Hewlett works OT for victory

The year began with a rookie coach and some not unfounded uncertainty.

As the regular season draws to a close, this much is now certain: Coach Jesse Corben’s Hewlett boys’ lacrosse team ranks among Nassau’s top 10 as it marches toward the playoffs, powered by an offense that has produced the top two scorers in Conference B-I.

Junior Alex Vardaro’s overtime goal – his third tally of the game and 32nd of the season – against host South Side last Saturday lifted Hewlett past the Cyclones, 6-5, in a B-I matchup and made Vardaro the conference scoring leader with 57 points, eclipsing senior teammate Ethan Grossman (55 points), who leads B-I with 36 goals.

Hewlett’s top-scoring tandem combined for five goals against South Side, as Grossman finished with two goals and an assist.

“Alex and Ethan have a great chemistry with each other; they each know what the other is going to do,” said Corben, whose team improved to 6-1 in B-I, 9-3 overall, to tie with Garden City for most wins in conference.

Vardaro concurred with his coach. “We’re like a scoring duo,” said the junior attackman/midfielder. “I work really well with Ethan. His goals are my assists and my goals are his assists.”

Corben amplified this assessment: “[Vardaro and Grossman] lead the offense and everyone else kind of feeds off them. They create a lot of attention. Double teams come to them early and it opens up stuff for everyone else. Today they came through again.”

South Side (3-3 in B-I, 6-6 overall) burst to a 4-2 lead in the first period, then clung to a 4-3 advantage at intermission. Cyclones attackman Mike Leake finished with three goals, the last of which tied the game, 5-5, with 3:26 to go in the fourth.

After a woozy start, Hewlett’s defense closed ranks to confound South Side for most of the final three quarters, galvanized by the inspired performance of Bulldogs goalie Max May. The Hewlett sophomore put up eight saves, foiling several Cyclones bids with flashes of fine stickwork.

“This isn’t the first game where Max has come up big for us,” Corben said. “He came up big and he’s playing like a real varsity goalie, not like he’s just a tenth-grader. The coaching staff is very proud of how he’s playing and how he’s leading the defense.”

Midfielder Wyatt McMahon accounted for Hewlett’s first go-ahead goal, a sidearm shot from the top of the box to put the Bulldogs ahead, 5-4, with 6:50 left in regulation.

The overtime session was controlled by Hewlett, which kept possession throughout until Vardaro lashed the game-winner from midrange on the left side with 1:30 remaining.

“South Side had a great game plan and they gave our offense some trouble,” said Corben. “We need to be able to learn from that. We haven’t accomplished our goal yet. We want to continue to play at the level we’re at, and hopefully continue to see success.”