Suffolk Slant: The Top 10

Not exactly a news flash, but West Islip is at it again.

The Lions, who edged Smithtown West, 7-6, on April 19, won another low-scoring thriller against another chief Division I competitor on Thursday. This time it was rival Ward Melville, but the script was different.

The Patriots appeared to be in control, with a 5-1 lead late in the third quarter. But a ramped-up defense and some stellar faceoff work by Paul Riportella turned the game around. The Lions scored seven unanswered goals, including three in 39 seconds to tie the game in the fourth quarter, and went on to an 8-5 victory before a crowd estimated at 1,800 at West Islip.

Tom Moore had three more goals for the Lions and is among Suffolk’s leaders with 37. Speaking of stats, Matt Beccaris of North Babylon (44), Brian Ward of Bayport-Blue Point (43), Sam Llinares of Hauppauge (40) and Griffin Rock of Bay Shore (40) are the county’s top goal scorers. Llinares leads all of Long Island with 76 points.

Another remarkable turnaround occurred on Friday. Host Sayville rallied from an 8-5 deficit late in the fourth quarter to defeat Bayport-Blue Point, 9-8, in overtime on Matt Kollegger’s first goal of the season. But the real story was an unfortunate “spearing with possession” call against the Phantoms with 1:55 left and the visitors leading 8-6. The penalty was harsh: three minutes, non-releasable. Sayville scored two man-up goals to tie it in regulation and still held the man advantage when Kollegger scored 52 seconds into overtime.

Some games of interest this week:

Wednesday

Northport @ Half Hollow Hills East, 4:30 p.m.

Thursday

Bayport-Blue Point @ Shoreham-Wading River, 4:30 p.m.

Mt. Sinai @ Sayville, 4 p.m.

Friday

West Islip @ Northport, 4:15 p.m.

Sachem North @ Bay Shore, 4:30 p.m.

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Zog’s Top 10

1. St. Anthony’s (9-1)

2. West Islip (11-1)

3. Smithtown West (11-1)

4. Ward Melville (9-2)

5. Comsewogue (11-1)

6. Shoreham-Wading River (9-2)

7. Sachem North (9-3)

8. Sayville (9-2)

9. Bay Shore (9-3)

10. Hauppauge (8-3)