Stevens helps Smithtown West rally to win

It's one of the basic tenets of lacrosse and coaches shriek it frequently from the sidelines as one of their offensive players races by, heading into the teeth of the defense: "Value the ball!"

So when a disruptive defender like Smithtown West senior Jordan Stevens comes along, he becomes downright invaluable. "How many big plays did he make?" Bulls coach Sean Keenan asked rhetorically after Stevens helped Smithtown West rally for a 6-5 victory over host Connetquot Thursday in a key Suffolk Division I game.

Stevens, like his defense counterpart, Mike Pellegrino of Connetquot, was all over the field thwarting offensive forays, limiting shots on goal and scooping ground balls. "This was definitely one of those defensive games. A playoff intensity game," said Stevens after the Bulls improved to 10-2 while the Thunderbirds dropped to 8-4.

Smithtown West was clinging to a 6-5 lead with 4:48 remaining when, after a timeout, it went into a passive-aggressive offense -- constantly moving the ball but not attempting to shoot. But after a two-minute possession, an errant pass gave Connetquot possession with a chance to tie.

That's when Stevens struck again. He made a precise stick check on a flying Thunderbird just past midfield, stripped the ball loose and got it in his cradle. The Bulls ran another minute off the clock before turning it over. But Stevens and his teammates yielded only a couple of wide shots and goalie Ryan Adler (13 saves) intercepted a desperate centering pass in the final seconds to seal the deal.

"I wasn't necessarily trying to get the ball," Stevens said. "I just wanted to make them work and kill some more clock."

Smithtown West trailed 5-2 late in the third quarter when freshman Ryan Keenan, starting in place of his brother, Duke-bound star attack Kyle Keenan who is still recovering from a concussion suffered two weeks ago, beat Zach Oliveri (10 saves) on the short side with seven seconds left.

SEE PHOTOSSmithtown West 6, Connetquot 5

"A little freshman goes one- on-one and beats one of the best goalies on Long Island. That really fired us up," Sean Keenan said of his youngest son. "After that, the floodgates opened."

James Pannell scored an extra-man goal to make it 5-4; Frankie Reda scored on an unassisted blast from the right wing to tie it, and Ryan Joseph went top shelf to give the Bulls the lead with seven minutes to go. That made it four straight goals in 5:07, about the only time there was much sustained offense.

"Jordan isn't flashy, he just makes plays. He's an All-American caliber player," Sean Keenan said. "That's why he's going to Cornell next year. They know how to spot talent."

The Big Red coaches know a good value when they see it.