Jake Rogers lifts Cold Spring Harbor boys lacrosse over Wantagh after slow first half
Jake Rogers, right, congratulates Will Spehr after his goal Friday in Cold Spring Harbor's victory on May 7, 2021. Credit: James Escher
In the past five seasons, winning county championships has ultimately become the standard for the Cold Spring Harbor boys lacrosse team. One which even coach Dennis Bonn acknowledges is difficult to place upon a squad that features only six seniors this year.
"I don’t think these kids want to be that team that doesn’t live up to the standard at Cold Spring Harbor," Bonn said. "That’s a very motivating factor. It’s not an easy thing but it’s motivating."
And following a lackluster first half by their lofty standards, the Seahawks suddenly began soaring in the third quarter on Friday and gave everyone an early-season reminder of their elite talent and potential once again. In need of a spark exiting the locker room, six goals in the period ignited Cold Spring Harbor to a 12-6 road victory over Wantagh in Nassau I.
Leading the way was junior Jake Rogers with three goals and one assist, junior Luke Giarraputo’s two goals and four assists and Hunter Gagne, who added three goals.
"This was a great team win against a very good, physical Wantagh team," Gagne said. "We definitely played more as a team offensively and were able to execute the way we do in practice. I thought Coach brought the guys together pretty well with his halftime speech."
Wantagh (1-1) received back-to-back goals from Anthony Tsakos and Troy Donaghy in less than a 90-second span to take a 3-2 lead late in the second quarter. Rogers then proceeded to find Giarraputo with 3.7 seconds remaining in the half for his second goal, knotting the score at 4 entering the break.
Cold Spring Harbor (2-0) quickly opened the second half with a pair of goals from junior Jesse Phelan and Rogers, moving ahead 6-4 with 8:24 left in the third. Wantagh responded with a goal of its own three minutes later, but the Seahawks found their rhythm on offense and tacked on four consecutive goals to widen their advantage to 10-5 entering the fourth.
"It was all about matchups," Giarraputo said. "At halftime we were going over who needed to change up and just what personnel we wanted to have on the field. Credit to Coach and everyone playing their matchups well."
As far as living up to the championship standard that Cold Spring Harbor is accustomed to, Rogers said patience and cohesiveness will be key.
"We’re excited," Rogers said. "Six straight would be cool, but one game at a time. We’ve got to play as a team and execute."
