Piccininni, Wichelns, Oehl, Finazzo power Connetquot to win
Connetquot attack Matt Oehl drives from behind the goal against Sayville's Rob Zeigler during the first half of the game at Connetquot High School on Monday, March 21, 2016. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
For Connetquot, it all starts at the faceoff “X’’ with Dylan Finazzo. Where it ends, it all depends.
“We have six playmakers,” attack Matt Oehl said.
On Monday night, which hardly felt like spring with a biting wind and dropping temperatures, host Connetquot displayed the firepower that made the Thunderbirds the No. 2 preseason seed in Suffolk Class A and beat Class B contender Sayville, 14-8, in the non-league boys lacrosse opener for both teams.
Oehl was the director of the offense with six assists and two goals, but several Thunderbirds shared the stage. George Wichelns had three goals and three assists, Jake Piccininni added four goals and an assist and G.C. Grippo and Jack Richardson scored two goals apiece.
And then there was Finazzo.
“He’s the MVP. We couldn’t do it without him,” Oehl said of Finazzo, who won 14 of 16 faceoffs and contributed a goal.
“He’s the heart and soul of the offense,” Connetquot coach Brett Jeffares said. “He gets us possessions and lets our offense do what it can do.”
Which is to score goals in bunches.
That was particularly true in the second half. Connetquot had a 5-0 third quarter and also scored the first four goals of the fourth quarter to build a 14-2 lead.
At that point, the Thunderbirds shifted into a lower gear and Sayville showed some spunk by scoring the last six goals, three by Matt DeMeo and two by Jason Intermesoli, who also had two assists.
Oehl had four assists and a goal in the first half before handing the keys to his teammates. “It all depends on the situation. I’m confident in our entire offense,” he said. “Sometimes I feed George. Sometimes George feeds me.”
In fact, Wichelns, a sophomore, assisted on both of Oehl’s goals and Oehl assisted on one of Wichelns’. Piccininni scored twice in the third quarter and once in the fourth, and Oehl and Wichelns each had a goal and an assist during the 10-0 blitz. “As long as the ball is in the net and we win, it doesn’t matter who gets the points,” Oehl said.
The hard winds made it tough to hear the coaches from the sidelines, but the veteran leaders knew what to do. “The coaches told us to keep the ball moving and keep our feet moving,” Oehl said.
The last thing anyone wanted to do Monday night was stand still.
