Manhasset tops Lynbrook for 'B' title

Scoring four of the last five goals wasn’t enough for defending champion Lynbrook to overcome Manhasset in the Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse title game at Hofstra on May 26.

The Owls trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter of a game they never led. It was their first and only loss of 2015 after 18 consecutive victories. Tyler Dunn scored three goals, and Jack Miller and Matt Gavin both added a pair for the Indians, who avenged a loss to Lynbrook in last year’s county final.

“They found their rhythm and played as well as they could play,” Owls coach Bill Leighley said of Manhasset, which got the eventual game-winning goal off the stick of Logan Dunn with 2:30 remaining in the first half. “They’re a very strong team with a lot of speed,” he added. “They had us playing from behind all night, but our guys kept battling and made a couple of pushes. In the end, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”

Senior Michael Toy and junior Zach LoCicero scored twice, and senior Gordon Purdie had a goal and an assist for Lynbrook, which defeated Manhasset 8-6 in a regular-season meeting on April 25.

“We beat them three straight going back to last season,” Leighley said. “That’s a very difficult thing to do.

“They tightened up their defense and slowed things down a little on offense to keep the ball away from us,” he added.

Being patient with the ball was Manhasset’s game plan, coach Bill Cherry said. “We know Lynbrook likes to run and gun,” he noted. “I thought we did a nice job keeping the ball away from them, especially in the third quarter.”

Tyler Dunn, widely considered one of the top players on Long Island, opened the scoring 1:09 into the game and Kyle Cherry added a goal midway through the first quarter to stake the Indians (14-4) to a 2-0 lead. The Owls answered in the second with goals by Purdie at 7:16 and Toy at 5:23. Toy’s goal was a dazzling, no-look backhander during a man advantage.