Matt Giacobello, Gianni Passaro lead Wantagh to third straight Nassau lacrosse title
Wantagh celebrates after winning the Nassau Class C boys lacrosse final at Hofstra on Monday. Credit: David Meisenholder
Right before Wantagh’s Joe Nicholson headed to the team bus after the Nassau Class C boys lacrosse championship game at Hofstra, a couple of kids stopped him and asked him to sign their shirt and lacrosse ball.
That gives just a glimpse into the impact the last few years of Wantagh boys lacrosse have had on its community. A program that won its first county title in 2001 had to wait 23 years for its next title in 2024, and on Monday night, Nicholson and his teammates earned their third county title over the last three years.
No. 1 Wantagh defeated No. 2 South Side, 15-7, to lift Nassau’s Class C plaque. Wantagh (15-3) will play Suffolk’s Sayville at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Stony Brook for the Long Island championship
Wantagh’s dominant offense — which averaged 15.5 goals per game entering Monday — continued its form. Matt Giacobello led with three goals and two assists as one of six Wantagh players to record at least three points. Nicholson had two goals and two assists, and Luke Martini had three goals and one assist.
“They buy into what a team is,” Wantagh coach James Polo said. “And when people buy into a team, they all realize they have a role, they have a value and we try to make everyone feel valued.”
Yet as shiny as this offense continues to look, Gianni Passaro starred between the pipes. He made 10 of his 16 saves in the first half to help Wantagh take a 7-2 lead into the break, paired well with a defensive day from Patrick Forthofer and Nicholson in transition.
“It feels amazing, it just comes naturally, and you just don’t worry,” Passaro said. “You just worry about yourself. You see the ball, you save it. That’s it.”
Polo described Passaro as “lights out.”
“Today he put it all together in the game,” Polo said. “Not only the saves, but the outlets, the communication, just everything that makes a team defense work. I’m so proud of him for that.”
South Side (12-7) struggled to put quality shots on goal, with 29 first-half shots resulting in just two goals, and those that did find the target were met by Passaro’s stick. Alec Notaro won 18-of-23 faceoffs for the Cyclones. Wantagh beat South Side in the regular season, 14-6, but that one was tied 5-5 at halftime.
“They’re not going to go away,” Martini said. “They got a great faceoff kid, great goalie, great offense, great coaches. We had to play very well if we wanted to win.”
Wantagh will begin its Long Island title defense Saturday, but Nicholson and his teammates have their eye on a bigger goal: a state title. He felt like the team continues to grow from year to year; a county title in 2024, a Long Island title in 2025 and hopefully, a state title in 2026.
“Step by step, each year we’re getting one game closer, one step closer,” Nicholson said. “This year, we plan to finish the process.”
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.
