Live from Dowling, Suffolk Class B final: No. 1 Rocky Point vs. No. 3 Hauppauge

*To read more about the game, click here.

**To view a photo gallery of the contest, click here.

Good evening lacrosse enthusiasts! I'm Chris Mascaro and I'm here live at the Dowling Sports Complex for the Suffolk Class B final between top-seeded Rocky Point (17-1) and No. 3 Hauppauge (16-2).

Rocky Point, the No. 5 team in our Long Island rankings, has won four of the last five Class B titles with the lone exception being last season, when the Eagles lost an 8-7 decision to Sayville in the final.

Rocky Point, coached by Dan Spallina, is led by Northwestern-bound attack Kara Mupo (82 goals, 19 assists), Caitlin Gargan (51 goals, 62 assists) and goalie Julie Nolan (153 saves).

Mupo (pictured, right) has scored eight goals in the Eagles' two playoff wins — five in an 18-5 victory over No. 8 Harborfields in the first round and three in an 11-4 win over No. 4 Sayville in the semifinals.

Gargan scored five when Rocky Point earned an 11-4 decision at Hauppauge on April 15. Rocky Point, which has won six in a row since a May 5 loss to Shoreham-Wading River (its only defeat this season), held a 6-1 lead at halftime that afternoon.

Hauppauge, coached by Abby Zeltmann, has been on fire lately. After handing SWR its first loss to a Suffolk team since 2007 on May 11, the Eagles knocked off No. 6 Miller Place (11-2 on May 22) and No. 2 Eastport-South Manor (11-9 on May 25) in their two playoff games.

The Eagles, winners of five straight and ranked No. 8 on Long Island, are led by Taylor Ranftle (50 goals, 10 assists) and 30-goal scorers Samantha Losco (37 with 27 assists) and Jennifer Porretto (34 with 40 assists). This is their first county-title game appearance.

**UPDATE** (7:00 left in the first half): Not a lot of scoring thus far in the second game. Alexa Anzalone scored on an assist from Emily Mercier 1:48 into the game to give Rocky Point a 1-0 lead. But then Jenna Vinci tied it at 1 on an assist from Jessica Venturino with 13:48 left in the half and Porretto gave Hauppauge a 2-1 lead on an unassisted goal 7:24 before intermission.

And that's where we stand.

**UPDATE** (halftime): At the break, Hauppauge leads 6-3. Sam Losco leads the way with two goals, while Porretto and Ranftle each have one goal and one assist. Mupo scored a goal for Hauppauge to make it 4-3, but Rocky Point scored the next two to make it 6-3.

Might we see another shocker here at Dowling today?

**UPDATE** (9:26): Anzalone opened the second-half scoring on an assist from Gargan with 16:53 left to make it 6-4, but Losco answered for Hauppauge with 9:26 remaining to push the lead back to three at 7-4.

**UPDATE** (8:53): Jessica Hassett scored on an assist from Mercier to make it a 7-5 game. We could be in for another fantastic finish.

**UPDATE** (2:24): Vinci scored on an assist from Porretto to make it 8-5 Hauppauge, but Hassett's second goal with 2:24 to play made it a two-goal game (8-6) for Rocky Point.

**UPDATE** (1:24): Hasset scored on a free-position attempt to close the lead to one at 8-7 for Rocky Point — the same score as last year's final, which was won by Sayville. It was Hassett's third goal of the game.

**UPDATE** (end of regulation): The Hauppauge crowd was on its feet chanting "Haup-pauge! Haup-pauge!" for the final 14.8 seconds, as their team held a one-goal lead but Rocky Point had the ball.

Their vigor subsided greatly when Anzalone tied the game at 8 with 2.5 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

The extra period consists of two three-minute periods (it is not sudden death). For Anzalone, it was her third goal of the evening.

Buckle up folks!

**UPDATE** (41.4 seconds left in first O.T.): Mupo scored while falling down to give Rocky Point a 9-8 lead, its first of the game. Rocky Point won the opening draw and had possession for the entire 2:19 before Mupo's second goal of the game.

Nolan made a save on a free-position shot with 0.5 seconds left, so it remains 9-8 going into the second 3:00 period.

**UPDATE** (final): Hauppauge won the draw, but Rocky Point quickly forced a turnover. They took it down to the 1:30 mark before losing possession. Nolan made a huge save with 1:10 to play and Rocky Point drained the rest of the clock to close out a 9-8 victory in the Suffolk Class B final.

Rocky Point, which won its fifth county title in six years, moves on to face Garden City at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday back here at Dowling for the Long Island Class B title. The Eagles have never defeated Garden City.

What a game! Another classic here at Dowling!

Stay tuned for the Class C final between No. 1 SWR and No. 2 BBP coming up at 8 p.m.