DeNapoli clutch as Lynbrook defeats South Side
Lynbrook High School attacker Tom DeNapoli looks to make a pass in the third quarter of the Nassau County varsity boys lacrosse Class B quarterfinals. (May 24, 2010) Credit: James A. Escher
From the Lynbrook sideline, the voices of teammates rang out loud and clear: "Keep shooting, baby!" Tom DeNapoli didn't need to be told twice. The omnipresent Owl zeroed in on the net, even if all he had to show for it after three quarters of last night's Nassau Class B semifinal game against South Side were zeros.
"I like to shoot my way out of slumps," DeNapoli said. And so he did. His unassisted goal with 9:59 left completed a four-goal comeback to tie the score at 7 and his solo dash from behind the net against a desperate Cyclones double-team was the clinching final goal in No. 5 seed Lynbrook's 10-8 victory.
"That's Tommy for you. He gets the big goals," Lynbrook coach Bill Leighley said.
DeNapoli was one of five Owls who scored two goals each in improving to 13-4 and ending an 11-game winning streak for No. 4 South Side (11-6). Alex Doerflein had a hat trick for the Cyclones and Connor Waxon and Zach Scaduto had two goals each. Lynbrook faces No. 1 Wantagh at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hofstra.
"I had a rough couple of shooting quarters. I couldn't find the groove," DeNapoli said. "Finally, I beat the slide and put it in the bottom left."
The tiebreaker came on a nifty spin move to the corner by Ryan Clark with a flag down. Sophomore Luke Spitzer made it 9-7 on a solo dodge and bouncer with 6:59 left as Lynbrook scored six straight goals to wipe out a 7-3 deficit.
"I call him our super-sophomore. He's a tough kid who goes hard and has improved every game," Leighley said of Spitzer. "He's not afraid to go to the cage. He's got a quiet confidence."
All of the Owls were confident they could rally, especially after Alex Maini took a nice crease feed from DeNapoli to trim the lead to 6-4 with four seconds left before halftime.
"That gave us a huge lift," Leighley said. "We called timeout and scored from a set we've worked on. It was the difference between going into halftime feeling good and feeling bad."
Another feel-good moment came on Clark's goal that broke the 7-7 tie.
"He's a senior who's been on varsity since he was a sophomore. We've been waiting for a big game," Leighley said. "Once he scored that goal, I felt like our investment in him paid off."
No. 1 Wantagh advances. The top-seeded Warriors' quick-strike offense was in full force as nine different goal-scorers sparked a 16-2 blitz of No. 8 Carey in a Nassau Class B semifinal game at Hofstra. Wantagh (15-2) will face No. 5 Lynbrook Wednesday. Carey finished 7-10.
"We try to push the ball and they tried to slow it down," Wantagh coach Gary Reh said. That strategy worked only in the first quarter, when the Warriors took a 2-0 lead. But they scored seven goals in the second quarter and the rout was on.
Nassau County scoring leader Brandon Mangan scored three goals and now has 97 points and 57 goals. Matt Balzano and Ryan Walsh also had hat tricks for Wantagh, which scored in bunches. The Warriors had flurries of three goals in 59 seconds and four goals in 1:27.
"When we're flying on all cylinders,'' Reh said, "we're hard to tame."
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
