Joey Spallina didn’t know he was going to shoot, but when he did, everyone knew what was coming. With the last goal in No. 1 Mt. Sinai’s 16-5 win over No. 2 Shoreham-Wading River for the Mustangs’ second straight Suffolk County Class C championship, Spallina broke the Long Island points record of 500 set by West Islip’s Nicky Galasso in 2010.
“All the hard work put in — the 5 a.m.’s and shooting after practice — it all led to this,” said the senior attack. “It’s all come together.”
Spallina wrapped around the back of the cage and around the crease before dodging his defender, leaning back with the Wildcat on his back and shooting into the upper left corner.
“I was looking to pass. I wasn’t even looking to dodge and score on that,” Spallina said, laughing. “But they didn’t slide, so I came out, shot and scored.”
He finished the title-winning game with a hat trick and five assists, to bring his point total to 501 over his four-year varsity career. Mt. Sinai (18-0) advances to face the winner of Nassau’s No. 1 Manhasset v No. 3 South Side matchup in the Long Island championship June 4 at Hofstra University at 5:30 p.m.
“To beat them like this — in that fashion — is awesome,” Spallina said of topping his team’s crosstown rival. The Mustangs were on the winning side of what stood for most of the game as a much closer matchup, taking the game 12-7, back on May 12. The senior said it also felt good to get a redemption win after Shoreham-Wading River (15-2) edged Mt. Sinai with a 14-13 overtime win for the ‘C’ crown his freshman year.
Sophomore attack Lucas Laforge came out firing and scored three straight for the Mustangs, the middle shot coming off a feed from Spallina.
“Obviously, Joey gets a lot of attention, so my guy kept sliding early to him and I would just pop out to get open and finish it,” Laforge said. “In practice, he and I work on the cuts and getting open for each other.”
The sophomore assisted on the next goal, by junior attack Cole Marsala (three goals, one assist), and closed out the quarter with a rocket on a feed from senior midfielder Gavin Takacs (two goals, one assist).
“The way we played that first quarter, I was like, ‘holy shit,’” Spallina said, smiling. “That was the best first quarter we played all year, and that was the best game Lucas has played all year. We came out and dominated.”
Laforge finished the first half with five goals and one assist, and ended the game with six goals. Mt. Sinai was up 10-2 heading into the break.
“I felt great out there,” Laforge said. “As soon as we got it going our team went into cruise control.”
Junior faceoff specialist Austin Oppenheim was crucial to the victory, grabbing possession after possession from the circle before firing the ball to his killer, fast-paced offense. Junior goalkeeper Brayden Wilcken’s 11 saves were also big.
“We knew we needed to do this again, and got the job done,” Laforge said. “We worked so hard in practice — reps after reps after reps — so we were ready for this.”
The Mustangs led 13-4 after three quarters, and Wilcken came away with his last stop of the game before Spallina’s monumental, unassisted goal with 2:37 remaining. Previous record-holder Galasso had broken the record of 498 points that had stood since 1977. The West Islip athlete did it in five seasons and through four state title runs. Spallina’s unbelievable pace of nearly nine points per game this season helped him to 482 points heading into this postseason. Before entering the playoffs he’d already passed Galasso for the most assists in county history. Spallina now has 225 goals and 276 assists. He finished his freshman year with 131 points, missed his freshman year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and currently sits with 164 points this season.
“I’m so proud of him,” Laforge said of Spallina’s feat. “He’s always the hardest worker in the room.”
The sophomore said now, it’s right back to the grind.
“We worked so hard in practice — reps after reps after reps — so we were ready for this, and It’s a great win, but we’re not done yet,” he said. “I think we have a good shot to take it all home.”
His captain agrees, chasing that elusive state title to cap off his historic high school career.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Spallina said. “We’ve got to keep our eyes straight — look out in front — and keep this going. We’ve got to keep going.”
