Marines sail into semifinals

Fifth-seeded Long Beach had few problems possessing the ball throughout last Monday’s Nassau Class A boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal playoff game against No. 4 Hicksville, and once the Marines shook off some early shooting rust it was clear sailing.

Junior Joe Radin had a hat trick and classmate Connor Sofield added two goals in a pivotal second quarter as Long Beach took control on the way to a 12-8 victory at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. The Marines exploded for six goals in seven minutes after failing to find the net for the first 17 and advanced to meet top-seeded Farmingdale in the semifinals.

“Our defense kept us in it early until the offense came around,” said Radin, who added two goals in the second half, giving him five on the day and upping his total on the year to 59. “We don’t consider this an upset,” he added. “We’re going to come out firing the next game and see what happens.”

Sofield finished with a hat trick and an assist, junior Jake Shapiro scored twice, and junior goalie Mike Rourke made seven saves in front of a defense led by juniors Kris Horvath, Joe Brand and Alec Salvadori. The Comets, who beat Long Beach 8-4 in a regular-season game April 29, got three goals and an assist from senior Sal Geneva.

“We had 27 turnovers when we played them the first time,” Long Beach coach Jim Kaspar said. “The way we played today is the way we’re capable of playing all the time. I told the kids we shouldn’t be satisfied with just making it to Hofstra. Getting to the semis was important.”

The Marines caught fire after allowing the only goal of the opening quarter off the stick of Geneva and another by senior Joe Leonard 46 seconds into the second to fall behind by a pair. Shapiro got the party started, beating Hicksville’s Anthony Lomangino (nine saves) with 7:05 remaining in the half, and Radin and Sofield soon generated a flurry that gave Long Beach a 5-2 lead within three minutes.

“Our confidence grew after we got the first one,” said Radin, who alternated goals with Sofield at the 6:18, 5:18, 4:31 and 3:43 marks. “We had to do it for the guys on defense. They’ve carried us most of the season.”