Playoffs a feat for Hewlett

After clinching a spot in the Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse playoffs on the final day of the regular season, Hewlett brought a high level of intensity to Monday’s first-round elimination game against visiting Wantagh and led by a goal early in the second quarter.

But the Warriors capitalized on several man-up situations, built a three-goal cushion at halftime, and eventually cruised to a 16-3 victory. Casey Murphy scored four of Wantagh’s 14 unanswered goals, Kyle Cain added a hat trick and four assists, and Bob Beshlian made 14 saves as it advanced to face eight-time defending champion Garden City in the quarterfinal round. The Bulldogs (7-9 overall) got goals from seniors Kevin Fuchs and Matt Miller, and freshman Ethan Grossman.

Despite the result, Hewlett coach Adam Hopkins said he was proud of the team’s work ethic and how it overcame adversity around the midway mark when an off-the-field issue led to several players being dropped from the roster. “The guys worked very hard throughout the entire season,” Hopkins said. “The most important thing is they continued to work after the incident and we made our way into the playoffs. We had a bunch of players really step up after getting the opportunity for more playing time.”

Hopkins said beating Seaford, 9-6, on May 7 didn’t entirely salvage Hewlett’s season but “gave credibility to the hard work our guys showed day-in and day-out.” On paper, the Bulldogs, on a three-game slide, were considered a big underdog that day. “Nobody expected us to win,” Hopkins noted. “Our backs were against the wall, Seaford’s wasn’t, and we played with a lot of energy. Things fell our way early. We jumped out to a 4-1 lead and didn’t have any bad breaks.”

Senior Anthony Iannaci had four goals against Seaford, while Fuchs, the team’s leading scorer (36 goals, nine assists in 2014) and a four-year starter bound for Binghamton, added two goals and two assists. “We’re going to miss a bunch of seniors, starting with Fuchs,” said Hopkins, who also noted the contributions of Miller, Iannaci, defenders Mike Rubino and Luke Borden, and goaltender Jack Verschliser.

Verschliser, a first-year starter, had 14 saves in each of the last two games. “It would’ve been easy for him to throw in the towel when things weren’t going well, but he was real steady all year,” Hopkins said.

Juniors Billy Austin, Stefan Antoine, Jeff Rizzo, Malcolm Kahn, and Jon Frankel, along with freshmen Grossman and Jake Levitz, return to lead the way in 2015. Grossman served as the fourth attacker down the stretch and started the playoff game with Austin sidelined with concussion symptoms. Grossman had four goals in a win over Island Trees and finished with seven tallies on the year. Levitz handled the majority of face-offs.