Ostrander quietly lifts Farmingdale

Wednesday was no day at the beach for Joe Ostrander.

After guarding Long Beach's best attacks, scooping up eight ground balls, leading a defense that forced 21 turnovers and sprinting the length of the field for three shots, including a goal, Farmingdale's All America defenseman used his best moves to dodge reporters.

The Towson-bound senior is many things, but a lover of the limelight he is not.

However, Ostrander stood out among the crowd on the sun-kissed afternoon at Hofstra to lead top-seeded Farmingdale to a 15-5 win over No. 5 Long Beach in the Nassau Class A semifinals.

"Privately, he knows he's that good," goalie Mike Palmer (10 saves) said about his humble friend, who refused interview requests despite coaxing from teammates and coaches. "He doesn't need to tell people he's that good. He's just JoJo, that's just how he is."

Even Dalers coach Bob Hartranft needs a moment to put the right words together to describe his star.

"What can I say about him? I think he's the best player in the county, defenseman or otherwise," Hartranft said. "It's unbelievable the guys he's shut out. And the way he runs the field is just incredible."

SEE PHOTOSFarmingdale 15, Long Beach 5

Ostrander lets his play do the talking. With 1:05 left in the first half, Ostrander intercepted a long pass from the Long Beach goalie, ran about 50 yards downfield, and scored with his longpole for the sixth time this season. The goal capped a five-goal run that gave Farmingdale (13-4) a 9-3 lead.

Long Beach (13-5) held early leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but man-up goals from Sal Tuttle and Greg Catalano tied the game each time. The Dalers were 3-for-3 on the man advantage, while the Marines were 0-for-2.

Tuttle finished with three goals and two assists, Catalano and Brian Prendergast each scored three goals, and Korey Hendrickson had two goals and two assists. Helping Ostrander hold down an offense that came in averaging 13.7 goals per game were fellow defenders Travis Schelhorn and Tyler Ward, and longstick middie Kevin Wahl.

Farmingdale, the defending Class A champion, will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between No. 2 Massapequa and No. 3 Syosset at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hofstra in the final.

SEE PHOTOSGarden City 14, South Side 2

Said Palmer: "JoJo, All American, can't really say much else."

Apparently not.

G. City 14, South Side 2: Tom Gordon scored three goals and Devin Dwyer added two goals and three assists, as No. BI-1 Garden City cruised to a win over No. BI-3 South Side (11-7) in the middle game of Wednesday's triple-header at Hofstra. Dwyer now has 52 assists, which is second on Long Island to Oceanside's Chris Hughes (58).

The Trojans (16-2) have won a Nassau-high 12 straight games, and in that time, have outscored their opponents 153-29. They outshot South Side 35-9 and won 14 of 20 faceoffs, including 8 of 11 for Rob Savage. Said Dwyer: "Confidence is up high. It's been there the whole season."

Garden City, the five-time defending Class B champion, will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between No. BII-1 Manhasset and No. BI-2 Wantagh at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hofstra in the final.

CSH 8, Locust Valley 4: Sean Doyle scored two goals with one assist for No. 1 Cold Spring Harbor (12-4) in a win over No. 5 Locust Valley in the Nassau Class C semifinal. Jake Levine scored two goals, and Cameron Lee had a goal and an assist. Cold Spring Harbor, which has won eight in a row, will play the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between No. 2 Friends Academy and No. 3 Seaford at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hofstra in the final. Tyler Burhans made 15 saves for Locust Valley (10-7).