Eyes on talent at lacrosse showcase

They were lined up on one sideline Thursday night, 35 or 40 of them, equipped with folding chairs, clipboards, rosters and notepads. If this were a baseball all-star game, they would've had radar guns, too. Instead, the "weapon" of choice for these major college lacrosse coaches was their school colors.

The NCAA forbids recruiting during the summer, so while some of the nation's elite coaches were permitted to watch the Long Island Lacrosse Showcase at Dowling College's Brookhaven sports complex, they were not allowed to talk to any of the players, nor to any member of the media who wanted to know what they thought of the 120 players who participated in the Nassau vs. Suffolk tripleheader.

So they were conspicuous by their color-coordinated shirts and hats featuring their school names, initials and logos. Don't think the players didn't notice. "This was a great opportunity for me to get noticed and get my name out there for the college coaches," said West Islip goalie Jack Kelly, who helped lead Suffolk's Rising Seniors to an 11-7 victory in the finale.

Tim Rotanz of Shoreham-Wading River scored four goals, including the game-winner with 3.7 seconds left in overtime, to give Suffolk an 8-7 victory in the Rising Juniors game. Nassau won the Rising Sophomores games, 7-6.

For Kelly and many other players who have not made their college commitment, Thursday night's game was, indeed, a "showcase." They showed off their skills and stated their case for a lacrosse scholarship. Particularly now that the Empire State Games have been cancelled for this summer (and twice in the past three years), eliminating a chance for players to get summer recognition.

In Kelly's case, he was stuck behind Newsday All-Long Island and Duke-bound goalie Kyle Turri all spring. But, Kelly has already drawn interest from Navy based on his summer play last year and in his four starts earlier this season.

"Navy is in the picture, but my options are wide open," said Kelly, who played the first, third and fourth quarters and flashed a quick stick, especially on high shots. "This game helps me a lot."

SEE PHOTOSLong Island Lacrosse Showcase

Suffolk's offensive star in the Rising Seniors game, Sam Llinares of Hauppauge, has already committed to Hofstra, but still took the game seriously. It seems that whenever Suffolk plays Nassau in any sporting event, civic pride surfaces quickly. "It's about bragging rights," said Llinares, who scored three goals from his attack position.

With his future coach, Seth Tierney of Hofstra, among those in attendance, Llinares acknowledged, "There was pressure to showcase your skills, but it was a good kind of pressure. This was an awesome experience."

It was a spirited one, too, as all three games were competitive and a few hundred fans joined the coaches in critiquing the action, including several prominent high school coaches. In the Rising Seniors game, which featured mostly varsity players coming off their junior years, Suffolk found holes in the Nassau defense to grab a 6-1 lead midway through the second quarter.

But a natural hat trick by Christopher Appell of Locust Valley helped Nassau rally to within 8-5 at halftime and, eventually, to 9-7 with five minutes left in the third. Then Llinares scored on a tough-angle shot and Connor Coyle of Harborfields finished a nice feed from Ryan Slane of North Babylon and Suffolk had a comfortable cushion.

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"We didn't have a superstar-laden team," Suffolk coach Desmond Megna of Floyd said. "But we had workman-like, scrappy kids that worked hard. We dominated the ground balls, we outran them all night and the kids sold out on defense."

When the game was over, and the coaches were leaving, Megna gathered his players together one last time. He thanked them for their effort and the players broke the huddle with a final cheer: "6-3-1!" they yelled.

The coaches, lugging their chairs and their impressions to the parking lot, heard the message loud and clear.