Michael Romanelli's hat trick propels St. Dominic boys lacrosse to CHSAA Class A title
Michael Romanelli #11 of St. Dominic gets congratulated by teammate Aidan Cromwell #7 after scoring a goal in the third quarter of the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA boys lacrosse Class A final against St. John the Baptist at Centre Island Beach Field in Bayville on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Romanelli scored three goals in the Bayhawks' 8-0 win. Credit: James Escher
Michael Romanelli expected to win, but not quite like this.
Romanelli scored three goals and added an assist to lead No. 1 seed St. Dominic to a CHSAA ‘A’ championship at Center Island Beach Park in Bayville Tuesday night.
The Bayhawks beat No. 2 seed St. John the Baptist 8-0 for their first shutout of the season.
Romanelli scored a late fourth-quarter goal to beat the Cougars in the two CHSAA schools’ only other matchup earlier this year.
“They played us in zone last time, so we prepared a lot for that,” Romanelli said. “But they came out in man, and all year long our man offense has been clicking. We were moving the ball quickly, taking good shots, sharing the ball and it finally came together in this game.”
AJ Laibach scored twice for St. Dominic (12-5) and Johnny Nawojchik made four saves, including three in the fourth quarter.
St. John the Baptist (13-8) scored 10 or more goals in 10 games this spring but only scored three in the two games against the Bayhawks.
“I feel like our on-ball pressure was really good, and our communication on picks,” St. Dominic junior defense Michael Nawojchik said.
“A lot of chances in front got denied,” his brother Johnny added. “When the ball got in front of the net, we toppled them over. And there weren’t many shots at me, so that helped.”
St. Dominic took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, then a five-goal advantage into halftime. Will Shaw stopped 10 shots for St. John the Baptist, but the Bayhawks’ defense limited the Cougars’ scoring chances on the other end of the field.
Romanelli netted the only goal of the fourth quarter to complete his hat trick. Six St. Dominic players registered a point.
“Romanelli’s our quarterback. He did a great job protecting the ball and did a great job on all his decisions, so that’s really what controlled the tempo the whole game for us,” St. Dominic first-year coach Mike Schwalje said.
“They work hard and they play hard. You can’t ask for anything more than that as a coach.”
St. Dominic will visit Kennedy Catholic in the CHSAA ‘A’ Downstate Championship on May 24 with a spot in the state title game on the line.
The Bayhawks lost to Kennedy Catholic 8-6 in late April this season.
“It feels great we got this one out of the way,” Romanelli said. “We just have to take care of business next and show them what we’re about.”
