MAY 17, 2018 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A11
SPORTS
Gatz gets the job done BY BILL LANDON
Mount Sinai 4 Comsewogue 3
BILL LANDON
Tyler Gatz took home the Division II title for Mount Sinai. With the Mustangs down 3-2 in the final minutes, the freshman midfielder assisted on classmate Brandon Ventarola’s game-tying shot before scoring the go-ahead goal as the buzzer sounded for a 4-3 home win over Comsewogue May 11. The final play called for the ball to end up in the stick of senior JoJo Pirreca, but Gatz said he saw an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. “The play was sideways,” the freshman said. “I saw that they over-pursued me, so I put the stick in my left hand, got top side and just let it go.”
Mount Sinai was tied with Islip at 12-1 atop the league leaderboard heading into Friday’s game. Comsewogue and Harborfields were tied for second (10-2), but the Tornadoes took down Islip earlier that day (13-7) to leave the Mustangs battling it out for sole possession. “Comsewogue played great defense tonight — they did a great job, so I feel fortunate that we were able to get this win,” Mount Sinai head coach Harold Drumm said. “It’s easy when you win 10-1, but [we were] playing a tough team and things [were] not going our way. Our team showed it had a lot of heart, and that’s what tells you if you have a team or not.” After a scoreless first quarter, Comsewogue senior Anthony Passarella broke the ice, and juniors Chris Wolfe and Sean Kennedy scored next to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead with 4:11 remaining until the halftime break. Known for its stout defense, Comsewogue remained solid until eighth-grader Joseph Spallina’s solo shot rocked the back of the cage to end of the quarter. Not wanting his age to be paired with inexperience, the team’s leading scorer proved his prowess when he struck again four minutes into the third on an assist from junior Dominic Boscarino to pull his team within one, 3-2. “When we were down 3-1 we really weren’t moving the ball,” said Spallina, who ranks seventh among all Suffolk scorers with 76 points on 34 goals and 42 assists. Spallina said his team wanted to take it
Tyler Gatz, above, looks to get around Comsewogue’s Karl Lacalandra as he makes his way to the cage. Joseph Spallina, on left, pushes past Comsewogue’s Zach Gagnon. slow, thinking back to the lone loss of the season, a 10-9 defeat at the hands of Islip April 11, and wanted to redeem that loss by taking sole possession of the division crown. Comsewogue went a man down on three separate occasions and Mount Sinai was unable to capitalize. The tables turned when Spallina was flagged for an infraction and served a one-minute penalty to close out the third, and his team again went a man down with under three minutes left in the fourth, but Comsewogue couldn’t find the net. “We had one devastating loss against a really good team,” Spallina said of the loss to Islip. “So we were thinking, ‘Just make one stop at a time.’” Mount Sinai gained possession with less than 40 seconds left and moved the ball around the cage to tick time off, allowing
for one last shot before a looming overtime period, which is when Gatz made his move. “They play hard, they’re very well coached,” Drumm said of Comsewogue. “We know they have great athletes on the field and we knew we had to tighten up a little in the crease, and even down 3-1 we [knew we’d have] opportunities on offense. We needed to keep believing, so I just tried to stay the course.” Mount Sinai, which earned the No. 1 seed with the win, will host the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 4 ShorehamWading River and No. 5 Sayville in the Class C semifinals May 23 at 4 p.m. Comsewogue, the No. 2 seed, will compete in the Class B semifinals, hosting the winner of the No. 3 East Islip and No. 6 Half Hollow Hills West game May 23 at 4 p.m.
Mustangs earn No. 1 seed The visiting Mustangs galloped onto the field like it was a playoff game — knowing they needed to win to earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. But Mattituck’s girls lacrosse team made them work for it. With the game tied 8-8 heading into overtime, Mount Sinai sophomore Morgan Mitchell dished the ball to senior Gabby Sartori, who netted what would end up being the game winner with two minutes remaining. Mitchell had lent a helping hand all afternoon May 12, ending the 9-8 victory with a goal and five assists. A handful of them helped senior Camryn Harloff tally a hat trick, in a game that won Mount Sinai a share of the Division II title with Bayport-Blue Point (both 13-1). “I wasn’t really thinking about scoring, I just knew we had to get the job done whether it was me or someone else,” Harloff said. “It definitely feels nice to win the division, but that’s just one piece of the bigger picture — we want another state title.” Mount Sinai has won three straight Class C crowns, and a large group on the current squad have consistently helped get there. Senior Meaghan Tyrrell, who is second among all Suffolk scorers with 49 goals and 36 assists, said despite a shaky start against Mattituck, her teammates always know how to pull together in crucial contests. “I believe draw controls led our team to victory, with Morgan [Mitchell] playing really well both on the draw circle and in the
BILL LANDON
BY DESIRÉE KEEGAN DESIREE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM
Mount Sinai 9 Mattituck 8
Camryn Harloff
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offensive zone,” said Tyrrell, who finished with a goal and two assists. Mitchell ended the game with six draw controls. “We play smart under pressure.” Twin sisters, senior defenders Kirsten and Meaghan Scutaro, have also been fixtures. “They hold us together like glue,” Harloff said. “The offense puts up the points we need, buy they are the key aspects to this team because defense is our foundation.” Sartori and senior Jenny Markey added two goals each in the final regular-season game. As the No. 1 seed, the Mustangs have a first-round bye, and will face one of their neighbors, either No. 4 Shoreham-Wading River or No. 5 Rocky Point, which play May 18 at 4 p.m. Mount Sinai’s game will be at home May 22 at 4 p.m. Harloff said she is anxious to try to make a run at her fourth and final state title. “We definitely feel a target, but we don’t focus on that — we go day by day,” Harloff said. “We’re not going to be complacent, but we are confident.”
this memorial service was one for the record books.