Long Island Lacrosse

Laxpower.com just came out with its National Coaches/Computer Ratings -- thanks to the site's George Baldassare for the heads up.

A friend of mine down at the Baltimore Sun covered Gilman this year, says they were sick. Not surprised they sit atop this list. Thought New Jersey's Mountain Lakes would be a little higher up. As for West Islip -- they'll be at the top of this, and every other list next year. Who do they return, nearly everyone?

Thoughts?

1. Gilman MD 18- 1- 0 199.90 100.00 99.90
2. West Genesee NY 21- 3- 0 199.66 99.91 99.75
3. West Islip NY 19- 2- 0 199.20 99.40 99.80
4. LaSalle College HS PA 31- 2- 0 199.02 99.32 99.70
5. Loyola-Blakefield MD 13- 4- 0 198.73 99.28 99.45
6. Ward Melville NY 19- 1- 0 198.61 98.94 99.67
7. Darien CT 22- 1- 0 198.55 99.20 99.35
8. Rocky Point NY 21- 1- 0 198.38 98.72 99.66
9. Calvert Hall MD 15- 3- 0 198.23 98.73 99.50
10. Mountain Lakes NJ 22- 1- 0 198.12 98.78 99.34
11. Malvern Prep PA 21- 3- 0 197.60 98.26 99.34
12. Syosset NY 17- 5- 0 197.56 98.11 99.45
13. Kent Denver CO 15- 0- 0 197.35 98.05 99.30
14. Lawrenceville NJ 17- 2- 0 197.35 97.80 99.55
15. Brother Rice MI 23- 0- 0 196.92 97.82 99.10
16. Chaminade NY 14- 4- 0 196.65 97.40 99.25
17. Garden City NY 15- 5- 0 196.47 97.16 99.32
18. Canandaigua NY 23- 1- 0 196.28 97.23 99.05
19. Georgetown Prep MD 18- 3- 0 196.27 97.21 99.05
20. Mount Sinai NY 18- 3- 0 196.27 97.00 99.27
21. Deerfield MA 15- 1- 0 196.14 96.99 99.15
22. Saint Andrews FL 22- 1- 0 195.88 96.93 98.95
23. John Jay-Cross River NY 18- 6- 0 195.70 96.50 99.20
24. Yorktown NY 20- 4- 0 195.67 96.59 99.08
25. McDonogh MD 16- 6- 0 195.66 96.63 99.03

GOAL
Rob Bellaris (Plainedge)
Bobby Whitmarsh (Smithtown East)
Conor Ferguson (Carey)
Ryan Zaremba (West Islip)

ATTACK
Nick O'Rielly (South Side)
Connor English (Manhasset)
Eddie Loftus (Syosset)
Will Manny (St. Anthony's)
Nick Galasso (West Islip)
Michael Chapman (Mount Sinai)
Matt Palasek (Rocky Point)

DEFENSE
Anthnony Ostrander (Farmingdale)
Bradley Cappelini (Manhasset)
Joe Ednie (Baldwin)
Michael McCormack (West Islip)
Thomas Keith (Syosset)
Maxx Meyer (Half Hollow Hills East)
Kyle Sheridan (Smithtown West)
Brian Winterfelt (Calhoun)
John Duvnjak (Manhasset)

MIDFIELD
Jeff Froccaro (Port Washington)
Jeff Molinari (Manhasset)
Brian O'Toole (Long Beach)
Thomas Schrieber (St. Anthony's)
Dominique Alexander (Baldwin)
Christian Kennedy (Cold Spring Harbor)
Ian Braddish (West Islip)
Andrew Hodgson (West Islip)
Steve Murphy (Floyd)
James Ryan (Ward Melville)

BY DARREN SANDS

An athlete stood next to his college coach three days after playing the state championship game. He has already begun, he tells him, to work out for the next season, for his freshman year. For fall ball. In June.

Sounds like something an athlete telling a college coach something he would want to hear, a plea for playing time. But coming from the kid standing on the sideline, talking to Harvard coach John Tillman, it sounds like the truth.

What else might you expect from Jeff Cohen, this year’s Newsday 2008 Nassau County Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year?

“To me that sent a very strong message,” said Harvard coach John Tillman, “about how important lacrosse is to him and how committed and driven he is to being successful at the next level.”

Cohen made his mark at Syosset, with 260 career goals becoming the all-time goal-scorer in Long Island history and, as Cohen went, so went the Braves. One need look no further than Syosset’s first game against Garden City for the source of Cohen’s motivation.

"I posted that story on my wall," he said earlier this spring, referring to a game which conspicuously noted that he did not score.

Tillman, meanwhile was in town at the Nassau Empire tryouts at Syosset, which is when he got to visit with Cohen. "I told him, 'I’m going to challenge you.,'" Tillman said. "He knows he has to earn his spot, and I think he’s excited about that.

"What he's done should give him some confidence. Now he's gotta go out and prove it again."

Newsday spoke with Tillman about his visits to Long Island, and the buzz around here surrounding what many will believe his program's meteoric rise to the the apex of Division I lacrosse in the next few years.

He mentioned that landing Cohen and players like Garden City product Dean Gibbons are paramount to their success, but that the growing popularity of the sport in Eastern Massachusetts along with the Final Four coming to Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, put Harvard in a prime position -- especially as the area's only Division I Men's lacrosse program.

"We've proven we can recruit the top students who are also good lacrosse players, and I think kids realize that there is a lot to the Harvard experience."

GOAL

Bellaris, Rob (Plainedge)
Collins, Eddie (Long Beach)
DiGiacomo, Nick (Middle Country)
Ferguson, Conor (Carey)
Whitmarsh, Rob (Smithtown East)
Zaremba, Ryan (West Islip)

ATTACK
Chapman, Mike (Mt. Sinai)
Dellavecchia, Chris (North Shore)
DiMaria, Dave (HHH West)
English, Connor (Manhasset)
Galasso, Nick (West Islip)
Granata, Joe (Lindenhurst)
Heenan, Kevin (Manhasset)
Himler, William (Chaminade)
Loftus, Eddie (Syosset)
Lustgraten, Joe (SWR)
Manny, William (St. Anthony's.)
Mock, Stephen (Huntington)
Palasek, Matt (Rocky Point)
O’Reilly, Nick (South Side)
Sweeney, Chris (Bay Shore)
Tripp, Eric (Glen Cove)

MIDFIELD

Alexander, Dominique (Baldwin)
Braddish, Ian (West Islip)
Celano, Joe (Farmingdale)
Dolan, Kevin (Wes Islip)
Fiorvanti, Pat (St. Anthony's)
Froccaro, Danny (Port Washington)
Fumani, Ryan (St. Anthony's)
Gilmartin, Will (St. Anthony's)
Grabher, Robert (North Shore)
Henry, Shane (Mt. Sinai)
Hodgson, Andrew (West Islip)
Isnardi, Nick (Massapequa)
Kelly, Tom (Rocky Point)
Kennedy, Christian (Cold Spring Harbor)
Mancuso, Jesse (Northport)
Metros, Andrew (Great Neck North)
Molinari, Jeff (Manhasset)
Murphy, Steve (William Floyd)
O’Toole, Brian (Long Beach)
Podgurski, Charlie (Sayville)
Ryan, James (Ward Melville)
Schreiber, Tom (St. Anthony's)
Tesoriero, Douglas (Syosset)
Zawadzki, Anthony (Kings Park)
Worker K.C. (Farmingdale)

DEFENSE

Borruso, William (Eastport-South Manor)
Cappellini, Bradley (Manhasset)
Duvnjak, John (Manhasset)
Ednie, Joe (Baldwin)
Keith, Thomas (Syosset)
Krzeminski, Dan (Lindenhurst)
Kunkel, Matt (Ward Melville)
Lang, James (Hicksville)
Lovrich, Corey (Long Beach)
McCormack, Mike (West Islip)
Meyer, Maxx (HHH East)
Muller, Mike (Rocky Point)
Ostrander, Anthony (Farmingdale)
Sheridan, Kyle (Smithtown East)
Winterfeldt, Brian (Calhoun)

BY RODERICK BOONE

Yesterday, CAA commissioner Tom Yeager announced UMass and Penn State will join the conference beginning in 2010. The news comes on the heels of last week's revelation by the Big East that its forming a league.

UMass and Penn State will hook up with Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson to form a six-team conference. "Both schools have excellent programs along with outstanding coaches and players," Yeager said in a statement. "Their addition will keep CAA men's lacrosse among the top Division I conferences in the nation."

The move is directly due to the Big East and NEC starting leagues. Sacred Heart and Robert Morris -- current members of the CAA -- will head to the NEC and Villanova moves to the Big East after next season. The CAA will continue to evaluate additional membership options.

St. John's, meanwhile, is moving out of the ECAC and into the newly formed Big East beginning in 2010. The Red Storm will join Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, Syracuse and Villanova and they will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule. The conference has plans to apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field.

"The creation of a Big East lacrosse conference is a huge step for St. John's lacrosse and the other members of the league," St. John's AD Chris Monasch said. "The combination of the Big East brand, its television influence and the quality of the member lacrosse programs will yield one of the best conferences in the country."

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

So far Long Island is 1-1 on the day. Lets see if Mount Sinai can finish this lacrosse season with its first state title and eight for coach Joe Cuozzo.

Mount Sinai Wins 10-5.

GOAL -- Mike Chapman scores to make it 10-5.

GOAL -- Eric Baslov scores on a pass fro Mike Chapman with 3:56. Mt. Sinai leads 9-5.

GOAL -- Corning East goal. Mustangs lead 8-5 with 7:30 left.

GOAL -- James O'Brien scores to the top left corner. Mt. Sinai leads 8-4 with 8:30 left.

Mount Sinia leads 7-4 after three quarters.

GOALS -- Corning East scores three straight times to cut the Mount Sinia lead to 7-4 with :44 seconds left in the third quarter. Perotti scored the third.

Connor Fitzgerald has shut down Corning East's All-American attack Matt Perotti.

James Dawson is down near the left side of the goal. He is up and ok.

GOAL -- Mike Chapman scores a man-down goal to make it 7-1 Mount Sinai. with 6:36 left.

Time out Mustangs with 8;25 left in the third. We should be able to finish the game with out he

Mustangs lead 6-1 at the half. There is a threat or lightening 10 miles away, bu the game is official.

Zoly makes two straight terrific saves. Mount Sinai still leads 5-1 with 1:42 left in the half.

GOAL -- Connor Fitzgerald puts in a rebound after two straight saves to extend the Mustangs lead to 5-1 with 4:56 left.

GOAL -- Shane Henry scores low to increase the lead to 4-1 with 6:40 left.

Zoly makes a great point blank save with 8:15 left

Slashing penalty on Connor Fitzgerald. Mount Sinai is a man down at 11:41.

Mustangs lead 3-1 after thef first quarter.

GOAL -- James O'Brien scores on a shot to the top right corner from the right side. Mount Sinai leads 3-1.

Mt. Sinai Time Out with 2:42 left in the first

GOAL -- Corning East goals. Mt. Sinai leads 2-1 with 4:30 left.

GOAL -- Langton scores on a run to the right side.

TV Time out

GOAL -- Bongiorno scores on a pas from Jonathan Hoeg. Mt. Sinai leads 1-0 with 7:40 left.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

For the second straight day, Farmingdale is trying to make it a perfect 3-for-3 for L.I. teams. Right now, the Dalers are in an 8-8 dog fight with West Genesee (III), the defending state champs who are a perfect 23-0 this season.

Farmingdale opened a two-goal lead on Kelly McPartland's third goal of the game, but West Genny stormed back with three straight goals (including two by Lauren Welch, who also has three goals on the afternoon) to take an 8-7 lead.

Alyssa Kildare scored with 22 seconds left to tie it up.

Second half to come...

By the way, the rain has started again, but it's nothing too serious.

Also, this would be the first year since 1999 that Long Island teams swept the state titles. However, back then there were only two classifications—New Hyde Park won the Division I crown, while Garden City took the Division II title.

UPDATE: With 16:19 to go, the teams are tied at 10.

UPDATE: Famingdale went up by two on Janine Hillier's second goal of the game, but Maria Difato and Lauren Welch scored consecutive goals to tie the game at 12 with 6:24 left.

Teams are still tied with 4:00 remaining.

UPDATE: Ariel Kramer's fifth goal of the game, on a feed from Bre Hudgins gave West Genny a 13-12 lead with 3:18 left.

Farmingdale called a timeout right after.

West Genny got the ensuing draw and ran some time off the clock. Farmingdale caused a turnover and Candace Rossi was fouled with six seconds on the clock. She passed it to Melanie Raso on the free position, but Raso's shot flew high.

West Genny wins, 13-12. It is their fifth title program history.

That's all from Cortland! Goodnight everybody!

BY DARREN SANDS

Almost set for Round 2! Rocky Point is trying for its first state championship in school history. These boys didn't get to attend their prom during the Long Island championship, and won an 11-10 thriller against Garden City. This would be the perfect ending to a season that has been nothing short of outstanding. Look out for Carthage attacker Rob Grimm. Grimm's got a hard shot, and is going to UMBC. Two dynamic offenses..should be fun! We're ready to go!

Rocky Point wins 17-6 to win its first state title.
GOAL -- Vincent Guido scored to make it 17-6.

Rocky Point just pulled it's starters with 2:30 left.

Rocky Point is a man-up

GOAL -- Time out

GOAL -- Palasek catches a flip pass from Kramer, fakes twice and scores to make it 16-6 with 7:30 left in the game. Rocky Point is two goals away from tying the record for most goals in a state final.

GOAL -- Kramer scores on a pass from Rob Collins with 26 seconds left and then on a pass from Annunziato with 15 seconds left. Rocky Point is up 15-6 going into the fourth.

GOAL -- Zach Mulvaney scores low from 10 yards out. Rocky Point leads 13-6 with 1:29 left in the third.

GOAL -- Matt Palasek scores on a pass from Toohey to give Rocky Point a 13-5 lead with 3:40 left. Rocky Point is having it best and prettiest offensive game of the playoffs.

GOAL -- Kramer scores on a beautiful pass from Tom Palasek.

GOAL -- Dan Kramer kicks in a shot a Tom Palasek. Rocky Point leads 11-5 with 5:36 left.

GOAL -- Dan Kramer picks up a groud ball, splits a double time and scores to extend the lead to 10-5 with 6:52 remaining.

GOAL -- Zack Mulvaney scored high. Rocky Point leads 9-5 with 9:20 left in the third.

Billy McGee has been great in goal so far. Carthage came back to win yesterday they are trying again today.

GOAL -- Robert Grimm has a shot trickle in to cut the Rocky Point lead to 9-4 with 10:51 let.

UPDATES

HALFTIME -- Rocky Point has been so, so good on offense. All that "Greatest Show on Turf" business? Yeah, it's just about accurate today. When they get the ball moving, Carthage has no answer. We'll be back soon. Rocky Point leads, 9-3.

GOAL -- Palasek has his fourth assist, this time to Rob Collins. There is 1:18 left in the second quarter, and RP leads, 9-3.

Television timeout. Hey, in case you didn't know, MSG will be carrying these games sometime in the near future. I'm sure these players don't mind the extra breather the tv timeouts afford. Check your local listings. Score is still 8-3, Rocky Point.

GOAL -- Justin Annunziato scores off an assist from Matt Palasek. With just under nine minutes and counting, RP leads, 8-3.

END OF FIRST QUARTER

TIMEOUT CARTHAGE FINALLY! TEN GOALS ALREADY with 54 seconds left still in the first!

GOAL -- Dan Kramer again, off another assist by Matt Palasek. Kramer has two goals and two assists. RP leads, 7-3.

GOAL -- Tom Grimm for Carthage. I'm getting dizzy. RP leads, 6-3.

GOAL -- Dan Kramer goal off pretty assist from Matt Palasek. RP leads, 6-2.

GOAL -- Rob Grimm scores his first goal of the game. RP leads, 5-2.

GOAL -- Toohey from Palasek. Eagles are up by four with 2:31 remaining and counting. 5-1.

GOAL -- Zack Mulvaney scores Carthage's first goal of the game, score is 4-1.

GOAL -- Palasek is hot -- he's had a hand in every goal. RP leads, 4-0.

GOAL -- Matt Toohey scores for Rocky Point. The Eagles have landed. (Sorry, couldn't help myself). RP leads, with 5:15 and counting, 3-0.

(Kyle Gaebel -- the goalie that is going to Cortland -- is not listed in the NYS championship roster. It's Gaebel, not Belor. Our apologies.)

GOAL -- Palasek again with a nice fake up top, getting Cortland-bound goalie Kyle Gaebel all mixed up. For my upstate audience, Palasek is committed to Hopkins. Gaebel*, meanwhile, will kindly ask for one of his guys to put Palasek on the ground next time he gets the ball. TV timeout with 7:30 remaining in the first. RP leads, 2-0.

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scores as he falls two minutes and twelve seconds into the game. Rocky Point leads, 1-0.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Shoreham-Wading River scored the first nine goals of the game and leads Skaneateles (III), 11-2 at the half. This is a rematch of last year's final, which SWR won.

Ten players tallied a point for SWR in the first half, including three goals by Erica DeVito and two goals and an assist from Stephanie Anderson. Jen DeVito and Megan Gersbeck have two goals apiece, Marie Cordaro has a goal and an assist, and Kaitlin Rochler has two assists.

More to come...

UPDATE: The second half is just underway and SWR now leads 13-3. The 10-goal lead means that the clock runs no matter what, even after goals. That's good, because it has begun to rain here in Cortland.

UPDATE: SWR made it 2-for-2 for Long Island teams, with a 21-5 victory over Skaneateles. It is the Wildcats' second straight Class C title.

Jen and Erica DeVito each scored four goals, while Stephanie Anderson chipped in with three.

And good news(!), the rain has stopped ... for now. I hope I didn't jinx it!

BY DARREN SANDS

"Good morning, on this day we become legendary -- everything we dreamed of." -- Kanye West

Couldn't think of a more appropriate theme to start off the day on our blog. We're here at Hofstra and will watch three Long Island teams try and claim a state championship title. Syosset, Rocky Point and Mt. Sinai -- all playing in the most important game of their lives.

First up is Syosset, who, if you told me in March that they'd be here, I simply would not have believed you. I asked coach John Calabria (whom I might add seems exhilirated as any player) to take me back to the Garden City game they lost, 10-2, and he did not. All he said is that he'd love to have that game back. To play them again. Now here they are, at Hofstra, 48 minutes from their first state title. And now we're just minutes away from the opening faceoff. You and that refresh button get friendly, it's on!

UPDATES

FINAL -- WEST GENESEE WINS ITS 15th* CLASS A NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONSHIP OVER SYOSSET, 11-7.

(*Thanks!)

GOAL -- Jordan Rodgers scores again for West Genesee and this game is all but over. Syosset gets outscored 5-1 thus far in the fourth quarter. West Genny leads 11-7 with 45 seconds left and counting.

With about two and a half minutes left, Syosset's Adam Wachler hit a pipe and could have closed it to 10-8. Just under two minutes and counting.

GOAL -- Jack Kennedy, West Genny's pole, gallops down the field and shoots it in the upper right corner to make the score, 10-7. Four minutes left and counting in this game. Time could be running out for Syosset.

GOAL -- The Wildcats answer right back. Mike Fetterly scores for West Genny with 5:17 remaining in the game to extend its lead to 9-7.

GOAL -- Syosset's Jeff Cohen bounces in his second goal of the game with exactly six minutes remaining. West Genny still leads, 8-7.

GOAL -- Jordan Rodgers again for West Genny -- that's six straight goals for the Wildcats. They lead with 6:09 and counting, 8-6.

GOAL -- West Genny's Ryan Barber with the nicest goal of the game -- dives in front of the crease and sticks it in the bottom left corner. With 10:30 remaining, West Genny leads, 7-6.

END OF THIRD QUARTER -- This is it. Score is tied. Twelve minutes left in the game. Cohen was hot inside the cage, but do you worry that his confidence is down now that a few got by him? Syosset coach John Calabria took his hat off and gave his team a spirited speech, the contents of which I'm not sure I could publish here. Here we go!

GOAL -- Jordan Rodgers with a nice underhanded shot with six seconds left in the third to tie the game at 6-6.

GOAL -- Another biggie by Cohen, but the rebound goes to WG's Glesener and he bounces one past Cohen, and Syosset's lead is now only 6-5.

Another big save for Evan Cohen on a shot by Ryan Barber right up front. Did a pretty pop-up and catch right inside. Syosset has started to possess the ball in an attempt to slow down their pace and, as I'm writing, Cohen makes another huge save from the right side. He works so well with his guys up front. Waited for the slide and then steps right up in front of the shooter with his stick high.

GOAL -- Here comes West Genny. Ryan Barber scores at 5:04 to close Syosset's lead to 6-4.

GOAL -- West Genny's John Glesener scores. Closes score to 6-3.

(To anonymous reader: Three of Syosset's second quarter goals were with an extra-man)

GOAL Wacher scores with 8:16 left in the third to open the second half. Will West Genesee even make a run here? Syosset leads, 6-2.

HALFTIME -- Five-goal second quarter for the Braves. Syosset's offense is on and they've got faceoff specialist Matt Albert to thank. He's won 7 of 9 faceoffs. He's not unlike a rhythm shooter in basketball. Once he gets going he's very, very good. Syosset is out-shooting West Genesee 19-12, but the key stat here is that they've got six penalties (4 minutes, 30 seconds) and Syosset is making them pay. For what it's worth, West Genesee never left the field. Not sure if that's something they do regularly, but Syosset went under the shade in the Pavillion in the far right corner of the field. I'm wondering which team will come out more sharp. Second half predictions anyone?

GOAL -- Syosset gets extra-man penalty when Jeff Cohen gets cross-checked by Waldron. He gets up, shakes his head a little like the cartoons. Adam Wachler puts one in from 8 yards out and with just under five minutes left, Syosset leads, 5-2.

GOAL -- What a shift in momentum. Adam Wachler finds Matt Albert wide open right in front of the cage. Time out, West Genny. To make things worse for WG, Ben Waldron was called for slashing, and Syosset has an extra man-up. With 5:57 left in the second, Syosset leads, 4-2.

GOAL -- With 7:32 remaining in the second quarter, Loftus scores for Syosset for the lead, 3-2.

GOAL -- Jeff Cohen just made a sick play. Catches a bad pass one handed at the X, drives left and sticks a hard left shot in the top left corner. He ties it up, 2-2.

GOAL -- Eddie Loftus puts one in for Syosset, West Genny leads, 2-1.

END OF FIRST QUARTER -- Evan Cohen had two big saves in there towards the end, which is what they need: huge goaltending. He has been solid thus far. West Genny's defense is ridiculous. Let's see if Syosset has got any legs.

GOAL -- Tim Besio for West Genny. Boy, can these kids move the ball, or what? They look strong. Genny leads, 2-0.

Syosset has 30 second man-up -- West Genny's Joe Fazio called for a push. Twenty-nine seconds later, Genny's Ben Waldron is called for a slash. Six-on-five for Syosset here. Genny is the clearly the aggressor.

GOAL -- 18 seconds gone in the game and the Wildcats' Luke Commeti comes flying down the field and scores. They lead, 1-0.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Hey everyone, back for Day 2 here at Cortland with three state titles on the line for L.I. programs. First up is Garden City (20-1), which is set to take on Brighton (V, 19-1).

Shoreham-Wading River plays at noon and Farmingdale takes the field at 2:30 p.m.

We'll be back at halftime to give updates...so stay tuned!

UPDATE: Garden City had a very unGarden City-like half, as the Trojans scored just four goals—matching their season low—and are tied with Brighton at the half.

Garden City was down 4-1, but scored three goals in the final 3:50 to tie it up. Erin Brennan scored two of the three goals, including one with 25 seconds left before the break.

Rachel Dercola leads Brighton with a goal and three assists.

More to come...this should be a good one...

UPDATE: We're headed for overtime in what has been a very exciting matchup thus far. Garden City had numerous chances inside of a minute, but couldn't tally the game-winner.

Garden City led 6-4 early in the half, while Brighton had two one-goal leads. Neither held though, and so onto extra time...

UPDATE: Brittany Wilton put Garden City up by one with a goal off a feed from Brennan. Then 15 seconds later Brennan netted her fifth goal of the game on an assist by Becky Lynch.

Just over two minutes remaining in the first overtime period...

UPDATE: Brighton closed the Garden City lead to one on Beatrice Conley's fourth goal of the game, but Brennan scored her sixth goal of the game just 27 seconds later to put Garden City back up by two, 12-10. The second 3:00 overtime period is just underway.

UPDATE: This one's over, Garden City wins its third straight Class B title with a 12-10 win over Brighton. It is Garden City's eighth title—which is a state record.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Farmingdale, looking to make it 3-for-3 for Long Island on the day, is up on Guilderland (II) at the half, 6-3. Candace Rossi is leading the charge for the Dalers, with three goals and one assist.

Guilderland scored the first two goals of the game before Farmingdale went on a six-goal run to take the lead.

In the other semifinal, West Genesee (III) leads Lancaster (VI), 10-0.

More to come...

UPDATE: Farmingdale poured it on in the second half, with 10 goals to Guilderland's seven en route to a 16-10 victory.

Rossi scored three more to up her total to a game-high six goals. Alyssa Kildare, Janine Hillier, Jamie Leone and Melanie Raso each scored two goals for Farmingdale, while Abbey Fashouer and Danielle Tetreault led Guilderland with three goals apiece.

Farmingdale will play West Genesee, a 17-2 victor over Lancaster in tomorrow's final at 2:30 p.m.

See ya'll tomorrow!

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Little bit of a surprise here, as SWR finds itself down by two, 7-5, at the half to Nanuet.

SWR has been sloppy throughout the first half, and that was exemplified by the end of the frame, as they allowed a goal with just 4.7 seconds left.

Nanuet's Hannah Frey, who will attend Boston University next season, leads the way with three goals, including a rifle at the 10:59 mark. Her shot was the fastest girls lax shot I have seen all season.

The defending champs from SWR need to clean up their act if they hope to advance to tomorrow's final.

In the other semifinal, Skaneateles (III) is leading Honeoye Falls-Lima (V) at halftime, 9-4.

More to come...

UPDATE: Well, they needed to turn it up in the second half, and they did. After Nanuet tallied the first goal of the second half, SWR went on an 9-0 run to earn a 14-8 victory.

Michelle Verbeeck was shaky in the first half, but made eight key saves in the second to lead her team.

Kait Brosco, Kaitlin Rochler and Stephanie Anderson each scored two goals in the second half, while Erica DeVito dished out three of her game-high four assists in the second half.

SWR will play Skaneateles, a 16-8 victor over Honeoye Falls-Lima, in tomorrow's final at noon.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Hey everyone, we're here at SUNY Cortland for all the action of today's girls lacrosse state semifinals. The first matchup of the day is the Class B battle between Garden City and Niskayuna (Section II).

Garden City came out strong, scoring the first six goals en route to a 9-2 halftime lead. Becky Lynch leads the way with three goals and two assists.

Garden City looks like a good bet to advance to its fourth straight state title game.

More to come...

Here at Cortland, the semifinals are played on adjacent fields at the same time. On the other field, Brighton (V) leads Carthage (III) 7-3 at the half.

UPDATE: The rout was on in the second half, as Garden City scored the first six goals out of the break and took a 17-4 victory. Garden City has now hit the 20-win plateau for the third straight season.

The Trojans will play Brighton, a 10-6 victor over Carthage, in tomorrow's final at 9:30 a.m.

Garden City defeated Brighton in last year's state semifinal and the teams played in the 2005 and 2006 final. Brighton won in 05 and Garden City won in 06.

Shoreham-Wading River and Nanuet (Section I) are up next...

BY ADAM RONIS

Welcome, live to Hofstra for the final state semifinal of the day. Long Island has already had two teams advance to the state championships on Saturday. Can Mt. Sinai make it three? We'll find out. The game will be starting later than the scheduled time. We're about one-half hour away from the start. Be back in a bit with live coverage.

Some interesting stats for this game. Rye has won 21 consecutive games and is 22-2. The losses came against Wantagh and Yorktown, which lost in the semifinals today to Syosset. About five minutes until game time.

10:07 p.m.: Mount Sinai wins 7-1.

10:02 p.m.: Langton scores to increase the lead to 7-1 with 2:28 left.

9:50 p.m.: Going into the day there was talk of Section I being able to win all three games today. Yorktown and John Jay came close. This one will make it a Long Island sweep.
9:52 p.m.: Mt. Sinai has really slowed the pace of the game down. Rye just got an unsportsman like conduct penalty.

9:46 p.m.: Mount Sinai leads 6-1 going into the fourth.

9:42 p.m.: The Mount Sinai defense has been spectacular so far.

9:38 p.m.: Timeout Mt. Sinai with 4:20 left.

9:37 p.m.: Rye scores it first goal. Mount Sinai leads 6-1 with 5:25 left.

9:36 p.m.: James O'Brien scores to extend the Mount Sinai's lead to 6-0.

9:25 p.m.: Mount Sinai still lead 5-0 with 6:00 left in th third.

9:16 p.m.: We're at halftime and Mt. Sinai leads 5-0. An impressive defensive performance by Mt. Sinai, which has been doing this in the last four games. The Mustangs have allowed 17 goals in the last four games. Does Rye have a comeback in them? We've seen a couple already today. Stay tuned.

9:10 p.m.: O'Brien scores on a spin move with 2:32 left to make it 5-0.

9:08 p.m.: Chapman scores unassisted to extend the lead to 4-0 with 3:49 left.

9:07 p.m.: Timeout with 4:39 left as Mt. Sinai leads 3-0.

9:02 p.m.: Hoeg gets stopped by Rix on a breakaway, but the rebound comes right to him and he picks it up and scores. Mt. Sinai leads, 3-0.

9:01 p.m.: Big save by Rix with 6:25 left and he follows with another to stymie Mt. Sinai. Still, 2-0 MS.

9:00 p.m.: A thirty second penalty on Rye for a push. Seven minutes left.

8:57 p.m.: Excellent job by the Mt. Sinai defense. The Mustangs are making it very difficult for Rye to get anything going on offense. Rye takes a timeout to discuss it.

8:51 p.m.: Mt. Sinai takes a 2-0 lead with five seconds left of the first quarter. James Dawson scores off an assist from Eric Balslov. End of 1: Mt. Sinai 2, Rye 0.

8:46 p.m.: Rye takes an illegal check penalty. Mt. Sinai a man-up for one minute.

8:43 p.m.: Mt. Sinai takes a 1-0 lead as Matthew Chapman scores on an assist from Jonathan Hoeg with 5:47 left in the first.

8:42 p.m.: Rye has its chances on offense and two shots go wide.

8:40 p.m.: James O'Brien shot stopped by Rye goalie Matt Rix.

8:37 p.m.: We're underway. Shane Henry hits the crossbar less than a minute into the game for Mt. Sinai.

Rocky Point wins 11-10

Time out Rocky Point with :30 seconds left.

Rocky Point is two men up with 50 seconds left

Time out John Jay with 2:13 left

Time out Rocky Point with 3:12 left.

GOAL John Jay goal. Rocky Point leads. 11-10 with 4:00 left.

GOAL Kramer scores his fifth goal to give Rocky Point the lead with 6:45 left.

GOAL Vivonetto scores to tie it at 9 with 8:00 left.

GOAL Kramer scores. Rocky Point leads 9-8.

Rocky Point trails 9-7 after three

GOAL Rocky Point trails 9-7 with 1:00 left in the third.

Rocky Point lead 7-6 at the half.

GOAL Collins and Kramer score for Rocky Point. Eagles lead 7-6 with 4:20 left in the first half.

GOAL John Jay goal. Indians lead 5-4 with 8:41 left.

GOAL John Jay scored but Rob Collins answers. Score tied at 5.

4-4 after the first

GOAL Drew and Jones score for John Jay and Matt Palasek scored twice for Rocky Point. Score tied at 4 with 1:41 left in the first.

John Jay has a goal taken away because of interference.

GOAL John Jay and Rocky Point score with in 14 seconds of each other. Scored tied at 2.

GOAL Kevin Drew scores. Game tied at 1.

GOAL Dan Kramer scores 36 seconds in. Rocky Point up 1-0.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Welcome to Hofstra for the first of three boys lacrosse semifinals. Yorktown has won 14 straight games coming and beat previously unbeaten Niskayuna yesterday. Syosset has played exceptional in the playoffs. This should be a great one.

Syosset win 7-6

Yorktown ball 41 seconds left

GOAL -- Syosset leads 7-6 on a goal from Jared Leverne.

Syosset ties it on goals by Leverne and Cohen with 3:00 left.

Time out Syosset with 5;25 left.

Syosset just squandered two man-up oppertunities.

GOAL -- Syosset goal. Zach Fuss scored to cut the Yorktown lead tp 6-4.

Syosset trails 6-3 after three.

GOAL -- Yorktown scores three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead with 8:12 lead.

GOAL -- Yorktown goal. John Ranagan scores high from 15 yards out. Yorktown leads 3-2.

Start of the second half

Halftime tied at 2

Time out Syosset with :28 seconds left.

The Braves looked like they have settled in after a shaky first few minutes. Evan Coehn has been superb again so far. Jeff Cohen has been frustrated by thw Yorktown defense.

GOAL -- Syosset goal. Adam Wachler scores on a pass from Adam Wachler to tie the score at 2.

Time out Yorktown

Yorktown leads 2-1 after one.

GOAL -- Syosset Goal Matt Albert from Jared Leverne. Yorktown lead 2-1.

Time out Syosset. Penalties are killing the Braves right now. Both Yorktown goals have come with flags down.

GOAL -- Yorktown goal by Brendan Kurpis. Yorktown leads 2-0

GOAL -- Yorktown goal Brendan Kurpis. Yorktown leads 1-0.

Mt. Sinai vs. Cold Spring Harbor

MT. SINAI WINS LONG ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIP; WILL MEET RYE THURSDAY

Things got a little crazy for us on deadline, but this one was never in doubt for Mt. Sinai. They won, 9-3, overmatching an experienced Cold Spring Harbor team. Joe Staszweski has the story in tomorrow's edition of Newsday. We've given you all that we can folks! Hope you've enjoyed. Goodnight and see you tomorrow.

GOAL -- DelBalso scored to make it 6-1 Mount Sinai. Langton had scored or Mount Sinai.

GOAL -- Henry scores to extend the lead to 5-0.

GOAL -- Jonathan Hoeg scores on a pass from Mike Chapman to give Mount Sinai a 4-0 lead.

Start of the Third

HALF TIME

GOAL -- Mike Chapman scores with eight seconds left to give Mount Sinai a 3-0 lead.

Time out Mt. Sinai with :28 seconds left.

Cold Spring Harbor takes a time out with 2:00 left. The Seahawks have taken just three shots so far in the half.

GOAL -- Mike Chapman dives and scores to make it 2-0 for Mt. Sinai with 9:45 left in the first half.

GOAL -- Shane Henry scores on a man-up goal to give Mt. Sinai a 1-0 lead.

Alot of standing around in the first quarter. Cold Spring takes an offsides penalty

And we are underway at 8:38

Three minutes from start.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

It's halftime here at Stony Brook in the Class C final between Shoreham-Wading River and Manhasset. The game was postponed on Sunday with 6:48 left in the first half and SWR up 8-2. But the rule states that if the game cannot be continued that day, it starts fresh on the rescheduled date.

Regardless, SWR looks in control thus far, up 8-4 at the break. Kaitlyn Brosco and Marie Cordaro lead SWR with two goals apiece, while Kaitlin Rochler has one goal and two assists.

Another update when the buzzer sounds...

***UPDATE***: SWR scored the first five goals of the second half, and cruised to a 14-8 win. It is their third straight L.I. title. Kaitlyn Brosco, Stephanie Anderson and Marie Cordaro each finished with three goals.

Stay tuned for Northport-Farmingdale...

***UPDATE***: Farmingdale opened up a 7-3 lead to start the game, but Northport scored the last three goals of the first half to close within one (7-6) at the break. Candance Rossi and Janine Hillier lead Farmingdale with two goals, while Devon Rhodes, Shannon Gilroy and Sam DelGaudio each have two for Northport.

Second half is just underway...

***UPDATE***: A wild game Class A game went to Farmingdale, 12-11. Candace Rossi scored with 1:27 left in the second 3:00 overtime period on a breakaway goal after a Northport turnover.

The end of the game was whacky, as two stick checks with under a minute left in regulation effected both sides. Northport's illegal stick gave possession to Farmingdale with 32 seconds on the clock and the game tied, while Farmingdale's negated a goal with 7.5 seconds left.

This was the sixth meeting between these two teams in the L.I. Championships. Each team has now won three.

BY DARREN SANDS

Garden City-Rocky Point is almost underway! Dynamic offense (Rocky Point) versus dynamic defense (GC). Garden City is so experienced in these games, we'll see how they react. An interesting point from Garden City's Jack White -- the Trojans played Rocky Point in 1990 and 1991 in this game when Suffolk Class B was not very good. Safe to say that today, Garden City will have its hands full.

Tom Palasek hits Matt Palasek on the crease for the game winner. Rocky Point wins 8-7 in double overtime.
Billy McGee makes a point blank save on Brendan Carroll.

Garden City wins the faceoff and calls time out.

Double Overtime --

Rocky Point cleared out for Palasek who missed three shots.

OVERTIME

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scores with eight seconds left and Francis McDonough scores with a second left to tie it at 7.

GOAL -- Savage works his way passed a defender on the left side to tie the score at 6 with 2:30 left.

GOAL -- Will Fuller rolls in a rebound. Rocky Poin leads 6-5 with 9:19 left.

GOAL -- Defender Justin Annunziato scores to increase Rocky Points lead to 6-4 wth 9:41 left.

Start of the Fourth

GOAL -- Dan Savage scores low and then gets hit by te Rocky Poin defense. Rocky Point leads 5-4 with 20 seconds left in the third.

Th Rocky Points defense is being very physical with Rocky Point right now,especially around the crease.

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scores his fouth goal on a low shot to make it 5-3 with 3:32 left.

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scored on a run from the right across crease. Rocky Point up 4-3 with 5:30 left.

GOAL -- Steve Hucke scores for Garden City, with under nine minutes to go, the score is tied, 3-3.

GOAL -- Jon Muscarella scores for Garden City. Rocky Point now leads, 3-2.

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scores to make the score 3-1.

HALFTIME We were just told Garden City has 13 shots to Rocky Point's 8. We've seen some nice goaltending from both Garden City's Brian McCullough and Rocky Point's Willie McGee. Rocky Point leads, 2-1.

GOAL -- Matt Palasek scores off a feed from his brother, Tom, with 2:54 left in the second quarter. Rocky Point leads, 2-1.

We're still here -- there has been no offense so far in the second quarter. Just under four minutes left and Rocky Point has possession.

END OF FIRST QUARTER

GOAL -- Garden City's Dan Savage sticks one with 2:45 left in the first. Score is tied, 1-1.

GOAL -- Tom Palasek scores with a little dribbler as he falls down from the left side of the crease. Rocky Point leads, 1-0.

BY DARREN SANDS

Let's go folks! We're live at Hofstra for the Class A Long Island Championship. Syosset needs to score quickly, early and often to stay in the game. The question for me is can they hold off West Islip's firepower to give themselves a chance heading into the second half? In my opinion, Syosset has the hottest defense and the hottest goaltender in Long Island. Will it be enough? Questions, questions, questions. Time for some answers!

Here we go!

SYOSSET (16-4) ADVANCES TO THE NYS CLASS A STATE SEMIFINAL AGAINST YORKTOWN TOMORROW AT HOFSTRA.

FINAL -- 9-6

GOALS Galasso scores. Nine seconds later, Plompen scores. With 1:07 left, Syosset leads, 9-6.

GOAL Jeff Cohen again. Sick. Clears everyone out and tip-toes the crease from the X and just sticks it past Zaremba. There are just over three minutes left in this game, and it's most likely over. West Islip has already begun to throw their helmets and sticks in disgust. Syosset leads, 9-4.

GOAL -- Cohen answers with a fast break goal in the top left from a slim angle on the right side. If you've never played, you probably don't know how hard a shot that is to make and when its on the cage, how hard it is to stop. Huge goal. WIth 4:16 remaining, Syosset leads, 8-4.

GOAL -- Plompen from Braddish with 8:48 left and the West Islip fans are into it now, to say the least. Syosset leads, 7-4.

GOAL -- West Islip scores 23 seconds into the fourth after Syosset was called for an illegal procedure. Nicky Galasso gets the credit, and Syosset now leads, 7-3.

END OF THE THIRD QUARTER -- Eight saves for Evan Cohen. The Braves are twelve minutes away from history, shocking the entire state lacrosse community, and reaching the state championship in Class A.

GOAL -- Cohen found Leverne for lacrosse's equivalent to the three-pointer, right in the top right corner. With two seconds left in the third, Syosset leads, 7-2.

GOAL -- I swear I'm not making this stuff up. Matt Albert, Syosset's faceoff specialist, bounces one in past Zaremba as Syosset goes ahead, 6-2.

GOAL -- Leverne sticks one with 5:08 remaining, and now Syosset leads, 5-2.

Remember what I said I about goaltending? Cohen makes a HUGE save on a man-up shot by Ed Plompen with six-and-a-half minutes remaining. Jared Leverne of Syosset was called for a slashing penalty. By the way, West Islip hit two pipes on the same possession. Could have easily been tied up.

GOAL -- West Islip's Braddish bounced a shot in front of the cage and closed the Braves lead to two with 7:02 left in the third quarter. Syosset leads, 4-2.

Cohen, still in the game, makes a big save up top off a shot from Nicky Galasso after trying to clear one and getting the ball checked out of his stick. Just under ten minutes left.

HALFTIME -- Syosset leads here, 4-1. As Chaminade coach Jack Moran told me, a three-goal lead is nothing to West Islip. I just told Joe Staszewski that if coach John Calabria is smart he gives a halftime speech as if his team is down by three goals. Sam Jakimo is warming up in the cage. Personally, I don't think he'll see any time. Remember, Jakimo and Cohen have been splitting time all year up until the playoffs. Cohen has had the hot hand. We'll keep you updated.

GOAL -- Cohen on a similar goal to his first, left-handed and going to his left. Right out of the gate of the next possession, West Islip's defenders seemed to get a little more physical with Cohen and he met the turf for the first time. With just under four minutes to go in the half, Syosset is ahead, 4-1.

END OF FIRST QUARTER -- West Islip has gotten off five shots, but Syosset has possessed the ball for far longer. Speaking of, when are they going to start keeping time of possession stats for lacrosse? Is that going to come with the shot clock? Anyway. Another note, in addition to the TV timeouts, the league has mandated "water timeouts" in which the players are allowed to, you guessed it, drink water. It is not as hot as it was for the past three days but warm all the same.

GOAL -- Weird goal. Cohen unloads on a lefty shot from way out, it deflects off of someone -- we don't know who -- close to the cage, and bounces past Zaremba into the cage. Syosset leads, 3-1.

GOAL -- Wachler from in close on a nice fake move. Zaremba had no chance. Syosset leads, 2-1.

GOAL -- Ridiculous move on one of those one-handed, inside move dodges by Nicky Galasso. Tied, 1-1.

GOAL -- Jeff Cohen, from Adam Wachler. Is this the quick start I thought Syosset would need to win this game? Syosset leads, 1-0.

West Islip's Ian Braddish lets loose on a shot from up top, huge save by Cohen. Same possession, another shot by Messina up top, another save by Cohen. Could easily be 2-0, West Islip, but it's not. Goaltending is paramount in championship games.

BY CHRIS MASCARO

Hey everyone, the Class C Long Island title game between Shoreham-Wading River and Manhasset, and the Class A game pairing Northport and Farmingdale have been postponed until tomorrow because of a heat index that reached over 95 today.

All of the details about the day's events can be read here.

The games will be played at 5 and 7 p.m., respectively, tomorrow at Stony Brook.

Scattered thunderstorms are expected late in the evening tomorrow, so we could be looking at even more delays/postponements. I'll keep you posted as game time draws closer.

***UPDATE***: The boys and girls championships scheduled for Tuesday afternoon/evening at Hofstra and Stony Brook, respectively, have been pushed back to tomorrow due to the extreme heat.

All five matchups will be played at the same times they were scheduled for today.

BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI

Suffolk swept all three Long Island Championship games last year at Stony Brook. West Islip and Huntington thrashed Syosset and Garden City and Shoreham-Wading River upset Cold Spring Harbor. There aren’t clear favorites in any of the this year's three games, which take place Tuesday at Hofstra. Expect three close games and neither county to sweep.

Class A

West Islip (19-1) vs. Syosset (15-4)
3:30 p.m. at Hofstra

Last season’s game between the two teams was a coronation, not a competitive contest. You will see the latter this time around. Syosset coach John Calabria said the mindset of his staff and players would be different this time. They aren’t just happy to be there.

“It’s definitely something that has been motivating me and my whole team,” attack Jeff Cohen said. “West Islip took it to us last year.”

That won’t happen this time.

This one will come down to which defense plays better, both have looked great of late. West Islip, led by goalie Ryan Zaremba and Mike McCormick, held Ward Melville to just three goals in the county final. Syosset’s offense is far superior to the Patriots though. McCormick will be given the task of controlling Jeff Cohen. Then there is everyone else. Jared Leverne, Adam Wachler and Eddie Loftus have all stepped up throughout the playoffs. Their play has eased the pressure and the attention from Cohen, helping him to be more effective.

Syosset will struggle to stop Nicky Galasso, Ed Plompen, Ian Braddish and the West Islip offense. Ward Melville had the size and depth on defense to frustrate them, especially Galasso. Normally the Lions run most possessions through him. On Thursday it felt like he barley carried the ball. The Braves, who have been riding goalie Evan Cohen, will have to try to do something similar.

There should be a lot of goals scored in this one, which will make for a fun game to watch. Syosset can win, but West Islip will find a way to pull this one out. just like it did against Ward Melville.

Winner: West Islip

Class B

Rocky Point (18-1) vs. Garden City (15-4)
5: 30 p.m.at Hofstra

I’ve believed all year that no Long Island team was going to stop Rocky Point, but now I think Garden City can. The Trojans have all the pieces needed to beat the Eagles. The most important ones are Gavin Crisafulli and Will Manning.

The two stud defenders gives Garden City the chance to cover both Tom and Matt Palasek and really stifle Rocky Point’s explosive attack. Oh and they have goalie Brian McCullough behind them if someone does get through.

With that, the key for Garden City will be limiting penalties and turnovers and getting to ground balls. If Rocky Point can get out in transition and control possession it will be a long afternoon for Garden City.

The Rocky Point defense led by Justin Annunziato will need to force turnovers and quicken the pace. Garden City has a bit more depth on offense than some of the Suffolk B teams with Francis McDonough, Dan Savage, and Will Fuller. It will be interesting to see how Rocky Point deals with a very balanced attack. The loss of suspended starting midfielder Jesse Passiglia will not help either.

Rocky Point’s offense is far superior to Garden City’s, but so was South Sides. The Trojans’ defense will get it done again.

Winner Garden City

Class C

Mount Sinai (15-3) vs. Cold Spring Harbor (15-3)
8:30 p.m. At Hofstra

Again this is an other tight match up. Mount Sinai and Cold Spring Harbor both dominated in its county finals and I know both Joe Cuozzo and Dennis Bonn have done their scouting. This one should be fun.

To beat Cold Spring Harbor you have to get ahead early. To beat Mount Sinai you have stop Mike Chapman. I thing Cold Spring Harbor can do the later. They did and excellent job frustating a Manhasset offense with multiple scorers. Mount Sinai has Jonathan Hoeg, Eric Balslov and James Langton, but the Seahawks can play them.

Mt. Sinai's biggest strength in this game will be its defense, which is a step above the Manhasset's overall. Connor Fitzgerald, Michael Sweeney and crew will not give Cold Spring Harbor any easy goals.

Mount Sinai is making its first Long Island championship appearence and Cold Spring Harbor is in its third straight It will be a factor in a tight game. Having Cuozzo will help the Mustangs here, but the Seahawks experience is the difference in this one.

Winner: Cold Spring Harbor

The Class A girls lacrosse game between Northport and Farmingdale has been postponed due to thunder and lighting. It will be played Monday 7p.m. at Stony Brook.