Cyclones click after tough start

With three wins in a week-long span, South Side’s boys’ lacrosse team has turned the page on a poor start that included a horrible defensive performance in a loss to Wantagh and tough one-goal defeats to Cold Spring Harbor and Garden City.

The Cyclones worked their way past Roslyn, 9-4, in a Conference B-II game at Skelos Sports Complex last Friday, behind Gavin Ahern’s five goals and Bryan Gerrato’s five assists. Terence White added a pair of goals and Pat Finnerty and Zach Scaduto also scored as the roller coaster ride continued on the upswing.

“We played a brutal non-league schedule that’s going to prepare us well for the playoffs,” South Side coach Steve DiPietro said. “We’re going in the right direction. Regardless of the opponent, it’s important that we bring the same level of intensity.”

Roslyn managed only one goal in the first half on Friday and trailed by six goals entering the fourth. Starting goaltender Dominic Moriarty made six saves and replacement Mike Moreno contributed a couple of stops for the Cyclones (3-5), who have allowed a total of 14 goals during the three-game winning streak. “We started off a little slow offensively but then we started to click,” DiPietro said.

“Aside from Gavin, our shooting hasn’t been where I want it to be,” he added. “We’re missing the cage too much for my liking. We have to be smarter about shot selection. It’s something we’re working on every day.”

Ahern, who is bound for Penn State, has been on fire with 12 goals during the streak and 25 on the year. He had a hat trick (along with Finnerty) in a 10-3 victory over Sewanhaka on April 14 and scored four times in the team’s first win of 2010—15-7 at Long Beach on April 10. “Gavin and Bryan have some really nice chemistry going,” DiPietro said of Ahern and Gerrato.

Ahern’s biggest day on the score sheet so far came in the low point of the season. His five goals and two assists were overshadowed by a fourth-quarter meltdown that resulted in a 20-13 non-league loss at Wantagh on April 1. The Cyclones, who held a five-goal lead late in the first quarter, allowed five goals in the second and eight in the fourth. “It’s the only game of the first eight I’m disappointed about,” DiPietro said. “It was an embarrassing performance, and we knew if we played that poorly against Garden City we could give up 20 again. “But I’m super proud of how we responded.” 

Though the defending Nassau Class B champion Trojans prevailed over the Cyclones in double overtime, 3-2, on April 5, no antacid was needed to digest the result. Moriarty (12 saves) and defenders Dan Alles, Greg Cove, Mike Firestone and Mike Hayes came up big.

On deck is another stiff test, a rematch of last year’s Class B semifinal at Lynbrook South Middle School against the Owls on Friday at 4:30 p.m.