Oceanside falls to Baldwin, 12-11

The latest battle between Baldwin and Oceanside, waged on the lacrosse field April 21, was everything it was cracked up to be—an intense Conference I showdown with plenty of hitting, scoring and peaks and valleys.

Sprinkle in huge point-blank saves by both goalies, eight penalties, a wild fourth-quarter rally and a controversial ending, and you’ve got a classic.

The Bruins won it in come-from-behind fashion, 12-11, when senior Max Malinowski converted a pass from senior Troy Dennis with 5.9 seconds remaining to cap a huge second half for the hosts. The Sailors came within a blink of forcing overtime, but officials ruled a shot by junior Nick Sherry crossed the goal line after time expired.

“We thought it was a goal,” said Oceanside coach Bob Moltisanti of the last-second debate, “but the ref’s decision wasn’t the reason we lost. We panicked in a couple of situations late in the game and failed to clear the ball, and we didn’t win too many face-offs.”

Baldwin (8-1 overall, 4-1 Conference I), which trailed 8-3 at halftime and 10-6 after three quarters, scored the last five goals of the game. Malinowski and senior Kyle Rebman, who netted the equalizer with 2:54 left, each had three goals and one assist. Senior Billy Deignan won 19 of 27 draws. Oceanside (5-3, 2-2) got two goals apiece from senior Nick Santillo and juniors Sherry, John Remsen and Austin Akner.

“It would’ve been easy for us to roll over at halftime and just look forward to the next game,” Bruins coach Rich Garguilo said. “I was really impressed with how the kids battled and played hard for one another.”

The Sailors were sharp for three quarters and didn’t trail until the deciding goal. They controlled the second quarter, getting goals from Santillo, senior Mike Iorio and junior Chris Hughes to lead by five at the half. Senior goaltender Kyle Kalibat finished with 17 saves, as did Baldwin sophomore goalie Brett Dadiego.

“Our long pole [midfielder], Joe Swanson, getting hurt in the third quarter was a big factor,” Moltisanti said. “When he went down we lost a little something trying to stop number 22 [Dennis].”

The winning goal came off a timeout with 17.6 seconds remaining. Garguilo reached for his clipboard to design a play during the break, but didn’t bother drawing one up. “I just asked the kids what they wanted to run to try to bang in a goal,” he said. “It ended up being something we didn’t run all day.”

Dennis took a feed from junior Chris Mertens and made an aggressive move toward the goal. With his eye on the cage, Dennis sent a quick pass to Malinowski, who beat Kalibat with a shot just below the crossbar. “It was a heads-up play by Troy,” Garguilo said. “I think everyone was expecting him to shoot, but he saw an opportunity for one of his teammates to get a closer shot.”