior midfielder, hit the netting for a hat trick just a minute-and-a-half into the quarter. Lennon, a SUNY Geneseo-commit, also finished with three goals.
But the Blue Devils weren’t done there. Annunziata recorded another faceoff win and it led to a third straight for Huntington, this time, with the goal being scored by junior attack Michael Kline, to pad the lead.
With 3:08 left in third, though, Annunziata was hit hard by an opponent, which led to the eventual ejection of Commack’s head coach and two players. Even still, he stormed back onto the field following a long stoppage of play to find the cage once again double Commack’s (4-2, 3-2) score, putting the Blue Devils out front 10-5.
“I am proud of my coaches and teammates for having my back and keeping their cool,” Annunziata said. “Our team was able to really pull away once things started getting chippy. We took advantage of the other team’s mistakes, and I was able to push the ball in transition, find my teammates for a few assists and score.”
McNulty recorded a game-high eight points off three goals and five assists and Colby College-bound senior Chirstopher Maichin earned five points off two goals and three assists.
Junior Georgetown University-commit Aidan Carrello, Westminster College-bound senior Jaheim Hawkins and senior York College of Pennsylvania-commit Harrison Krywak also came through big on the defensive end. That unit forced turnovers that helped create opportunities in transition, many of which the Blue Devils were able to capitalize on.
“Being able to come away with such a dominant win over a good Commack team felt pretty good and gave us more momentum going into our next game on Tuesday against Ward Melville,” Annunziata said. “We’re just focused on who we’re playing week-by-week and game-by-game, but it feels great knowing that even if you need to take a break, the guy right behind you will get in and make a play. I know what this team is capable of, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
