Steven Weber's 17 saves help MacArthur boys lacrosse defeat Roslyn
MacArthur's Steven Weber defends his net against Roslyn's Harrison Cymbler during a Nassau boys lacrosse game on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Credit: Pablo Garcia Corradi/Pablo Garcia Corradi
If defense wins championships, MacArthur’s boy’s lacrosse team could be on its way to a Nassau County title.
Anchored by goalie Steven Weber’s 17 saves, MacArthur earned a 13-7 win in Nassau B at Roslyn High School Wednesday night.
“Steven played lights-out today,” coach John Nessler said. “It’s nice to know that we have a guy that can stand behind our six, make big saves for us and make smart decisions with the ball.”
Weber’s big game came after he missed practice on Tuesday because of a neck injury.
“I had a good night’s sleep and just came ready to play,” Weber said.
Roslyn controlled the ball for the first four minutes, but the Bulldogs couldn’t find the back of the net.
With 7:02 remaining in the first quarter, Rocco Hogan scored the first goal of the game off an assist by Joey Forchelli. The defenses took over again until MacArthur scored three straight goals in the final two minutes of the quarter.
“We usually start off pretty slow,” Forchelli said. “Once we get our six going and we start moving the ball quickly and making the defense move, that’s when we start to click.”
Alex Siegel scored Roslyn’s first goal with two seconds left in the first quarter, but MacArthur kept the pressure on in the second, as Forchelli scored with 19 seconds remaining to give the Generals a 7-2 halftime lead.
Siegel and Michigan commit Alex Gatto usually lead the charge for Roslyn, but MacArthur held them to three combined points through the first three quarters.
“My defense is always there for me and I’m the backbone,” Weber said. “Every time they came across, my defense kept them further out and made sure I could easily see their shots.”
Each team scored once in the third quarter before the Generals scored five goals in the fourth to put a bow on their performance.
Matthew Papach had three goals and one assist, James Hegel added one goal and four assists and Forchelli finished with two goals and one assist. Siegel had three goals and Gatto had two goals and two assists for Roslyn.
After losing three straight in early April, MacArthur (7-3, 3-0) has won their last four games as the Generals take aim at a postseason run.
“Our mentality is that we’re not done yet,” Weber said. “We’re all in for this team and focused on winning a championship.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
