Matt Gavin scores winner as Manhasset rallies to win LI Class B crown

The first play call in the final minute didn't work. So Manhasset reset its offense and switched to a play known as '13.' That turned out to be the Indians' lucky number.

Matt Gavin took a feed from Kyle Cherry and drilled it into the back of the net with 28.9 seconds left to give Manhasset a dramatic come-from-behind 7-6 victory over Mount Sinai Saturday in the Long Island Class B title game at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.

"The double-team came quick, so we kept moving the ball," said Gavin, who scored three goals. "I found myself open and I just shot it."

He got the chance to shoot for the win because Tyler Dunn (two goals, two assists) tied the game at 6 with 4:02 remaining and won 16 of 17 faceoffs as the Indians overcame a 6-3 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Manhasset (15-5) advanced to the state Class B semifinals against Yorktown on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Middletown High School. Dan Keenan scored two goals with an assist for Mount Sinai (16-4).

"We had set a play that they defended, so we went to our regular '13' with one behind and three across the crease," Manhasset coach Bill Cherry said of the game-winning alignment. "We had good ball movement and Matt got a good look and buried it."

The Indians almost buried themselves with inaccurate shooting and poor shot selection in the first three quarters.

SEE PHOTOSMt. Sinai vs. Manhasset

"We didn't take advantage of Tyler winning all those faceoffs," Cherry said. "Time was running out. We had to get the ball and get it moving."

Sophomore long-stick middie Ben Cirella helped get the ball with several key ground-ball pickups. "Sometimes I can't believe he's a sophomore," Dunn said. "In the first half, we were a little shaky. We had to calm down and realize we might not play again."

Jack Keogh began the comeback off a feed from Dunn in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Gavin scored with an assist from Dunn's brother, Logan, to make it 6-5 with 8:41 left. Mount Sinai could not penetrate the Manhasset defense and seemed content to run the clock. But that strategy backfired when Dunn tied it.

A slashing penalty on Mount Sinai with 1:00 left put the surging Indians in a good position.

"We've been working on man-up and man-down," Dunn said. "We didn't rush it. Matt had a great shot and a great look. The great thing about our man-up offense is that we keep the ball moving and you don't know who'll shoot it."

After Gavin took Kyle Cherry's pass on the right wing and scored, Dunn won the next draw and the Indians ran out the clock to win their first Long Island championship since they were Class C Island and state champions in 2010, repeating what they'd done in 2009.

"I can't even describe it," Gavin, a junior said of his game-winner. "I've never been to the Long Island championship before."

Nice debut on the big stage.