The Smithtown East boys' lacrosse team defeated rival Smithtown West 17-11 in the Suffolk Class A semifinals. A key moment was a 5-0 scoring run by Smithtown East in the third quarter, with juniors Dan Rooney and Brian Willetts combining for the five goals. This victory sends Smithtown East to its second straight Suffolk Class A title game.

1. Page 24 ~ The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015
SportsMay 28, 2015 Page 24
(Continued on page 16)
Eastwinsbiggest‘BattleofBulls’
Laxmen reach second title game in row behind 5-0 third-quarter surge
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Smithtown East vs. West boys
lacrossehasbecomeoneofthetoughest
off all rivalries in the intra-district
“Battle of the Bulls” showdowns. But
never has it decided a trip to the county
semifinals as it did Friday, May 22 at
Smithtown East.
The decisive moments of the game
came in the homestretch of the third
quarter, when junior attackman
Dan Rooney and senior attackman
Brian Willetts combined to rip off five
straight goals as host and second-
seeded Smithtown East took down
fifth-seeded West, 17-11, to clinch its
second straight Suffolk Class A title
game appearance.
“We knew this was going to be a
great game because they always give
us the best game,” Smithtown East
senior midfielder John Daniggelis said
of his West-side counterparts. “We have
nothing but respect for the team in
blue. If I were not with my friends on
the East side, I’d be with them, because
together, they are my roots. We’ve all
been on the same [youth] team since
the second grade under Rick Ehli, John
O’Connor and Steve Ziegler.”
“This was a big game and a testament
to how well both teams can play,”
Smithtown East coach Jason Lambert
said. “We knew coming into it that they
were going to give us all they could
handle, but neither of us quit. In the
end, we kept sharing the ball and
finished our
shots, and
good things
happen when
you do that.”
The crux
of the game
came midway through the third
period, after a 4-1 Smithtown West
BOYS’ LAX: SUFFOLK CLASS A SEMIFINAL
1 2 3 4 final
No. 5 SMITHTOWN WEST 1 5 2 3 11
No. 2 SMITHTOWN EAST 5 5 5 0 17
run cut its deficit to 10-8. Needing to
respond, East dominated the remainder
of the quarter, as junior attackman Dan
Rooney scored three goals off respective
assists from sophomore midfielder Bobby
Burns (6:52), junior midfielder Gerard
Arceri (8:09) and senior attackman Brian
Willetts (10:47). Willetts also ripped a
pair of shots into the cage to close the
period out on a 5-0 run and give East a
commanding 15-8 lead heading into the
fourth quarter. Willetts’ assist in the run
was his 311th career point, which set a
school record previously held by 2007
graduate Matt Hull (see story, page 20).
“At that point, I liked the match-up and
thought I had an advantage,” said Willetts,
who totaled four goals and an assist. “As a
F A C E - O F F P H E N O M :
Smithtown East junior
midfielder Gerard Arceri
(above, #41) leads a
transition break off a face-
off with Smithtown West
junior midfielder Dan Varello
(above, #22) in pursuit
before Smithtown East
senior captains (at left, from
left) Brian Willetts and John
Daniggelis celebrate their
team’s 17-11 semifinal win
over West, Friday, May 22.
East has now won three in a
row against West, the latest
the first-ever semifinal match-
up between the two teams.
-Anthony Lifrieri photos

2. The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015 ~ Page 23
SportsSports
Immediate answers
Eastdiamondmenrespondto6-0hole
with four-run first, Maitles’clutch relief
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
“Heart of a champion, fellas. We’re
Suffolk County’s worst nightmare right
now.”
Those were the words Smithtown
East baseball coach Ken Klee had for
his players after the Bulls overcame
a six-run first-inning deficit to defeat
visiting Half Hollow Hills West, 8-6,
in the Suffolk County Class AA
quarterfinals, Wednesday, April 21.
The win advanced fourth-seeded
Smithtown East to the best-of-
three semifinals against top-seeded
Connetquot. East lost the first game
of the series at Connetquot, 5-3,
Saturday,May23.Resultsofthesecond
game of the series Wednesday, May 27
at Smithtown East were not available
at press time. The third and deciding
game, if necessary, is scheduled to be
held at Connetquot Thursday, May 28
at 4 p.m. Read next week’s edition of
The NEWS for complete coverage.
After Smithtown East senior starting
pitcher Dom Savino allowed four runs
to score on one hit, three walks and
a hit batsman, Klee decided to go
to his bullpen and turned to senior
pitcher Greg Maitles to put out the fire.
Although Maitles allowed a two-out
single to left field by right fielder Nick
Lombardi, which scored first baseman
Jon Faraci and second baseman Josh
Wende, he extinguished the Colts’ hot
bats for the remaining six innings,
holding them scoreless while allowing
five hits, one walk and two strikeouts,
including a full-count strikeout in the
top of the seventh to end the game.
“It was nerve-racking at first, but
once I got in a groove I was able to
shut them down,” Maitles said. “I was
getting ahead early with my fastball.
My curve wasn’t as strong, but I was
making pitches that got them to ground
out and pop up.”
But while some may have been
shockedbyMaitles’clutchperformance,
his coach was not. “Anyone who has
seen Greg Maitles play knows it was
no different than how he was all year,”
Klee said. “The stage was bigger, but
he has been a huge part of our success
all year.”
Maitles also had help from his
defense, which turned in a number
of stellar plays. Junior catcher Ryan
Kuskowski gunned down a Colt
baserunner to get Maitles out of the
first inning, and junior third baseman
John Marti turned a double play in the
sixth inning when he made a shoestring
catch of a line drive and fired to first to
get a Hills baserunner that strayed too
far off the bag.
But the biggest play of the game came
in the third inning. With runners on
the corners and two out, Half Hollow
Hills catcher Rob Mancini hit a fly
ball to shallow left field. Smithtown
East junior left fielder Nick Rizzo
made a perfect read on the ball off
the bat, charged in as hard as he
could and made a diving snag while
maintaining control of the ball despite
his momentum causing him to roll.
The leather of Rizzo and Marti was
not lost on Maitles. “Rizzo’s play in
left field probably saved the game for
us,” Maitles said. “Marti did a great
job holding things down at third and
everyone in the outfield played great.
Having a defense like that behind me
makes it a lot easier.”
But the shut-down defense and
pitching meant little without its offense
answering back from an early 6-0
hole, and the Bulls’ bats answered
back right away, with four runs in
the bottom of the first. Consecutive
one-out singles by junior center fielder
Shawn Kelly, senior first baseman
Matt Milne and Kuskowski powered
the Bulls to their first
two runs. Although
Marti grounded into
a 6-4 fielder’s choice,
Milne scored to cut
their deficit to 6-3
before senior pinch-
runner Ryan Ingarozza stole home
on a designed intentional rundown
play between first and second base,
chopping the Colts’ lead to 6-4.
“That answer in the first inning was
essential,” Klee said. “It let them know
we were not going to just go away and
made them realize we were a really
good team.”
East continued clobbering the Colts’
pitching, led by Milne, who went 3-for-
4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Milne scored the tying run in the
bottom of the fifth off a double down
the left-field line by Kuskowski, who
then scored the go-ahead run on a 1-3
fielder’s choice off the bat of Marti.
“I was just seeing the pitches well,”
Milne said. “My goal is to wait for the
right one and hit it to right field, and
that’s what I was able to do.”
With momentum, pitching and
hitting going East’s way, its comeback
was inevitable. “We were all hitting and
getting on base any way we could,”
Milne said. “Every single guy in the
field and on the bench knew we could
do it. We were on every single pitch,
and we all believed we were going to
come through.”
WEST’S COMEBACK COMES UP SHORT
Despite rallying from a 5-3 deficit to
tie the score and force extra innings,
ninth-seeded Smithtown West lost,
6-5, when second-seeded Ward Melville
scored on a walk-off passed ball in
the bottom of the eighth inning of
the Suffolk Class AA quarterfinals
Thursday, May 21.
BASEBALL: SUFFOLK CLASS AA QUARTERFINAL
R H E
No. 6 Half Hollow Hills West 600 000 0 6 6 2
No. 4 SMITHTOWN EAST 400 130 X 8 10 0
CATCHING UP: Smithtown East senior first baseman Matt Milne (above, #19) is
congratulated by teammates after scoring the game-tying run, and senior pitcher Greg
Maitles (below, #41) hurls a pitch over his 6 2/3 innings of relief in the Bulls’ 8-6 come-
from-behind home win over Half Hollow Hills West, Thursday, May 21.
-Richard Valeo photos

3. Page 22 ~ The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015
Sports
GIRLS’ LAX: SUFFOLK ‘B’ TITLE GAME
1 2 final
No. 3 Eastport-SM 3 4 7
No. 1 HAUPPAUGE 2 4 6
Eaglesrunoutoftime
Ungranted stoppage in game’s final minute
denies laxsters chance to prep for equalizer
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
After Hauppauge sopho-
more midfielder Katie Murphy
won a key ground ball in the
final minute of the Suffolk
Class B championship game
Tuesday, May 26, both Eagles
head coach Diana Lopez
and assistant coach Jerry
Goodfellow easily could be
heard calling for a time-out so
their offense could set up
for a potential game-tying
score.
Instead, the officials
ignored the coaches’ pleas
for a time-out, and a rushed
shot by senior attacker
Catherine Goodfellow with
less than 30 seconds left was
stopped by Eastport-South
Manor senior goaltender
Sam Giacolone, sealing
Hauppauge’s fate in a 7-6 loss
at the Dowling Sports Complex
in Shirley.
As time expired, Lopez
and Goodfellow both found
themselves yelling at officials.
“I called time out with
35-seconds left,” Lopez
screamed. “That’s horrible! I
called it the whole time!”
Lopez said after the game
that she attempted to protest
the game, but the protest was
not granted because Section
XI officials watching the game
did not see her or Goodfellow
calling time-out. The ending
(see column, this page) marred
what was a hard-fought battle
between two of the county’s
best teams—a back-and-forth
affair that featured three lead
changes and ties at 3-3, 4-4
and 6-6. Through it all, the
Eagles never quit, even when (Continued on page 16)
A call that fell
upon deaf ears
Trench Coat’s take
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
It was the worst way for a
county championship game
to end.
When the officials refused,
ignored or simply didn’t see
Hauppauge girls’ lacrosse
coach Diana Lopez and
assistant coach Jerry
Goodfellow screaming for a
time-out as the Eagles tried
to set up their offense in the
final minute of regulation,
they may as well have
handed the championship
trophy to Eastport-South
Manor (see story, left).
The call in question—
or non-call, as it turned
out—occurred directly
in front of me on the
sidelines after Hauppauge
sophomore attacker Katie
Murphy picked up the ball
and the officials
briefly stopped the
clock for contact
with Hauppauge
m a i n t a i n i n g
p o s s e s s i o n i n
the game’s final
minute. When
play restarted,
Murphy instantly
crossed midfield,
and Goodfellow
immediately began
calling for the time-out. As
the Eagles moved further
downfield, Lopez joined in
requesting the time-out with
at least 35 seconds left.
For at least five seconds,
both Lopez and Goodfellow
were yelling at the top of their
lungs, jumping up and down
and doing anything else they
could to get the officials to
grant the time-out short of
running onto the field and
tapping one of the officials
on the shoulder.
After the game, one official
explained to Lopez and
Goodfellow that they did not
hear the time-out request.
“How could they not hear
the time-out?” Goodfellow
said. “They could hear it
from the William Floyd
Parkway.”
They probably could have.
The stadium was not overly
loud, and both coaches
were yelling as loud as they
could—so much so that they
had both nearly lost their
voices at the end of the game.
The most mind-boggling
thing about the whole
exchange, however, was
that one of the officials
briefly looked over at the
Hauppauge sideline while
the coaches were calling
for the time-out but did not
grant it. Again, it’s tough
to miss a pair of coaches
jumping and screaming for
a time-out.
“ I t w a s c o m p l e t e l y
horrible—there are no words
to describe it,” Lopez said
in a postgame interview.
“I called for a time-out
with 30-something seconds
remaining, and they called
nothing. They said they
looked the whole time, but
they said we didn’t signal.”
After the game, Lopez
and Goodfellow
v e h e m e n t l y
argued with the
officials about the
non-call, and with
good reason: there
was no logical
explanation as to
why the officials
could not see or
hear the time-out
request.
But the real
shame was the cost of the
call, as a rushed shot by
senior attacker Catherine
Goodfellow ended the hotly
contested title game with
a whimper rather than a
bang. It was a game that
marked the end of a career
for 15 seniors, some of who
were on the Eagles 2012
county finalist team that lost
to Eastport-South Manor,
13-9.
It’s one thing to lose to
a team that was better on
that given day as happened
in 2012. But on Tuesday,
both teams were evenly
matched. While there was
no guarantee the Eagles
would have scored the tying
goal had they been granted
the time-out, they at least
would have been afforded
the opportunity to draw up
a play rather than improvise
on the fly.
Instead, the Eagles remain
bridesmaids and not brides,
left at the altar because of
the time-out that never was.
it faced deficits 2-0 and 3-1
in the first half and 6-4 in the
second-half deficit.
“The kids fought hard and
deserved to win,” Lopez said.
“We were down several times,
but they came back every time.
We could have easily given
up but we kept fighting and
crawling back into it.”
Leading the charge for
Hauppauge was senior
attacker Carly Tellekamp.
Although she was forced to
miss the Eagles’ semifinal
win over West Babylon (see
story, page 18) with a knee
injury, Tellekamp scored a hat
trick in her final game as an
Eagle. She scored both of her
team’s first-half goals (at the
0:38 and 24:09 marks) to keep
Hauppauge in the game, and
also tallied the equalizer with
8:06 left in regulation, tying
the score at 6.
“Even though she was
legitimately hurt, I thought
she played great,” Lopez said
of Tellekamp, who will play at
Towson University (Maryland)
next year. “She came up big
when we needed her—at the
most important times.”
Tellekamp’s goals ensured
the Eagles went into halftime
trailing only 3-2, as Eastport-
South Manor got a goal
POSTING UP: Hauppauge senior attacker Carly Tellekamp battles for position in front of the Eastport-South
Manor cage during the Eagles’ 7-6 loss at the Dowling Sports Complex in Shirley, Tuesday, May 26.
-Richard Valeo photo

4. The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015 ~ Page 21
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Top of the Montagnino
West golfer rallies from big hole to win Suffolk
individualgolfchampionshipinsuddendeath,
becomes first county champ in school history
Sports
He was so far away from a county championship after 18 holes.
But after 36 holes, Smithtown West senior Robert Montagnino was so
close. One foot, to be exact.
Montagnino’s brilliant approach shot on the
first sudden-death playoff hole set him up with
a point-blank birdie putt that completed his
comeback from eight strokes down to win the
Suffolk individual golf championship at Rock
Hill Country Club in Manorville, Thursday, May
21. His 2-under 69 on the second day of the
Suffolk Team Championships and Individual
State Qualifier was good enough to erase the
hole he had dug for himself after shooting a
6-over 77 on the first day of the tournament
Tuesday, May 19.
“This is probably the biggest tournament
I’ve ever won, and definitely one of my better
moments in golf,” he said. “It was an awesome
feeling coming back from so far down, but I
knew I could play better if I had confidence.”
“It’s a fantastic achievement,” Smithtown
West coach Al Chandler Jr. said. “He’s the
first golfer in Smithtown West history to win
the individual county championship, which
is unbelievable because we’ve had some great
golfers. He’s worked his tail off and spent a lot
of hours at Smithtown Landing, and it’s paid
off this season.”
The rally from eight strokes back was so
improbable heading into the second round that
Montagnino himself did not know he forced it
at its conclusion. “I didn’t even know I was in
contention until the last hole,” he said. “Once
I heard the word ‘playoff,’ I immediately went
to the green to sink my putt and get to the
playoff hole.”
Montagnino methodically worked his way
back into contention with consistency off the
tees and on the greens, equaling Eastport-
South Manor’s Kyle Tillinghast after 36 holes
with a cumulative 4-over 146.
He wasted little time going after the
championship on the first sudden-death hole
at Rock Hill, the 415-yard, Par 4 1st hole
“I hit a pretty good drive,” Montagnino said.
“It was a little left, but I didn’t want it to go
right because I would have had a bad angle at
the green.”
On his second shot, Montagnino used a 9-iron
to loft a shot in the air toward the pin. “I was
telling it to go, and I saw it bounce,” Montagnino
said. “I thought it was tracking the pin, but I
thought it may have been a little short.”
While his shot may have been short, it wasn’t
by much—by the time his ball stopped, it was
a foot from the hole. After Tillinghast hit his
second shot short of the green and missed a
potential par putt, Montagnino only needed to
two-putt for the win.
“Even though it was short and I hit that
putt a thousand times, I was still nervous,”
Montagnino said. “But I made it, and that’s all
that matters.”
Next up for Montagnino are the New York
State Public High School Athletic Association
(NYSPHSAA) Championships at Cornell
University in Ithaca, Saturday, May 30 and
Monday, June 1. “I’m excited to go up again,” he
said. “Last year I saw the course for the first time
and didn’t play well. Now I’m more confident,
I’ve gotten better and I know the course, which
also gives me an advantage.”
Montagnino was struggling with his putter
and well off the pace following the first round,
eight strokes behind the leader, Northport’s
Sam Healey. But his parents, Mike and Anne—
both PGA Professionals—helped lay to rest
whatever doubts he had.
“I was questioning myself but my parents
said I was not out of contention by a long
shot,” he said. “So I went back on Thursday,
played one shot at a time and everything
worked.”
“Everything started working,” he said. “I
made a lot more putts than I did the day before
and even started hitting the ball better. I only
missed two fairways and two greens in the
second round.”
Montagnino credited his support system,
which includes his mom, a 1981 Smithtown
West graduate and the former protégé at the
University of South Florida of his future college
coach, Rick Christie.
“My parents are a big part of what I am,” said
Montagnino, who will play under Christie at
the University of Tampa. “My mom’s old coach
[Christie] has also helped me with my game in
the past and is a great guy. I definitely attribute
some of my success to him.”
Montagnino cited erratic putting for his first-
round struggles, so after receiving a pep talk
from his parents and relaxing, he worked on
his putting game and found improvement on
the second day. And after getting red hot early
in the second round, Montagnino was back in
the hunt with momentum on his side.
“I try to stay in the present and play one
shot at a time,” Montagnino said. “But when I
birdied holes two, three and four right out of
the gate, I knew I was playing well and had a
shot at contention.”
Chandler Jr. also was pleased Smithtown
West finished fifth as a team in the tournament
with a cumulative score of 794. “Our team had
a great season,” Chandler said. “Just making
Day 2 of counties and being in the top six is a
great achievement. It was a great season topped
off by Robert’s win, and we’re excited to see him
play upstate at Cornell.”
“I was questioning myself but my parents said I was not
out of contention by a long shot. So I went back on Thursday,
played one shot at a time and everything worked.”
-Smithtown West senior ROBERT MONTAGNINO
‘CHIP’ OFF THE OLD BLOCKS: Smithtown West senior Robert
Montagnino, whose parents are both PGA professionals themselves,
celebrates his county championship (above) and chips onto the green
(below) during the Section XI Team Championships and Individual
State Qualifier at Rock Hill Country Club in Manorville, Tuesday, May
19 and Thursday, May 21.

5. Page 20 ~ The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015
Sports
Top40
Willetts follows in
Hull’s footsteps to
set all-time mark
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
WhenMattHullgraduatedSmithtown
East in 2007, he left for Harvard as the
boys’ lacrosse team’s all-time leading
scorer with 310 career points.
Brian Willetts was a fifth-grader
playing youth lacrosse in Smithtown at
that time and idolized Hull, who wore
number 40. Now the Smithtown East
senior attackman—who chose to wear
that same number 40 as a tribute to
Hull when he first donned the Bulls’
red—is Hull’s senior in the program
record books.
Willetts totaled five points for East in
its 17-11 win over Smithtown West in
the Suffolk Class A semifinals Friday,
May 22 to increase his career-points
total to 311.
“He’s always been a role model,”
Willetts said of Hull. “He’s someone
I’ve always looked up to. It’s why I wear
[the number] 40. It’s surreal to take the
record from someone that I look up to.”
Hull has gotten to see Willetts play
over the years and even congratulated
him on breaking the record. “I am
very happy for Brian and sent him my
congratulations on breaking the record
when it happened,” Hull said. “He is a
special player, top quality individual,
and has had an outstanding and
decorated career. I had the fortune to
see him play last year in the Long Island
championship game, and though we
lost a heartbreaker, I was proud that
the best player on the field that day
was wearing number 40 for Smithtown
East.”
Not only was Hull proud of Willetts,
who will play at Notre Dame next year,
but he was happy to see his record fall.
In fact, he hopes Willetts can inspire
the next group of Smithtown lacrosse
players the same way he inspired
Willetts.
“Records are set to be broken, and
Brian has set a new bar that younger
Smithtown lacrosse players can
strive for,” Hull said. “Brian’s well-
deserved achievements are yet another
representation of the continued growth
and success of the entire Smithtown
East lacrosse program that coach
[Jason] Lambert, coach [Kevin] Huff
before him, and all the alumni who
have played at East over the years have
worked to build. I wish him and the
team the best of luck in their pursuit to
bring another county championship, a
Long Island championship and a state
championship to Smithtown.”
Willetts tied the record scoring on
an underhand-shot low with under
four minutes left in the third quarter,
giving his team a 13-8 lead. He broke
the record with 1:13 left in the period,
when he assisted on a goal by senior
attackman Dan Rooney.
“I’m honored to hold the record at
Smithtown East,” Willetts said. “I’ve
been lucky to have great players
around me my entire career that have
allowed me to finish feeds. They’re as
much a part of this record as anyone.
It’s a team thing because of their
support. I also owe a lot to my parents,
especially my mom. She’s gotten me to
doctor’s appointments and anywhere
else I needed to go my entire career.
She’s the reason I stay off the sideline.”
But while Willetts said he was
honored to break the record, he was
even happier to get back to the county
championship game for the second
year in a row. “As unbelievable as this
is, it’s more important we’re going to
counties,” Willetts said. “Going back-
to-back years is difficult, and we want
to continue to put up wins.”
That team-first attitude is one of the
things that makes Lambert proud of his
four-year player.
“It couldn’t happen to a better
person,” Lambert said. “I’m so happy
for Brian and his family. He’s worked
extremely hard to get where he is now
as compared to four-years ago. When
he started, he was a catch-and-shoot
player. Now he is a full attackman.
It’s a testament to his work ethic and
dedication.”
NUMERIC NAMESAKE: Smithtown East senior attackman Brian Willetts (above, #40)
acknowledges the cheers of the crowd after scoring his 311th career point, breaking the
program record of 2007 graduate Matt Hull (below, both photos). Willetts said Hull served
as inspiration to him, and is the reason he wears #40. -Anthony Lifrieri photo (above)
“ R e c o r d s
are set to be
broken, and
Brian has set
a new bar
that younger
Smithtown
l a c r o s s e
players can
strive for.”
- 2007 graduate MATT HULL
On senior Brian Willetts
breaking program record
for most career points

6. The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015 ~ Page 19
Sports
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Battle to bitter end
Not the size of the Bulls in the fight
but size of fight in Bulls that shows
in close loss to unbeaten Mad Dogs
When the Smithtown West girls’
lacrosse team faced Middle Country
earlier this month, the undefeated Mad
Dogs intimidated the Bulls during a 7-0
run and held on for a 17-13 victory.
When the two teams met again in
the Suffolk Class A semifinal, Friday,
May 22, however, the Bulls were not
intimidated and gave Middle Country
all it could handle.
In the end, though, the top-seeded
Mad Dogs proved just a little too much
forfifth-seededSmithtownWest.Middle
Country sophomore Amanda Masullo
scored the winning goal off a re-start
following an obstruction call with 18
seconds left in regulation, propelling
Middle Country
to a 12-11 home
victory, Friday,
May 22.
“ I t h i n k
[ M i d d l e
Country] didn’t
expect the team that showed up that
day,” Smithtown West coach Carie
Bodo said. “We were not the nervous
team they faced the first time. We were
the ‘angry-at-ourselves’ team for not
showing up the first time, and this time
we played them to the very end.”
With the score tied at 11 in the final
minute, Middle Country worked the
ball around in hopes of getting the last
shot when senior Nikki Ortega drew an
obstruction penalty. On a free-position
play, Ortega quickly passed to Masullo,
who put the ball into the cage.
After Ortega won the ensuing face-
off, the Bulls tried to steal the ball back
but could not get it, allowing the Mad
Dogs (18-0) to hold on for the victory.
Nevertheless, Bodo was pleased with
the fight her team showed to the bitter
end.
“We never gave up,” Bodo said. “Even
at 18 seconds, we thought if we got the
ball we could score. I’m super-proud of
them and the poise and aggressiveness
they showed the
entire game.”
B o d o w a s
p r o u d h e r
players refused
to back down
from a Middle
Country team that had overmatched
the Bulls May 8 at Smithtown West.
In the rematch, Smithtown West
held first-half leads of 1-0, 2-1 and
4-3 off goals by junior midfielder
Mackenzie Heldberg (4:12) off an assist
by freshman defender Mackenzie
Hovespain; sophomore midfielder
GIRLS’ LAX: SUFFOLK CLASS A SEMIFINAL
1 2 final
No. 5 SMITHTOWN WEST 6 5 11
No. 1 Middle Country 5 7 12 Kayla Kosubinsky (8:06); senior
attacker Kaitlin Unser off an assist by
sophomore attacker Chelsea Witteck
(17:18); and junior midfielder Natalia
Lynch (23:10).
But the half’s most dramatic score
came with one second left, when
Heldberg scored off an assist from
Kosubinsky to give the Bulls a 6-5
halftime lead.
“I knew we had to get a shot off to
change the momentum of the game,”
Heldberg said. “Kayla found me across
the 8[-yard mark], and I didn’t even
look at the clock—I just knew I had to
dodge and get the shot off.”
Heldberg dominated the field
throughoutthegame,givingSmithtown
West (13-4) a spark on offense that
included a game-high seven points on
‘O’whatanight!
Nokado’s instructor thrown
surprise party for achieving
highest Martial Arts ranking
TOP GUN: John
Olshlager, head
instructor at the
Nokado School
of Self Defense,
was promoted to
the rank of Tenth
Degree Black
Belt in a surprise
ceremony at his
Kings Park dojo
Saturday, May 9.
John Olshlager, head
instructor of the Nokado
School of Self Defense in Kings
Park, was promoted to the
rank of Tenth-Degree Black
Belt Thursday, May 9—the
highest rank that can be given
to an individual in the Martial
Arts.
Unaware that the promotion
was going to occur, “Soke O,”
as his students call him, was
in the middle of running an
advanced training class with
over 40 Black and Brown belts
at the Dojo. Unknown to Soke
Olshlager, another 50 people
were gathering outside the
Dojo in preparation for the
surprise promotion. At 7:30
p.m. sharp, the door to the
Dojo opened and Shihan Jeff
Lovering screamed, “Yame!,”
whichmeansstopinJapanese.
The class came to an
abrupt halt, and the head
of the Yoshitsune Dojo and
Michael DePasquale Jr.—
the Yoshitsune Martial Arts
Federation Soke—entered
the room. Sensei DePasquale
introduced himself and
promptly presented Soke
Olshlager with his Lineage
certificate and promoted him
to the rank of Tenth-Degree
Black Belt.
Also attending the event
were Shihan Allie Alberigo
of the Long Island Ninjutsu
Centers, Shihan Lovering of
the Goshikan Dojo in Merrick,
four goals and three assists.
Two of those goals came in the
second half, as Heldberg gave
West a 9-8 lead with 17:19 left
in the second half and tied
the score at 11 off an assist
from freshman attacker Grace
Langella with 5:05 left.
“I was trying to keep moving
and get as many touches as I
could while also moving the
ball around to my teammates,”
Heldberg said. “I knew they
would be just as effective with
the ball.”
Witteck, who had three goals
and an assist, had a strong
second half. She scored a goal
off a feed from Heldberg 20
seconds in and another with
7:28 left in regulation to bring
the Bulls within 11-10.
Despite the loss, both Bodo
and Heldberg said the Bulls
had an incredible season that
included the program’s first
trip to the county semifinals.
They also expect the team to be
better than ever next season.
“Although we are losing
some key players, many are
returning, so I think we will
definitely be a force next year,”
Heldberg said. “We ended on
such a high note, and I think
we can stay there because of it.”
Sensei Joe Puleio from the
American Jiu Jitsu Centers,
Shihan Andrew Stigliano
from the United Martial Arts
centers, Shihan John Busto
from Busto’s Karate, Shihan
Chris Lohwasser from the
Long Island Karate Academy,
and Nana Dan Seine Marilyn
Fierro from Smithtown Karate
Centers.
Soke Olshlager now faces
the challenge of living up to
the legacy of the Yoshitsune
Dojo and its founder, Grand
Master Michael DePasquale
Sr., considered the Father of
American Jiu Jitsu.
SEVEN-UP: Junior midfielder Mackenzie Heldberg led Smithtown West with seven points
on four goals and three assists during the Bulls’ 12-11 season-ending loss.
-Anthony Lifrieri file photo

7. Page 18 ~ The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015
Sports
Tough defense helps Hauppauge girls advance
to Suffolk title game for third time in four years
Eaglessticktothescript
GIRLS’ LAX: SUFFOLK ‘B’ SEMIFINAL
1 2 final
No. 5 West Babylon 4 3 7
No. 1 HAUPPAUGE 7 4 11
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Getting to the county final is nothing new for
the Hauppauge girls’ lacrosse team.
After defeating fifth-seeded West Babylon
11-7 at home in the Suffolk County Class B
semifinal, Wednesday, May 30, top-seeded
Hauppauge advanced to its third county
championship game in four years (see story,
page 22), which the Eagles lost, 7-6.
“Thismeanseverythingtous,”saidHauppauge
senior midfielder Keri McCarthy, a member of
all three of the Eagles’ Suffolk finalist teams.
“We’ve been working for this since we lost last
May. We didn’t finish [with the championship]
and we should have, so we wanted to get back.
This win allows us to get
back to counties and finish
what we started.”
The win is a highlight in
the career of Diana Lopez,
who has led the Eagles to
the county final in both of
her two seasons as head coach. Rather than
take the credit, she instead pushed it toward
her players.
“This is about my kids,” Lopez said. “They’re
the ones that work for it. I just direct them.”
Leading the way for Hauppauge against West
Babylon was McCarthy. She helped the Eagles
dominate possession with eight draw controls,
scored the game’s first goal 55 seconds in, and
a notched pair of assists.
“I know [West Babylon’s draw controller] Sam
Apuzzo—she’s an awesome player,” McCarthy
said. “She likes to take it herself, and I like to
take it myself too, so I had to time my jump just
Unfitting end to
fantastic career
8th-inning homer foils Fanti’s
12-strikeoutcompletegame
By TOM ALLEGRA
alking off the field, Hauppauge baseball
coach Josh Gutes was asked if it was the
first home run his ace left-hander, Nick
Fanti, had allowed this season.W“I don’t think he’s allowed a home run in his
life,” Gutes said.
Unfortunately, the first home run Fanti allowed
in his storied high school career also was his last.
East Islip first baseman Tyler
Clehane’s leadoff blast in
the top of the eighth inning
stood up as the only run in
third-seeded Hauppauge’s
1-0 home loss in the single-
elimination quarterfinal
round of the Suffolk Class AA
playoffs Thursday, May 21.
“I made a decent pitch for
the pitch that I made. It was
on the inside corner,” Fanti
said of his 2-2 fastball, “but
[Clehane] just got in front of
it and absolutely crushed it,
so it’s a good piece of hitting
by him. I made that pitch all
day, I was successful with
that pitch all day, and that’s
one of those situations where
he beat me on one, so I gotta
tip the cap.”
In a game that went the
first seven innings with but
a single baserunner having
reached third base, most of
the cap-tipping went to the
pitchers: Fanti and senior
East Islip senior right-hand
ace Mike Demarest. Fanti
faced two over the minimum
21 batters through the first
seven innings, allowing only
one hit with 11 strikeouts,
one walk, one-hit batsman
and two successful pick-
off plays at first base on
95 pitches (62 for strikes).
Demarest, throwing on just
two days rest (see story,
page 17), entered the eighth
and final inning also with
a shutout intact, having
scattered seven hits with
seven strikeouts and no
walks on 86 pitches (66 for
strikes).
Between Demarest’s pin-
point control and all the East
Islip batters flailing at Fanti’s
fastballs, it was a pitchers’
duel at its finest. And despite
suffering his first loss this
season, Fanti (7-1, 0.81
ERA with 87 strikeouts in
52 innings pitched) picked
up his fifth complete game
in completely shutting down
East Islip on all but one
pitch—his 100th of the day.
“That’s what he does. He’s
the best player that’s ever
played at Hauppauge. And I
can’t imagine anyone nearly
as good as him ever coming
back here again,” Gutes said
of Fanti (8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB,
2 HBP) after the game. “He’s
been Hauppauge baseball
for about four straight years
now, and it’s just an awful
f e e l i n g
k n o w i n g
thatwashis
last game
here.”
The same
could be
said for Fanti’s battery
mate, Hauppauge senior
catcher PJ Contreras, who
just a year ago propelled
Hauppauge into the playoffs
with a walk-off single in
the eighth inning of a 2-1
win over East Islip and
Demarest in a win-or-go-
home situation to close out
theregularseason.Thisyear,
though, Contreras’ final at-
bat was a strikeout chasing
a Demarest slider with Fanti
on first and none out in the
bottom of the eighth. It was
a cruel fate for Contreras,
who prior to Clehane’s home
run had belted what were
the two hardest-hit balls of
the game.
“He kind of used my
aggressiveness against
me. He had a really good
curveball today,” Contreras
said of Demarest (8 IP, 7H, 0
R, 8 K, 1 BB). “The previous
two at bats I kind of just
missed both fastballs [that
ended up being fly-ball outs].
So [Demarest] is thinking,
‘I’m not going to give this
BASEBALL: SUFFOLK ‘AA’ QUARTERFINAL
R H E
No. 6 East Islip 000 000 01 1 2 2
No. 3 HAUPPAUGE 000 000 00 0 8 1
(Continued on page 17)
right. On the draws I couldn’t get up, I’d just
try to push it to my teammates because I have
faith in them.”
McCarthy’s first assist put Hauppauge up
3-1, as she drove around the cage and made a
pinpoint pass to senior attacker Sydney Nino,
who finished in traffic at point-blank range with
10:24 left in the first half. “Sydney and I always
work well together,” McCarthy said. “Whenever
she makes a cut, I know she will hit the shot.
She made that cut, we looked at each other and
I knew she was going back door, and I knew
she would catch it and score. She always does.”
Nino’s ability to finish at the cage wreaked
havoc on the West Babylon
defense, as she finished
the game with four goals.
“Once we were able to settle
down, we would always
find the open girl,” Nino
said. “I just cut to get open,
and if it wasn’t there I kept working to get the
ball.”
After sophomore midfielder Katie Murphy
scored off McCarthy’s second assist to put
Hauppauge ahead 5-1 with 7:54 left in the first
half, it seemed as though the game was in hand.
However, West Babylon answered back with
goals from Apuzzo, Kayla Downey and Emma
Cantwell to pull to within a goal with 4:19 left
in the first half.
Needingtoseizemomentumback,Hauppauge
responded with scores from Murphy (23:34)
and senior attacker Gab Savino (24:31) to take
(Continued on page 16)
UNDER CONTROL: Hauppauge senior midfielder Keri McCarthy (above, #24) wins a draw control during
the Eagles’ 11-7 home win over West Babylon in the Suffolk Class B semifinals. -Richard Valeo photo

8. The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015 ~ Page 17
Sports
Nick Fanti couldn’t help but
marvel at his East Islip counterpart
every time he reached base during
Hauppauge’s Suffolk Class AA
quarterfinal contest Thursday,
May 21.
The Hauppauge senior southpaw
couldn’t help but admire that Mike
Demarest—contrary to popular
thinking these days—was pitching
on only two days rest.
“The whole game, whenever I was
on first base I was talking to [East
Islip first baseman Tyler Clehane],
and I was just telling him, ‘Wow,
Mike’s a gamer. I can’t believe he’s
doing this right now. I can’t imagine
how his arm can be in good shape
right now. He must be running
on all adrenaline, because that’s
exactly what’s going on.’”
Whatever it was, Demarest made
it count, striking out eight batters
for the second straight playoff
game,bothcomplete-gameshutout
victories. Demarest, who tossed a
three-hitter in East Islip’s 1-0
win over Bay Shore in the playoff
opener Monday, May 18, scattered
seven hits in eight innings against
Hauppauge despite the short rest.
“He just really got the best of
us today. He’s always been like
that, too,” Fanti said of Demarest,
who threw 115 to 120 pitches
against Bay Shore, according to
Hauppauge coach Josh Gutes.
“He has a bulldog mentality, and I
respect him for that.”
Still, it was a curious decision by
East Islip coach Sal Ciampi Jr. to
let Demarest take the mound on
two days rest—one that Fanti, no
matter his condition, said he never
would have had to make.
“It’s all about how you bounce
back. I think usually I’d be able
to bounce back [on two days
rest]. But I don’t know about
going for eight innings and sub-
100 pitches,” Fanti said. “I would
definitely want to come back and
I would do everything I can to my
body to make sure I am ready for
the game. But generally speaking
I probably wouldn’t have because
I’m thinking ahead and I know
my coach wouldn’t put me in that
situation either. But [Demarest] is
a gamer for doing that.”
Gutes—most coaches, for that
matter—probably never would
have allowed Fanti to do the same.
But just like Fanti, he couldn’t help
but tip his cap to Demarest.
“Mike Demarest is an ultimate
competitor,” Gutes said. “He
wanted the ball there.”
-T. ALLEGRA
Two days
too little?
kid another fastball.’ So I saw a lot of
breaking balls [on his eighth-inning
at-bat]. I swung over the top of the
first one. [Demarest] dropped the
second one in, and I couldn’t hold up
on the third… It was a slider. It was
really tight. It was tough to pick up
the spin. I kind of just tried to protect
[the plate] and I couldn’t foul it off.”
Inthebottomofthethirdinning,after
Fanti (3-for-3, BB) unintentionally
bunted the ball over Demarest’s
outstretched glove for a lucky infield
single, Contreras ripped a shot into
left-center field for an unlucky fly out.
The ball likely would have rolled to the
fence if not for East Islip senior left
fielder Billy Wharry, who charged the
sinking liner hard and made a diving
forehand catch to rob Contreras of a
potential run-scoring extra-base hit.
“Off the bat, I saw it hit off PJ’s bat
and I was on first base. In my head,
I said, ‘That’s crushed.’ It was just a
matter to me of how far it would go,”
said Fanti, who was able to safely
return to first base following the out.
“I knew I was running and, as I was
running, I could see straight, and the
ball just hung up there for [Wharry]
and he made a nice diving catch.”
Contreras also ripped a first-pitch
fastball to right-center field in the
fifth inning after Fanti lined a one-
out single to right field, but the ball
hung up in the air long enough for the
wind to keep it in play for a harmless
second out.
“They made a diving catch on PJ
in left-center, and PJ flew out to the
wall in right-center and just missed
two of them,” Gutes said, “so a little
more barrel there and it could be a
2-0 game for us in the fifth.”
Instead, it was a scoreless stalemate
perpetuatedbyFanti’sflame-throwing
and Demarest’s ability to locate his
slider on the outside corner of the
plate or just off of it, helping shut
down Hauppauge batters who usually
put the ball in play.
“We haven’t struck out before these
last two games more than four times.
And last game we struck out seven
times, and today we struck eight,”
Gutes said. “So the last two games,
our two-strike approach—which
we’ve been harping on all year, which
has been fantastic—just wasn’t good.”
Fanti, however, was fantastic as
usual. He struck out two batters in
each of the second, fourth, sixth and
seventh innings, with the seventh
being arguably his strongest. He was
growing more confident with his off-
speed pitches as the game went on.
And in the seventh, he fanned Wharry
on three pitches for the first out,
got the cleanup-hitting Demarest to
pop out to third base for the second
out and fanned East Islip catcher
Brendan Dowd for the third.
Fanti discusses
short rest for E.I.
pitcher Demarest
Despite suffering his first loss of the season, Hauppauge senior left-handed pitcher
Nick Fanti finished his high school career with his longest outing, his fifth complete-
game of the season and what would have been a one-hit shutout had the Eagles
scored a run during the first seven innings. Here’s a look at his eye-popping statistics.
DATE OPPONENT RESULT DEC IP H R ER HR BB SO
5/21 East Islip (Suffolk Class A playoffs) L (0-1) L 8 2 1 1 1 2 12
5/11 @ West Babylon W (6-0) W 7 3 0 0 0 3 7
5/4 Kings Park W (6-0) W 7 2 0 0 0 3 14
4/27 @ Eastport-South Manor W (8-0) W 6 3 0 0 0 1 7
4/20 Bellport W (13-3) W 5 2 3 3 0 5 9
4/13 vs. Huntington (@Ducks Stadium) W (6-0) W 7 0 0 0 0 1 16
4/6 @ John Glenn (non-league) W (7-0) W 7 0 0 0 0 1 11
3/30 Deer Park W (9-2) W 5 2 2 2 0 4 11
TOTALS: 7-1 record, 0.81 ERA, 0.63 WHIP 52 14 6 6 1 19 87
WEEKLY FANTI-SY UPDATE
Extra inning
helps E. Islip
defeatEagles
(Continued from page 18)
AgainstDowd,whohadtheRedmen’s
only hit entering extra frames—a
seeing-eye single to left field in the
second inning—Fanti threw nearly
every pitch in his repertoire, getting
ahead in the count with a back-door
slider, staying ahead with a 70-mph
changeup and finally fanning Dowd
on 90-mph high heat.
“I had good off-speed today. It
wasn’t my best. I had to work a little
harder to get my changeup today,”
Fanti said, “but when I found it, it
definitely opened up more ways to go
with pitching to them.”
Said Contreras of Fanti: “For the
most part, whatever [pitch signal] I
put down, he has confidence that I’m
smart enough figure out what the
right pitch is in the situation, and
it’s mostly yeses with the occasional
shake-off.”
Thus, Contreras also had the cruel
fate of having called for a fastball on
the 2-2 count rather than trying to get
Clehane chasing after something out
of the strike-zone.
“It still wasn’t a terrible pitch.
[Clehane] put a good swing on it,
happened to barrel it up and it went,”
Contreras said. “The wind helped it
maybe a little bit. But [Clehane] put a
good swing on it. I kind of take a little
responsibility for calling the pitch. I
feel like it is my fault as well, not just
on [Fanti].”
It was something neither of them
had seen before.
“It’s rare territory for someone to
barrel him up like that,” Contreras
said of Clehane’s dinger off Fanti. “It
doesn’t happen very often.”
Fanti, however, said he particularly
noticed Clehane getting his timing
down on pitches in his two previous
at-bats.
“Early in the game, the swings
[Clehane] was taking on me, I saw he
was on me,” Fanti said, “but I never
thought he would get into one like
that. I didn’t think he was that type
of hitter.”
Fanti, who is committed to playing
at Marist next year, has been the
Eagles’ leading hitter all season. That
continued against East Islip, when he
actually had more hits (three) than
the entire Redmen lineup (two). He
also drew a leadoff walk to start the
bottom of the eighth inning, but was
thrown out attempting to steal second
base to end the game.
Or was he?
With two outs and Fanti on first,
East Islip coach Sal Ciampi Jr. made
a slick move calling for a pitch-out
with Hauppauge first baseman Devin
Jenny (1-for-3) at the plate. Dowd
made a strong throw down to second
base, but it started to tail to the right,
taking Redmen second baseman Joe
Corrao a little off course as he charged
in to make the tag.
With the throw having easily
beaten Fanti to second, Fanti was
quickly called out by the umpire on
the play. However, it appeared Fanti
ran around the tag before making a
hook slide toward the bag. Corrao
must have known he missed the tag
or not have heard the umpire’s out
call because, after Fanti’s momentum
carried him over the base, Corrao
dived back toward the bag in an
attempt to put a tag on Fanti.
After the game, Fanti said he got
back to the bag ahead of Corrao’s tag.
It didn’t matter, though, as the final
out had already been signaled.
“I went to steal second, and it
seemed like a good pitch to steal on.
[Demarest] was slow [delivering] to
the plate, and I guess the catcher
made a pretty good throw. And I know
I got around the tag,” Fanti said. “He
never touched me. I went to go dive
back to the bag and [Corrao] came
back with me. But the umpire made
an early call.”
The Eagles didn’t put up a fight
against the call except for Fanti, who
for a brief moment after he got back to
his feet became heated enough for his
teammates to have to hold him back
from uncharacteristically arguing
the play.
“I made it back in there, but I think
the umpire might have known that
he messed up because when I was
talking to him afterward he wasn’t
really answering me,” Fanti said. “You
can’t really blame, though, because
a lot of other things happened in
the game today. Demarest shoved it
against us, and it was tough to hit
on him today, and we just couldn’t
pull it out.”
Although coach Gutes’ hand was
forced to try to get a baserunner
into scoring position with two outs
in the eighth, he still absorbed some
of the blame for the game’s final out,
which came following the first pitch
of Jenny’s at-bat.
“The first time they pitched out, we
didn’t go and then we ran and stole a
base on the next pitch. This time they
didn’t pitch out the first two, and we
had to take a chance there,” Gutes
said. “If I could do it again, I would
have waited until the next pitch to
run. But they made the right call, they
made a good throw, and it is what it
is. If I could do it again, I would have
waited another pitch. But we had to
take our chances there. Demarest is
a strike-thrower, and we were behind
on him all day.”
Just like the Redmen were behind
on Fanti all day. That is, until Clehane
connected to put an unfitting end to
Fanti’s fantastic high school career.

9. Page 16 ~ The Smithtown News ~ May 28, 2015
Sports
senior and a leader, I decided to take the ball at ‘X’ to
the back of the cage and do my thing. My teammates
trusted me and supported me, and that’s what we
did to take it to them.”
Powering East throughout the game was Arceri,
who again got the better of Smithtown West junior
Dan Varello, 20-9, in an anticipated rematch of two
of the nation’s top face-off specialists. This included
a 6-1 edge in the first quarter that helped boost his
team to a 5-1 lead.
“Every time I go against a guy as good as
Varello, I have to train hard with my two other
[face-off] guys [sophomore midfielders Steven
Cuccurullo and Brian Herber] on the team as
hard as I can,” Arceri said. “I knew I needed to
do whatever I could to get the ball and get our
offense into transition.”
With an advantage in possession in the first period,
Smithtown East sophomore attackman Sean Barry
had three first-quarter assists on goals by Rooney
(3:36), sophomore midfielder Connor DeSimone
(3:47) and Willetts (4:15), who logged two goals in
the period.
“We were communicating, moving the ball nicely and
didn’t make errors,” said Barry, who totaled two goals
and four assists. “When everyone gets touches and
from junior midfielder Kaeli
Huff (5:49) and two scores
from eighth-grade midfielder
Kasey Choma (11:45 and
20:30) while Giacolone and
Hauppauge senior goaltender
Tori Johnston went save-for-
save, each totaling five in the
first half.
Hauppauge’s offense briefly
caught fire in the second half.
Sophomore midfielder Olivia
Esposito faked a shot, then
put a shot into the top-right
corner to tie the score at 3
with 20:50 left in regulation.
Murphy added another score
using the same maneuver 52
seconds later, giving the Eagles
a 4-3 lead.
The Sharks answered back
with consecutive goals from
sophomore attacker Kaitlyn
Dowsett (7:12), Kaeli Huff
(9:06) and sophomore attacker
Kelsey Huff (10:32) to take a
6-4 lead.
However, the Eagles refused
a 7-4 lead into halftime. After
two goals by Nino to open the
second half, Hauppauge’s lead
was back up to 9-4 with 22:52
remaining in the game.
WestBabylon’slastchanceat
a rally came when Geiersbach
scored a free-position goal
before Murphy was given a
two-minute yellow card, giving
West Babylon a one-player
Eaglelaxstersfallinfinal...
East laxmen best West for third consecutive time
plays well like that, good things are going to happen.”
Keeping West in the game in the first quarter
was goaltender Zach Lamberti, who made five first-
quarter saves, while West’s only score of the period
came from attackman Jimmy Caddigan with 5:12 left.
“I tried to see the ball as best I could because they
have guys that can shoot the ball hard and with
accuracy,” Lamberti said. “I did my best to play the
angles and give them less net to shoot at. The defense
also did a good job only giving them outside and low-
quality shots.”
With Lamberti biding time for his offense, it finally
mustered a counterattack in the second, as West
opened the period with two goals in a five-second
span to cut its deficit to 5-3. Caddigan first found
midfielder Dan Caroussos cutting to the cage, who
finished with an overhand shot with 10:13 left in the
first half, before Varello won the next face-off and
scored using another overhand shot.
With the tide turning in West’s favor, East needed
a boost. Arceri won the ensuing face-off, streaked
downfield and passed to DeSimone, who passed to
Barry. Barry finally finished the rapid ball-movement
attack with a goal just nine seconds after Varello’s
score. East continued its surge with back-to-back
goals by Daniggelis to lift his team to a 9-4 lead with
4:36 left in the first half.
“I could feel the momentum shifting, and
momentum is the name of the game,” Daniggelis
said. “I felt the pressure so I need to step up for the
team. I was happy I was able to come through for us.”
Although West was trailing by five, goals by
attackmen Matt Miller (9:01) and Kyle Zawadzki
(10:38) closed out the second quarter on a high note
before a goal from midfielder Jerrod Wilkom trimmed
the West deficit to 10-7 2:56 into the second half.
After midfielder Dan Riley ripped a shot into the cage
6:40 into the third quarter, East’s lead evaporated to
10-8, setting up the aforementioned 5-0 run to close
the period.
West continued to fight in the fourth quarter, but its
deficit was too large and East cruised to victory and
its second consecutive county final berth. Results of
the county final against Ward Melville, Wednesday,
May 27 at Stony Brook University were not available
at press time. Read next week’s issue of The NEWS
for full coverage.
“It’s a wonderful feeling, and I’m so happy the kids
get to experience it again,” Lambert said of playing for
the county crown. “[Ward Melville] is loaded. They’re
a very tough opponent with outstanding defense and
an outstanding goalie. They’re going to be one of the
toughest, if not the toughest, team we faced this year,
but we’ll be ready to go.”
(Continued from back page)
to die, cutting their deficit to
6-5 when Murphy assisted
senior attacker Gab Savino
(10:58). Johnston made a
momentum-shifting save to
turn away a fierce Sharks’
offensive at the 14:15 mark,
setting up Tellekamp’s tying
goal.
Tellekamp nearly put the
Eagles ahead with six minutes
left in regulation when she
steamrolled through a pair of
Eastport defenders and put
the ball in the cage, but the
officials called a charge, giving
the Sharks possession.
With possession of the ball
and six minutes left, Eastport-
South Manor went into a
methodical offense, eating
precious minutes off the clock.
But while the Sharks were in
no hurry to press the attack,
the Eagle defense, led by
senior defender Bridget Adams
and freshman defender Dani
Waters, didn’t give the Sharks
much wiggle room.
After nearly four minutes of
moving the ball around, Kaeli
Huff—the daughter of former
Smithtown East boys’ lacrosse
star and coach Kevin Huff—
took matters into her own
hands, beating a Hauppauge
double-team and scoring top-
left to provide the final margin
with 2:03 left in regulation.
Once Kelsey Huff won the
ensuing draw, Hauppauge
pulled out all the stops to
try to force a turnover. Lopez
pulled Johnston first out of
the net and then off the field
for another player before the
Eagles forced the ground
ball Murphy scooped up with
45 seconds left. But when
the officials refused to grant
Lopez the time-out, the Eagles’
offense was left unprepared
to run a set scoring play,
and Giacolone’s save ended
Hauppauge’shopesofavenging
its 13-9 loss to Eastport-South
Manor in the 2012 Suffolk
Class B title game.
(Continued from page 22)
...afterbeatingW.Babinsemis
advantage. Although West
Babylon tried to work the ball
downfield in hopes of a clear,
Hauppauge senior defender
Bridget Adams intercepted the
pass, which allowed the Eagles
to go into ball-control mode
and kill off the penalty. “I saw
the pass coming to Geiersbach
and I jumped in front of her,”
Adams said of the interception.
Hauppauge’s defensive
successinthesemifinalhinged
on Adams’ ability to shut down
Geiersbach, and Adams came
through with flying colors.
Geiersbach scored just one
goal in the game while Adams
caused three turnovers and
gobbled up four ground balls.
“I was face-guarding
Geiersbach and denying her
theballthewholetime,”Adams
said. “We wanted to make it so
she and Sam Apuzzo, two of
their better players, could not
work together. By shutting
them down, we shut down
their offense.”
With the Eagles out-working
West Babylon on defense, it was
onlyfittingtheygotalittlelucky,
too. After killing the penalty,
Murphy attempted to pass to
Nino in the crease, but her pass
missed its mark. While the ball
missed Nino, it also missed the
rest of the West Babylon defense
and sailed into the top-left
cornerofthecageforanunlikely
goal to put Hauppauge up 10-5
with 14:29 left.
(Continued from page 18) HOT ON HER TAIL: Hauppauge senior attacker Sydney Nino chases
down Eastport goaltender Sam Giacolone. -Richard Valeo photo