Smithtown East boys lacrosse advances to semifinals
Smithtown East's Cameron James. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Smithtown East boys lacrosse couldn’t have picked a better day to have its best offensive performance of the season.
Staring down a No. 4 Connetquot team that bested the No. 5 Bulls just over two weeks prior, star attackman Cameron James scored four goals and assisted three more to lead Smithtown East to a 17-12 win in the Suffolk Class A quarterfinal round.
Connetquot scored three consecutive goals to open the final period to mount a comeback, but Smithtown East quashed it with three straight goals of its own.
“We’ve had trouble all year finishing our games out,” James said. “But that’s what we’ve been practicing, keeping our composure, staying at a constant level of energy.”
James was one of five different Bulls to score at least two goals and one of 10 to record a point as Smithtown East stormed out to a 14-7 lead through the first three quarters. Both Luke DiMaria and Teddy Baratta had three goals and one assist from the wings.
Connetquot (12-5) had no answers on defense, allowing too much space to Smithtown East’s attackmen as the Bulls’ off-ball movement continued to find open room for free shots on Colton Stellwagen (12 saves) in the cage.
A.J. Jeffares had five goals and Carson Turissini had four goals and three assists for Connetquot, but goalie Brendan Carroll made sure not to make anything easy, making 14 saves for Smithtown East (11-6).
“We knew they were going to come out punching,” Carroll said. “We just stayed composed, and it helps us get our momentum back and put a few more in the back of the net.”
Combined with the two-way ability of Campbell Cracchiola, who scored four goals, Smithtown East took control early with a five-goal second quarter and led 9-4 at halftime.
“You have kids graduate, and it’s about the next person up,” Cracchiola said. “Some people rode the bench last year, but they stepped up in a big way this season to get big wins like this.”
The most obvious example of that came courtesy of the team’s sophomore FOGO, Jack Reddock. He flashed by scoring two timely goals and winning 18 of 33 faceoffs.
An even tougher test lies ahead for Smithtown East, which is set to travel to No. 1 Half Hollow Hills Tuesday at 4 p.m. But for a team clicking at the right time, Smithtown East carries the type of swagger and belief that pays dividends in playoff lacrosse.
“We’re not done, it’s not stopping here,” James said. “This is not the last game we’re playing, and we’re just going to bring that same intensity throughout our run.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
