Mount Sinai wins Suffolk Class C boys lacrosse title

It was a sprint and a marathon for Mount Sinai yesterday in the Suffolk Class C championship game. The Mustangs finished first in both.

First, they ran stride for stride with Glenn in a fast and furious first quarter that wound up with the Mustangs ahead 5-4. Then, because two of their starters were out with injuries, several key players had to run all day, literally.

"We're tired but it feels really good," Shane Henry said after top seed Mt. Sinai made it back-to-back county titles with an 11-8 victory over No. 3 Glenn at Stony Brook University. Manhasset awaits Mt. Sinai (12-6) in Tuesday's Long Island Class C title game, also at Stony Brook.

"We got winded right away," Henry said of the blistering first-half pace. "We didn't sub. But then our defense settled down."

Henry led the Mustangs with three goals and two assists. And, if there's an official tabulation for minutes played, the senior midfield probably led that as well. "I think I came off the field maybe once," Henry said. "It's the county championship game. It was all adrenaline. I didn't want to come off the field."

According to Mt. Sinai coach Joe Cuozzo, that was the case for numerous Mustangs. He cited Jonathan Hoeg (two goals, two assists), Joe Bongiorno (three goals), James Dawson (two goals) and Ryan Maurer (one assist, solid defense) as Mustangs who rarely took a break. "We were a little shorthanded but those guys really sucked it up," Cuozzo said. "They knew they might not get another chance to do this again."

Glenn (10-9) was led by D.J. Brown (three goals), Nick Meinsen (two goals, one assist) and Ken Meinsen (two goals). "They have great athletes," Cuozzo said. "We really needed to rest on offense, but they're young guys and when they saw an opening [to shoot] they couldn't resist."

Mt. Sinai never led by more than two goals until the third quarter when Henry's third tally on a nice feed from Hoeg made it 10-7. Nick Meinsen cut it to 10-8 two minutes later but then the pace finally slowed down. The fourth quarter was scoreless.

"I'm amazed it was such a high-scoring game," Cuozzo said.