Nassau CC falls to Onondaga in title game
Nassau Community College's 3, Tim Daly, plays lacrosse against Onondaga's 23, JT Foltz, during the NJCAA National Champion Men's lacrosse game at Nassau Community College in Uniondale. (May 13, 2012) Credit: Newsday/Chris Ware
Next season, Eddie Collins will be playing lacrosse games across the street from Mitchel Athletic Complex when he transfers to Hofstra. But Sunday, the Nassau CC goalie had to endure some pain -- both literally and figuratively.
The freshman goalie from Long Beach made 19 saves, but No. 2 Nassau fell to No. 1 Onondaga CC, 15-6, in the NJCAA lacrosse championship game at Mitchel. Onondaga has won four straight junior college titles and six of the last seven, and has a 52-game winning streak. Nassau, the last team to win four straight national titles (from 1999-2002), also was the runner-up to Onondaga in 2007 and 2009.
Collins made a save with a little more than a minute to play in the first half, but the shot split his protective cup in two. He was down on the turf a few minutes before he walked off on his own power and was replaced by Dan McElhinney for the rest of the half.
"I was laying down on the sideline, not even thinking about coming back in the game, and then I said, 'I've got to do it,' " Collins said. "I had to take it like a man. I'm not going to not play."
Collins returned for the second half and played the remainder of the game.
"A lot of guys wouldn't have gone back in," Nassau CC coach George Powers said. "But he's got a lot of pride and went back in and did a great job."
Glen Tompkins (Manhasset) led Nassau CC with a goal and two assists, including a righthanded sidearm goal that gave the Lions (15-4) a 3-2 lead at the 4:35 mark of the first quarter. Zak Goldbach (Plainview JFK) scored with 20.1 seconds left in the first to pull Nassau within 5-4, but the Lions were scoreless in the next 31:45. Onondaga scored six goals in that span and led 11-4 going into the fourth.
"Our kids couldn't handle the pressure, that's the bottom line," Powers said.
Nassau didn't score on 11 man-up opportunities, including a six-on-four late in the first quarter that Powers called the turning point.
Fred Mase (Division) and Tim Daly (MacArthur) scored fourth-quarter goals to end the scoring malaise but couldn't cut the lead to fewer than six.
Powers was proud of his team. "They became a Nassau team here and no doubt they represented the tradition of this ballclub," he said. "We've gotten the most out of them and the kids reached their potential. There's no conflict in their hearts. We gave it everything we had."
