Cole Marsala has 5 goals in Mount Sinai's boys lacrosse win
Mt. Sinai attack Cole Marsala moves the ball behind the net as Bayport-Blue Point defenseman Cole Henke defends in a Suffolk Division II boys lacrosse game on Wednesday at Bayport-Blue Point. Credit: George A Faella
The scoreboard clock was running toward nine minutes left at Bayport-Blue Point Wednesday morning, and undefeated Mount Sinai wasn’t running toward a one-sided win for a change.
The defending Long Island Class C boys lacrosse champ, which had been winning by an average of about eight goals, saw its five-goal lead trimmed to three.
But the Mustangs responded in this rematch of last June’s Suffolk C final. They departed with a 13-8 victory that featured five goals and an assist by Cole Marsala and two goals and three assists by the country’s No. 1 recruit from the Class of 2022, Syracuse-bound Joey Spallina.
“It’s always good to be tested, which we were at times,” Spallina said after his No. 9 team in the country, via Inside Lacrosse’s rankings, improved to 10-0 overall and 9-0 in Suffolk II.
After Jameson Smith cut it to 11-8, Jake Spallina, Joey’s brother and another Syracuse commit, converted 1:14 later on a dead-on, long-range rocket. Marsala scored 1:05 after that.
“Our kids had to fight today, and I’m happy we were able to do that,” Mustangs coach Harold Drumm said. “Fortunately, or our unfortunately, however you want to view it, we’ve had a lot of games where the fourth quarter, we haven’t had to really ‘play play.’ And this game, for sure, we had to the entire 48 minutes.”
That said something about the Phantoms (4-4, 4-3).
“I think we showed great fight,” coach Doug Meehan said. “I think when we’re playing at our best, we’re capable of playing with anyone on the Island. … We absolutely have the ability, the numbers, the personnel, to make a run [at a championship].”
Mount Sinai had a 3-0 advantage after only 2:22. But Ben Morris scored two of his four goals to help the Phantoms make it 3-3.
Marsala then scored twice in the first 1:58 of the second quarter. The Mustangs led, 8-4, at halftime and went up 11-6 in the third.
So now comes a national TV game for them. They will play No. 21 Garden City at St. Anthony’s Friday at 2 on ESPNU.
“Obviously, a bunch of us have played on TV before, so I don’t think we’ll be shell-shocked or anything,” Joey Spallina said. “But they’re obviously a great team, so it should be a ton of fun.”
