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Fair Unbeaten Lynbrook ousts Wantagh
Lynbrook’s undefeated run in 2015 has been driven largely by a stingy defense, which was on full display in a 10-3 Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal win against Wantagh last Friday.
The defending Long Island-champion Owls held Wantagh scoreless in the first half en route to a convincing seven-goal win at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium that advanced them to the semifinals against South Side. Senior Lehigh-bound defenseman Eddie Bouhall helped key the defensive effort that limited Wantagh to few quality scoring chances.
“We base our defense on trust and brotherhood,” Bouhall said. “We always have each other’s backs.”
Lynbrook also has a potent offense that gave its defense plenty of support. Junior Quentin Herrmann scored 11 seconds into the game and Zach LoCicero followed with two first-quarter goals that gave the Owls a 3-0 lead after the opening period. LoCicero led the way with four goals on the night.
“Zach had a huge day for us,” Lynbrook coach Bill Leighley said. “He really came to play.”
Both teams were nearly kept off the scoreboard in the second quarter before a goal from junior attackman Ryan Candel with just 34 seconds left made it 4-0 Lynbrook at halftime. Wantagh senior midfielder Vinny Vasheo ended the scoring drought with a man-up goal early in the third quarter before Lynbrook seized the momentum back on two more LoCicero goals to take a 6-1 lead after three quarters.
Wantagh held Lynbrook’s leading scorer Gordon Purdie without a goal until the Adelphi-bound senior attackman finally broke through with 6:20 left in the game with a man-up tally that gave the Owls a 7-2 lead after Dylan Beckwith had cut the deficit to four a minute earlier. Purdie then registered another goal 1:18 later as part of a late four-goal Lynbrook run that put the game out of reach.
“Our plan was to stop Gordon Purdie and Owen Daly and for the most part we did that, but they had other guys step up,” Wantagh coach John Cuiffo said.
