South Side downs Carey, 6-4

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Of South Side senior goaltender Chris Aranalde’s 10 saves against Carey in last Friday’s Nassau Class B boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal at Hofstra, none was bigger than his point-blank stop off Joe Sciacca late in the second quarter with the score knotted at two.

Aranalde ignited an end-to-end transition goal with 1:37 remaining in the first half to put the Cyclones ahead for good in their 6-4 victory. He zipped an outlet pass to senior Peter Malizia, who after catching the ball in stride at midfield charged toward the Seahawks’ cage and fed junior Mike Leake for his second of four goals on the night.

Leake found the net again with 14 seconds left in the half, and senior Ryan Langdon had two goals and two assists as South Side (11-6) overcame a scoreless opening quarter and a 2-0 deficit to advance to the semifinals for a second straight year. Carey (8-9), which entered the game with wins in eight of its previous nine, got two goals from sophomore Matt Stevens and two assists from junior Dom Scorcia.

“We knew Carey was hungry and playing really well, but we’re a battle-tested team and all the close games prepare us for the playoffs,” South Side coach Steve DiPietro said. “We beat Long Beach in the quarterfinals last season, which was elation, and lost a heartbreaker in the semis to Lynbrook. Our guys have experienced both ends of the spectrum and they know it’s a much better feeling to walk off this field winning.”

Considering how Carey’s season began, with seven consecutive losses out of the gate including a 6-5 defeat to South Side on March 26, reaching the quarterfinals was something coach Tom Ailello is proud of. “We had to work on morale after we were winless and lost back-to-back games 17-3 and 14-3,” Aiello said. “To the kids’ credit, they kept working and turned it around. Our young D guys, Tyler [Bourne], Dylan [Nagy] and Anthony [Todaro] improved every day.

“To win a playoff game with this group was special,” he added. “Tonight we were a little sloppy on offense against a strong defensive team.”

The Seahawks, 8-7 winners over Hewlett in the playoff opener behind Scorcia’s four goals and 12 saves from sophomore goalie Joseph Tortorella, were riding an emotional high with the return of senior midfielder Michael Kadnar, an All-County selection last spring, to the lineup for the first time in 2016 due to injury.

Carey struck first when Stevens scored with 1:55 remaining in the opening quarter, and junior Matt Scarry made it 2-0 with a scoop shot with 4:35 to go in the half. However, South Side’s defense, led by seniors Terence McMenamy, Hays Rainis and Brian Schaefer, and junior long pole middie Joe LiCalzi, didn’t allow another goal for more than 21 minutes.  

“Defense has been our calling card all season and I thought Chris played out of his mind in goal,” DiPietro said. “We spoke at halftime about how important the third quarter was going to be, and we didn’t allow a goal.”