Max Kruszeski launches Mattituck/Southold to Suffolk Class D title

Max Kruszeski had one of his best games of the season Tuesday night . . . in the first quarter.

The senior scored six of the Mattituck/Southold boys lacrosse team’s first seven goals — all in the first period — staking the Tuckers to a six-goal first-half lead that proved too much for Port Jefferson to overcome.

Kruszeski was faceguarded by Gage Jampol and didn’t score in the second half, but his first-half effort was more than enough to lead No. 1 Mattituck/Southold to its second consecutive Suffolk Class D championship with a 14-10 win over No. 2 Port Jefferson.

The Tuckers play Oyster Bay at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Hofstra for the Long Island Class D championship.

“I told myself, ‘We can’t come out slow,’ ” said Kruszeski, who also assisted Ethan Schmidt to give Mattituck an 8-2 lead early in the second quarter. “I tried to do everything in my power to get my team off the ground and get them going in the first couple minutes. Because once we get that ball moving and once we get the momentum, I feel like there’s nothing any other team can do to slow us down.”

Kruszeski scored the game’s first two goals, then answered Aidan Kaminska’s goal for Port Jefferson by bookending a 3-0 run to make it 5-1. Kaminska scored again for Port Jefferson (10-7), but Kruszeski scored the last two of the period for a 7-2 lead.

Ahead 10-4 at halftime, Mattituck (9-8) maintained a six-goal advantage until the lead swelled to 14-6 on consecutive goals from Schmidt and Ryan Seifert. The Royals scored the last four goals of the game — two more by Kaminska — but it was too late.

“It’s frustrating if you get that faceguard and then you’re watching the ball get thrown out of bounds, you’re watching the other goalie making some saves,” Kruszeski said. “But it’s very relieving and it makes me feel great that I have great teammates who are fighting for me, fighting for each other, and when I’m locked off, they can do it themselves.”

Coming into the game, a dominant performance was anything but a sure bet. Port Jefferson beat Mattituck on April 4, 12-7, and held Kruszeski to just one goal and one assist. Dane Reda called it “an awful game for us.”

“It was in the back of my mind, but it was definitely not like one of those things haunting me,” said Reda, who had two goals and one assist. “It was more like, ‘We can’t play like we did the first time,’ and obviously, we didn’t.”