West Islip edges Smithtown West in OT

As far as Brendan Smith was concerned, it was all over. His West Islip team was not going to win its 40th consecutive lacrosse game, or capture its eighth straight Suffolk Class A championship, or have the chance for a state championship three-peat.

"When [Kyle] Keenan threw that back-door pass, I started walking off the field,'' Smith said.

And then Kyle Turri, quite literally, saved the day. The Lions' goalie made a spectacular stick save on Smithtown West star James Pannell's shot from the left crease with 3:05 left in overtime. Then 37 seconds later, Smith found himself in the same spot on the other end of the field and didn't miss. Smith snapped home the goal that gave West Islip a 12-11 victory over Smithtown West Wednesday at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.

"There was a pass slightly behind [Mike] Sagl. There was no second slide and the ball came right to me,'' said Smith, a junior who has emerged as a prolific scorer for West Islip (19-0) and had a hat trick.

"I just beat the goalie. It felt good because Smithtown West really had it going.''

The Bulls (15-4) staged a remarkable rally to turn what started as a runaway into a grimly serious contest that forced the Lions to win in overtime for the fourth time. West Islip scored the first five goals and led 9-2 with 5:11 left in the first half.

"We wanted to make a statement early that we were the county champs,'' Smith said, "and they would have to take it away from us.''

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Sagl's first-half hat trick and a goal and two assists by Drew Federico in the first quarter put the Lions in command. "I thought it was going to be pretty easy,'' Smith said.

Smithtown West made it pretty hard. The Duke-bound Keenan was magnificent in his final high school game, getting three goals and five assists to spark the comeback. Matt Schultz and Ryan Joseph also had hat tricks as the Bulls scored eight of the last 10 goals in regulation, including four in the fourth quarter. The last came when Keenan found sophomore Alex Dodge in the slot to tie it at 11 with 34 seconds left.

"They have so many weapons,'' West Islip coach Scott Craig said. "They kept coming and coming. They're a great offensive team.''

If Turri hadn't been terrific all game, the Lions' streak might be over. "He had multiple saves that were game-saving,'' Craig said.

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But none of Turri's 14 saves was more sensational than in the first minute of overtime, when Keenan found a cutting Pannell open at the doorstep. Pannell faked high and Turri's stick came up. Pannell deked low and Turri lowered his stick. Pannell then fired low.

"I saw it at the last second,'' said Turri, who will join Keenan at Duke next year. "I dropped my stick and made the save. Then Brendan scored and I was relieved. The save wasn't for nothing.''

No, it was something else.