Huge comeback win for Mepham

Mepham turned the improbable into reality, scoring three goals in the final three minutes—including two on consecutive man-down possessions—to complete a comeback from a six-goal halftime deficit to knock off Lawrence, 15-14, in a Nassau boys’ lacrosse non-conference battle last Saturday.

Senior midfielder Yianni Hilas netted the game-winner with just 40 seconds remaining, his third goal of the contest, as the Pirates (3-4 overall, 0-2 Conference B-I) snapped a three-game losing streak.

“Lawrence has some big-time players but it wasn’t in the gameplan to go down 11-5 at the half,” Mepham coach James Koester said. “We scratched away, played a little tougher on riding and scored some transition goals.

“I felt offensively we were doing well. [At halftime] we just told them that we’ve got to win the game between the restraining lines. We thought we could get some transition goals and we told the guys to just go, go, go.”

And go they did, particularly on the two goals prior to Hilas’ game-winner. First Mepham gained possession in the man-down situation after knocking the ball down and pushed it out into transition where Gilroy found Hilas. Seconds later, Hilas got possession of the ensuing faceoff and passed it to Gilroy. This time, he found sophomore Jon Olson for the game-tying goal. “[Yianni] Hilas was on face-offs for most of the game and even when he didn’t win them he did a great job making sure the other guy didn’t pick it up,” Koester said.

Gilroy, who splits time between attack and midfield, provided a steady hand and senior leadership on both ends of the field, tallying a game-high 10 points with three goals and seven assists. It was his pushes in transition that not only led to the team’s late push to victory but also sparked a seven-goal outburst in the third quarter. “Because we had him in the middle of the field he was getting in transition and feeding,” Koester said. “He’s good at running by guys and finding the open player.”

Five different players scored at least once for Mepham with Olson and junior Scott Mateyaschuk each scoring a team-high four times. Freshman Jack Gibbons also had a goal. Olson chipped in three assists, while junior Isaac Lozada, the team’s best dodger, also had a pair of helpers. ”Scott [Mateyaschuk] has the mentality of a shooter,” Koester said. “He can run by guys and shoot on the run. The nice thing about us is that we have multiple guys that are scoring threats and all are athletic.”

Senior goalie John Rooney (14 saves) turned in a strong second half, as Mepham allowed just three goals after intermission with help from Gilroy, who helped limit the scoring opportunities of Sean Moran (five goals). Junior Colin Vandewater, normally a close defender, turned in a solid performance on the long pole and junior defenders Chris Carrano and Matt Campagna also stepped up. “Lawrence had fewer offensive opportunities [in the second half],” Koester said.