Dawson Rielly scores five goals as Manhasset boys lacrosse bounces back
Dawson Rielly of Manhasset cradles the ball while watching for an opportunity during a Conference C boys lacrosse game against South Side on Tuesday, April 26, 200 in Rockville Centre Credit: Dawn McCormick
After losing to nationally ranked Darien of Connecticut on Saturday the Manhasset boys lacrosse team found itself in an unfamiliar situation.
It had been nearly three years since they last lost a regular-season game.
In that time its only two losses came in the playoffs, sandwiched around the 2020 season lost to the COVID pandemic.
If there was any question how they would respond it was answered emphatically Tuesday evening, when after surrendering the first goal they rattled off 10 straight on the way to a 14-8 win over host South Side in Nassau C/D.
“Yesterday we talked about making sure we came out strong against a conference opponent like this,” senior Joey Terenzi said. “I took fault for the Darien game because I had a poor game and I wanted to show our offense that everyone can contribute and we can play at a fast speed and we did that.”
South Side’s Brady West scored the first goal 1:36 in but Manhasset had a quick answer as the all-American midfielder Terenzi found the back of the net just 21 seconds later. By the time the first quarter buzzer sounded Manhasset held an 8-1 lead.
“We were unselfish and worked to our strengths,” Dawson Rielly said. “We got a lot of cuts and had a lot of doorstep shots and that really contributed to the start.”
Rielly, who had five goals, scored his third and Jack Petersen added his second on an assist from Terenzi early in the second quarter to cap the Manhasset run.
Manhasset (8-1, 6-0) scored the only three goals in the third quarter and entered the final 12 minutes up 13-3.
South Side (6-3, 4-1) made a run in the fourth quarter, scoring five straight goals, including three in 51 seconds to cut into the lead before Manhasset settled down and closed it out.
Brady West had two goals and three assists for South Side and Owen West and Cole DiPietro each scored two.
“They punched us back in the throat but we knew we had to relax,” said Terenzi, who had a goal and five assists. “Our goals were going to come and the drought was going to stop and we were going to come out on top.”
This game comes in the middle of a tough five-game stretch for Manhasset that continues with the Woodstick Classic against Garden City on Saturday and showdowns with Class D favorite Cold Spring Harbor and nationally ranked Chaminade next week.
“We’re battle tested,” Terenzi said. “We have to show these other teams how good we are, we haven’t proven anything yet. You haven’t seen the best of us.”
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
