Seaford rises in Class B

Facing stepped-up competition in 2014 in its move up to Class B, the Seaford boys’ lacrosse team is more than holding its own and riding momentum in the home stretch of the regular season.

An 11-3 win against Roslyn last Saturday night moved the Vikings to 7-5 and 4-4 in Conference B2 with three games remaining. Seaford has won three of its last five with one of those defeats to first-place Lynbrook by a goal. 

Seaford’s convincing win against Roslyn under the lights was reminiscent of the balanced scoring it has received all season with four multi-goal scorers including Matt Murphy, James Curley, Kyle Kolodinsky and Nick Silvestri. Danny Connell, Jimmy Ragland and James Duncan also registered goals. 

“It’s huge,” Seaford head coach Mike Corcoran said of the many offensive weapons he has in his lineup. “Other teams can’t just key on one person.”

Seaford was without Curley for five games early on due to injury, but the senior who earned All-County honors last year is now back healthy. Curley scored three goals in Seaford’s 8-7 loss to Lynbrook on April 23.

On defense, Seaford has been getting solid play from goalie Andrew Sappia, who has held opposing teams in single digits for all but one game. Sappia recorded 17 saves against Lynbrook and 14 in a 10-3 win against Great Neck South on March 21. 

“He’s been having a great year,” said Corcoran of his starting netminder. “He’s playing great.” 

In addition to Lynbrook, Seaford also nearly defeated neighborhood rival and longtime Class B power Wantagh, 8-6, on April 3, which was the Vikings’ first loss following a 4-0 start. While Corcoran is proud of how his team has performed against a grueling schedule, he is not satisfied with just coming close to big wins. 

“We don’t need moral victories, we need real victories,” said Corcoran. “We’re right there.” 

Following an April 29 game against West Hempstead after press time, Seaford closes the regular season on May 2 versus Lawrence and May 6 at Hewlett. The Class B playoffs will then get underway on May 10 and Corcoran is expecting the race for the county title to be wide open.

“I think Garden City is still the team to beat but there are a lot of very good teams in B,” he said. “It should be very competitive.”

Vikings honor late former player 

Prior to Seaford’s game against Roslyn last Saturday night, the program paid tribute to former Viking player Ryan Bailey, who two years ago was tragically struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident while a student at Towson University.

Bailey’s jersey number 15 worn while playing for Seaford was officially retired. The Seaford players also wore stickers on their helmets in memory of Bailey. 

“It was a good day,” said Corcoran of honoring Bailey, who he coached at Seaford. “The family was very happy with everything.” 

The Ryan Bailey memorial event also included a youth lacrosse game along with Seaford’s boys JV and girls’ varsity teams playing throughout the day. All proceeds from the event go toward a new scholarship fund in Bailey’s memory started by his family.