Jake Murphy, Longwood use ‘wall ball’ to help overpower North Babylon

In order to enhance the reputation of the boys’ lacrosse team, often overlooked at Longwood because of the success of the football team that calls the same turf field its home, midfielder Jake Murphy hit the wall.

“I’d never played ‘wall ball’ before,” Murphy said, pointing to the half-green asphalt walls adjacent to the tennis courts. “But this summer a few of us did so we could improve our ballhandling and stick skills. There are a lot of seniors on the team that have played together since junior high school. Our short-term goal is to improve day-by-day. Our long-term goal is to reach the playoffs.”

Murphy & Company took a baby step in that direction. Murphy scored five goals with two assists and fellow senior attack Robert Lopez also scored five goals as the Lions overpowered North Babylon, 17-6, Tuesday morning for their first Suffolk I victory.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a game like this,” Murphy said after Longwood improved to 1-1.

Another senior, defenseman Joe Caldas, also was a major contributor, winning 15 of 23 faceoffs, registering an assist and giving the Lions numerous scoring opportunities. Matt Humph scored five goals for North Babylon (0-2). “We don’t have any other faceoff guys and he takes his long stick out there and does some work,” Lopez said of Caldas. “He has more heart than anyone I’ve ever played with.”

Murphy, a running back who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, scored two goals in the first quarter and three in the third. One of them came with a slick steal while riding the Bulldogs’ goalie, enabling him to score into an empty net. Another came with a smart solo dash-and-dodge in the third quarter. Murphy set up two overhand rockets by Lopez that found the back of the net.

“Jake is such a hard worker. He can pass and shoot with both hands,” Longwood coach Chris DeLuca said. “Robert is kind of a sniper. I was pleased with the way our offense moved the ball.”

SEE PHOTOSNorth Babylon vs. Longwood boys lacrosse

Brandon Castellano added two goals for Longwood and Darius Gaines and Brendan Allen each chipped in one goal and two assists.

“Everyone sees us as underdogs. ‘Oh it’s Longwood, that’s a win.’ We’re working to change that,” Lopez said. “Sometimes we show up on Sundays and listen to music while we shoot around on our own.”

That sounds good to the Lions’ coach. “We take ourselves seriously,” DeLuca said. “You could say we’re on a mission.”

One wall at a time.