Cold Spring Harbor boys lacrosse steps up in class

Cold Spring Harbor’s boys lacrosse team is a class act.

And not just in Class C, where the Seahawks are the defending state champion. But how about Class A? Cold Spring Harbor shocked the Long Island lacrosse community with an 11-10 victory on Tuesday over Syosset, the No. 1 seed in Nassau A, and considered a legitimate contender for county, Long Island and state championships this season.

“It was a great game, one of the best I’ve ever been associated in 24 years as a coach,” Cold Spring Harbor coach Dennis Bonn said. “It was fabulous. It was one of those games where you honestly feel bad for the team that lost.”

The Seahawks took a 4-1 lead; the Braves rallied to tie it, and it was a one-goal game the rest of the way.

Syosset’s Lucas Cotler scored an unassisted goal with 3:41 left for a 10-9 lead, but Loyola-bound senior Riley Cox answered 25 seconds later off a feed from Matt Licciardi to tie it.

Licciardi, a junior who has committed to Cornell, then found Cox again for the game-winner with 2:26 remaining. Cox scored six goals and Licciardi had four assists. Licciardi also battled Maryland-bound senior Alex Giovinco to a near standoff at the faceoff X, winning 12 of 22. “Matt takes a regular shift at midfield, so it speaks volumes about him that he could still battle Giovinco late in the game,” said Bonn, who admitted he sweated out the final two minutes.

“They had the ball more than we did and had some opportunities. It looked like no lead was safe,” Bonn said. “Our goalie, Devin Burdo, made three big saves in the fourth quarter.”

Burdo, who had 11 saves for the game, picked up a ground ball at the side of the cage with 11 seconds left and tossed it to Ian Laviano. Bonn took no chances against Syosset’s swarming defense and called timeout with 8.5 seconds left. “After that, we were able to run out the clock,” Bonn said. “It’s a testament to our kids to work hard and win a game like this. We pride ourselves on playing a tough nonleague schedule.”

The Seahawks (4-0) have already beaten Class B playoff contender South Side and two highly regarded Pennsylvania schools. They also face state Class B finalist Manhasset and Suffolk Class A Huntington later in the season. Bonn said Nassau C is down a little this year and that playing a demanding schedule will help his team in the playoffs.

That was the case last year when the Seahawks won their first state crown since 2006 and their only loss was an early season game against Syosset, a regular opponent for Cold Spring Harbor. Bonn says his team is 7-6 against the Braves in the last 13 years. “They got us pretty good,” Bonn said of an 11-4 loss in the second game of last season. “To beat a team that has six players you’ve got to stop on offense and a good defense is impressive. It was an outstanding win for us.”

It had a touch of class.