Lynbrook topped in state semifinal

A magical season for Lynbrook came to an end June 4 with a 9-6 loss to Yorktown in a New York State Class B boys’ lacrosse semifinal game at Hofstra University.

The Owls (19-2), coming off their first Long Island title in 14 years, held a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining in the opening half but surrendered six straight goals and trailed throughout the second half. Senior Joe Grossi led Lynbrook with four goals, giving him 57 for the season, while senior Austin Fabel added a goal and two assists. Junior goalie Brendan McDougal, who was instrumental in the playoff run, made eight saves.

“The adrenaline helped us get off to a great start,” Owls head coach Bill Leighley said. “They were just a little bigger, stronger and faster. Yorktown has a tremendous team. They’ve been in this spot more than 20 times in their history.”

The Cornhuskers, who snapped a six-game postseason losing streak against Long Island-based opponents and advanced to face Jamesville-DeWitt in the state final, got three goals from Michael Dedvukaj and a pair apiece from Connor Vercruysse and Ryan Baker.

After Grossi completed a hat trick with two minutes left in the first half to give Lynbrook its third lead of the evening, Dedvukaj sparked Yorktown with two goals — in a span of 44 seconds — for a 4-3 halftime lead.

Dedvukaj opened the third quarter by completing his hat trick at the 2:05 mark. Baker then sandwiched a pair of goals around one by Vercruysse to make it 8-3.

“We never felt like we were out of it,” Leighley said. “There was no quit in our guys and I’m so proud of them for it. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.”

Junior Michael Toy stopped the bleeding for the Owls with two seconds left in the third, and Fabel continued the momentum with a goal early in the fourth to make it 8-5. It was 9-6 after Grossi scored with 3:43 remaining, but Yorktown held on.

“We had a remarkable run with an incredibly special group of guys, ” said Leighley, whose team went 8-0 at home and outscored visitors by an 89-32 margin. “We accomplished all of our goals 100 percent.”