Long Beach earns playoff win

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With its last five regular-season games decided by a total of six goals, Long Beach was as battle tested as any team for the Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse playoffs.

Entering the postseason with three straight losses wasn’t exactly first-year coach Jason Pearl’s plan, however, the seventh-seeded Marines showed patience against No. 10 Roslyn’s defensive zone and pulled away down the stretch to win the opening round clash, 11-6, at home on May 17.

Junior Kieran Rowley had four goals and one assist, freshman Shane Murphy had a hat trick and two assists, and senior Troy Morris added one goal and four assists as Long Beach improved to .500 (8-8) and punched its ticket to the quarterfinals against defending county champion Garden City, the No. 2 seed.

“It’s one of the best games we’ve played as a team all year,” Pearl said. “We did all the little things it takes to win. It was tough to see how other teams attacked Roslyn’s zone on film, but we were patient with it and did a nice job finding openings.

“It was only the fourth time we’ve faced a zone this season and it gave us a tough time in the past,” Pearl added. “When you don’t run the offense correctly, you’re going to struggle with it. We learned that against Mepham [7-6 loss on May 11.] It’s a good thing we worked on the offense after that game.”

Sophomore attack Wally Sofield scored both of Long Beach’s goals in the opening quarter, both off feeds from Murphy (20 goals, 13 assists.) The team’s youngest player then scored twice in the second before Rowley (17 goals, 17 assists) got the first of his four goals as the Marines held a narrow 5-4 halftime lead.

Morris (20 goals, 12 assists) had a hand in each of the Marines’ next four goals. He assisted on third-quarter tallies by Rowley and senior Liam Radin (17 goals) and then cashed in a feed from Sofield to make it 8-6 heading into the fourth. Morris then assisted on Murphy’s third goal early in the final stanza before Rowley provided the insurance with two more. “Troy passed up a bunch of OK shots to set up teammates for higher quality shots,” Pearl noted.

Junior goaltender Luke Mignoli turned aside 10 Roslyn attempts, many in key moments. He’s averaged 8.5 saves per game. “Luke made some big saves as the game went on,” Pearl said. “He’s been solid.”

Mignoli made 14 saves in a 5-0 loss to Garden City on April 11. “We’ve played up and down to a lot of opponents,” Pearl said. “If you want to be a top team, you need to finish off games every single time. The kids did a nice job putting the last three losses behind them quickly and focusing on Roslyn.

“Garden City is on a roll right now and we know we have to play a flawless game,” he added. “If you make mistakes against them, it’s over.”