South Side edges Wantagh, 8-7

Posted

Offside or not offside, that’s the question.

Controversy surrounded South Side’s dramatic 8-7 come-from-behind victory at Wantagh in a Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal playoff game on May 18. The fifth-seeded Cyclones scored three unanswered goals, including senior Dan Mallay’s rebound shot with 1:46 remaining, to avenge a regular-season loss to the No. 4 Warriors and advance to the semifinals for a third consecutive year.

“We’ve had so many battles with Wantagh over the years and this was another great game,” South Side coach Steve DiPietro said. “It was a wild one. We trailed most of the way and I’m just proud of our kids because they never hung their heads and continued to battle.”

The Cyclones tried to run out the clock following Mallay’s eventual winning goal after securing the ensuing draw, but Wantagh forced a late turnover and senior Matthew Robbins raced 50 yards and scored the apparent tying goal with 5.6 seconds left. But the goal was disallowed after one official blew his whistle —as the Warriors celebrated — and called offside.

“I was ready for overtime,” said Mallay, who had three goals and two assists. 

So too was Wantagh coach John Cuiffo. “Everyone was so focused on the ball as Robbins crossed midfield, it’s impossible to say if we were offside or not,” he said. “We’ll have to watch the video. If we were, the whistle came about 17 seconds late.

“It’s such a difficult way for the season to end,” he added. “We have 17 seniors and I just told all the kids I’m proud of how they played until the very end.”

Senior Chris Tucker had three goals, senior Anthony Teresky had three assists, and senior goaltender Michael Kessler made 12 saves for Wantagh (9-6), while seniors Ryan Langdon and Mike Leake scored twice for South Side (10-7), which advanced to face No. 1 Manhasset in the semis.

“Wantagh is tough, athletic and well-coached,” DiPietro said. “We told the kids on the way here this was likely going to be a one-goal game.”

Just like the Warriors’ 10-6 victory over the Cyclones on April 13, the rematch was back-and-forth. Both teams went a perfect 2-for-2 in man-up situations in the opening half. Wantagh held the biggest lead on two occasions — 4-2 late in the second quarter and 7-5 after Tucker completed his hat trick with 7:31 to go in regulation with a nifty shovel shot.

South Side’s defense, led by senior Joe LiCalzi, juniors Bobby Meindl and Chris Coico, and freshman Nick LiCalzi, stood tall the rest of the way. Leake scored both of his goals in crunch time to tie it. His first came with 6:16 left off a feed from Mallay, and the second came on an unassisted rip with 2:14 remaining. 

Mallay then picked a good time to notch his first-ever game-winning goal. “I didn’t get enough on the original shot because the defenseman’s stick got in the way,” he said. “Thankfully the rebound came right back to me and I put it in.”