by Michelle Rabinovich
After an offensive explosion in the fourth quarter, the Manhasset Secondary School Indians claimed the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class C Boys’ Lacrosse Championship title when they defeated the South Side High School Cyclones in a 14-4 match at James M. Shuart Sstadium on Hofstra University’s campus.
“It was a great day for the Indians,” said Manhasset boys’ lacrosse head coach Keith Cromwell, proud of his team for their success on the field. “Those last forty minutes, I think they played a heck of a lacrosse game.”
“A lot of credit to our boys for the commitment they put in at practice,” said Cromwell.
The Cyclones won the first faceoff and , proving why they were in the championship match. They kept that momentum going with their first goal barely 90 seconds into the frame. That slick goal functioned as a reality check for the Manhasset Indians, prohibiting South Side from making clears and, forcing both teams to do steal after steal from each other until a weather advisory suspended the game just over five and a half minutes in the frame. The game continued on Thursdayfollowing day, June 2, where the Indians were quick to pause the Cyclones’ velocity with a goal netted with under a minute to go in the first quarter, tying the score at one.
Junior Jack Petersen came onto the field with guns blazing, scoring back-to-back goals within two minutes of each other. This was, followed by a contributions from Cal Girard and Liam Connor each, all before South Side could strike back, which cappedcapping the scoreing at 5-2 going into halftime.
The third quarter was a show of strength and cohesion from the Indians’ attack team, scoring four4 goals as their, while defense allowed none. Connor, Joey Terenzi, and Matt Perfetto had their turn to score, and Connor went so far as to complete a hat trick before the buzzer sounded, concluding the frame at 9-2.
“We had a goal in mind, that’s to win this game, and I think we did a good job of it,” said Connor. “The biggest thing for us was just listening to our coaches and having confidence in each other. We [have] great captains, and we were able to stay calm throughout.”
The fourth quarter was the highest scoring moment of the day, with Petersen completing a hat trick to make it a double-digit game just 78 seconds in, followed by a second goal from Terenzi. The Cyclones gave the Indians pushback as they netted a goal during a man-up opportunity, only to be halted again by Manhasset’s Matthew Cargiulo and Connor, landing another pair of goals. Even while trailing behind by ten points, the Cyclones weren’t ready to throw in the towel, scoring the last goal of the day with 71 seconds remaining in the game and, cutting the lead to nine. Seeking to widen the scoring gap again, James Balsamo found the back of the net with 24 seconds left to spare, wrapping up the game with a score of 14-4.
“A lot of credit to our boys for the commitment they put in at practice, they earned it on game day here,” Cromwell said. “Now we’re looking to take the next step forward.”
