Anthony Barone and John Raucci lift Seaford lacrosse
AJ Barone of Seaford looks to pass during a Nassau Class C boys lacrosse game on Tuesday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The saying goes that it’s better to be lucky than good.
But if you’re Seaford’s Anthony Barone and John Raucci, you can be both.
Barone scored the tying goal with 9:48 remaining in the fourth quarter on a shot that ricocheted off a defender and bounced into the net and Raucci followed with a no-look goal off an assist from Barone three minutes later to help the host Vikings to a 7-5 win over South Side Tuesday in Nassau C/D boys lacrosse.
“I caught the ball low and I had no idea if I turned if I would get laid out,” Raucci said. “I just whipped it behind me and hoped it went in.”
Anthony Munro added the final tally into an empty net with under a second remaining.
“It was a great game on senior day,” Barone, who finished with a goal and three assists, said. “We were able to pull through. We’ve been practicing all week, going through film and we were ready to play.”
It was a tight game throughout, with neither team leading by more than two goals at any point.
Munro, who had three goals, opened the scoring in the first minute for Seaford (12-1, 7-1) and long-stick midfielder Thomas Kofod made it 2-0 later in the first quarter, scoring in transition off an assist from defender Jack Murphy.
“A lot of our transition comes from our defense because our middies are playing offense and defense and can get gassed,” Seaford coach Brian Horner said. “We have a long pole scoring in almost every game and those are the ones that really swing momentum.”
The momentum didn’t last for long as South Side’s Brady West scored the first of his three first-half goals late in the first quarter. After trading goals in the second, Seaford (8-4, 6-2) headed into halftime with a 4-3 lead.
South Side’s Cole DiPietro tied it at 4 in the third before a cutting Jack Mayerhofer took a feed from Michael Aiello and gave the Cyclones a 5-4 lead early in the fourth.
That’s when Barone and Raucci were able to work their magic.
“We’ve been playing together since kindergarten and our chemistry is great,” Raucci said. “We just wanted to come out and play our hearts out and win.”
It was a big one for Seaford in terms of playoff seeding with just two games remaining. They play Bethpage Friday and close the season with Manhasset on May 18.
“I knew we were going to be strong if we could stay healthy,” Horner said. “I’ve had faith in my guys. We had a good season last year but last year wasn’t enough for our guys, they want more.”
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.
