Carey knocks off Wantagh

Wantagh had outscored Carey by a combined 37 goals in their last four meetings on the boys’ lacrosse field, but the Seahawks did not let recent history get in the way when facing the Warriors last Saturday.

Paced by junior Nick Spillane’s five goals, including the game-winner with 3:04 left on an off-balance shot from the left wing, Carey knocked off Wantagh, 11-9.

It was Carey’s first win against the Warriors in Wantagh coach John Cuiffo’s 22 years with the program. The signature triumph moved the Seahawks to 9-3 and 5-1 in Conference B1 with three regular-season games remaining.

“We had a good week of practice and everyone came out focused,” said Spillane, who has committed to play collegiately at Penn State. “This win gives us a lot of momentum.”

Carey never trailed and built an 8-4 lead before Wantagh went on a 5-1 run and tied the score 9-9 on a goal by Kyle Sliwak with 7:15 remaining. After Spillane’s go-ahead tally, Dom Serrio made one of his 11 saves on the day with just under two minutes left to preserve the lead and Spillane put the game on ice on an empty net goal with 1.6 seconds on the clock.

“He is a special player that we haven’t had here at Carey,” Carey coach Tom Aiello of Spillane. “He will be shooting by himself on a Saturday at 8 o’clock in morning in the pouring rain. That is just who he is.”

Carey, which fell to Wantagh, 19-5, in the 2012 county quarterfinals, had many other contributions on offense in addition to Spillane including three goals by Mike De Leo and two from Dylan DeMeo. Matt Robison also registered one goal and two assists.

A major key in allowing Carey to pull off the big Conference B1 victory was on faceoffs where Brett Campos won the vast majority of draws. “That was a big part of this game,” said Aiello of Campos’ performance at the faceoff X.

Wantagh was led by three goals apiece from Dylan Beckwith and Kyle Cain. Vinny Vasheo, Sliwak and Mikey Ferraro all chipped in one goal. Goalie Bob Beshlian made 10 saves.

“They played well today and deserved to win,” Cuiffo said of Carey. “We have a relatively young team and there are always a lot of things you can learn from losses.”

Carey’s win over Wantagh puts it one game ahead of the Warriors in the standings with three contests remaining. After facing South Side, the Seahawks travel to first place Garden City on May 2 before closing the regular season on May 6 against Elmont.

“Our league is very tough,” said Aiello. “This was just one win… We aren’t going to celebrate too long because this league is too tough.”

Added Spillane: “We have high expectations. We want to get to that county championship and win it. We have a lot of talent and a lot of athletic ability.”