Oceanside defeats East Meadow

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Oceanside’s boys’ lacrosse team was eager to get back on the field after having a full week to stew over a blown late multigoal lead against Port Washington resulting in a 9-8 loss.

The Sailors showed no lingering effects, however, scoring the first four goals April 24 on the way to a convincing 13-8 victory at East Meadow in a key Conference A matchup. Senior Luke Hickam had two goals and six assists, senior Liam Artus added a hat trick, and junior Nick Platia won 17 of 19 faceoffs as Oceanside upped its record to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in conference games. The Jets (5-7, 3-3) got five goals and an assist from sophomore Chris Barry and two goals and two assists from junior Frank Falco.

“We did a good job of putting that loss behind,” first-year Oceanside coach Rob Blount said of the April 17 defeat to Port. “It’s been a week since we played and a few weeks since we’ve won, so the kids were really fired up to play. This gives us a little separation from the middle of the pack.”

Both starting goalies — junior KC Carlson (10 saves) of Oceanside and sophomore Brendan Pedisich (eight stops) of East Meadow — were sharp, particularly in the early going. The opening goal, off the stick of Sailors’ senior Ryan Downing, didn’t come until 4:38 remained in the first quarter.

“We’re shorthanded because of spring break and other reasons, but Oceanside is a good team,” East Meadow coach Steve D’Argenio said. “Our goalie kept us in it. Offensively, we’re making that extra pass too much and not being aggressive to the cage.”

The Sailors led 4-0 midway through the second quarter. After Downing got the fireworks started, Hickam scored with 1:31 remaining in the first off a feed from sophomore Thomas Flavin for a 2-0 lead. Senior Jack Forbes scored unassisted 3:38 into the second and junior Gunnar Johnson followed less than a minute later off a restart pass from Hickam.

“Luke is our top offensive threat and he makes us go,” Blount noted of Hickam, who has 19 goals and 15 assists through 11 games. “Today we got some nice offense from other areas as well.”

The Jets cut the margin in half with two quick tallies from Barry, who leads them with 29 goals. His second, with 4:58 remaining in the half, also saw Oceanside get a brief scare with Carlson hitting the ground in pain. Carlson suffer only a mild knee injury and returned to the cage after a few minutes on the sideline. In the meantime, Artus and Downing sandwiched goals around one by Barry and the Sailors led 6-3 at halftime.

Oceanside scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter to take a commanding 9-3 lead into the fourth. A defense led by senior Eddie Mannone in the crease and junior Thomas Schmitt at the top of the box proved difficult to crack.

“Our defense has been a constant,” Blount said.