'Classic' was a showcase for Long Island

There was a moment, late in the first quarter of yesterday's North Carolina-Johns Hopkins game, that was pure Long Island Expressway. It was Billy Bitter of Manhasset putting on a clinic of how to maneuver in traffic.

The Carolina senior attack started behind the net, eluding one defenseman with a left-right cut. He darted past the goalie to the left of the cage, where he was met by another defender. Bitter executed a double-spin, up-and-under move and finished off the solo performance with a breathtaking goal. It was his third straight unassisted score as he almost single-handedly erased a 4-0 Hopkins advantage.

"In the first half, it was like Billy Bitter against Johns Hopkins," Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala after his team's 10-9 victory.

Sunday's Big City Classic at New Meadowlands Stadium wasn't exactly Long Island against the rest of the lacrosse world. But it certainly was a showcase for some of the exquisite talent produced by arguably the two most fertile counties for lacrosse. Players from the 516 and the 631 dialed up some big numbers in the annual met area tripleheader.

In the opener, St. John's freshman Kieran McArdle of Connetquot had one goal and four assists to lead the Red Storm past Rutgers, 9-8. McArdle set up the tiebreaking goal late in the third quarter to make it 7-6 and also made a slick feed from behind the net to produce what proved to be the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter.

McArdle is St. John's second-leading scorer with 26 points (16 goals) and didn't expect such a prominent role in his first season. But injuries to Long Islanders Harry Kutner (Garden City) and Terence Leach (Rockville Centre) created an immediate opportunity for McArdle and freshman Kevin Cernuto, the team's leading scorer.

"I knew with those two down that I'd have to step up in a big way," McArdle said. "I had the confidence because in practice the coaches said they would be going to go to us this season."

There was go-to Long Island kids all over the home turf of the Jets and Giants.

Bitter, of course, is one of the nation's top players and wound up with four goals. "He's so quick I couldn't even see it," North Carolina coach Joe Brescia said of Bitter's spectacular first-quarter goal.

The Tar Heels' leading scorer with 37 points is Nicky Galasso of West Islip, who was held in check by the Blue Jays' tight zone. But Galasso managed a pinpoint cross-field assist on the tying goal in the fourth quarter. Even though he had a quiet game, Galasso has made plenty of noise already. His 21st assist tied the school freshman single-season record.

"Nicky's a phenomenal player," Brescia said. "Better than advertised."

In the third game, No. 1-ranked Syracuse's hang-on 13-11 victory over No. 3 Duke, there also was a Long Island flavor. Tom Palasek of Rocky Point had two assists and Tim Harder of Garden City scored a goal for the Orange. Zach Howell of Huntington, the Blue Devils' leading scorer with 37 points (29 goals), scored three of his four goals in the second half to make it very interesting.

In all, 40 Long Island players dotted the roster of the six teams who played in the third Big City Classic, helping draw a crowd of 25,115. That meant congestion exiting the stadium and some extra eastbound volume.

Traffic and lacrosse, a Long Island kind of day.