Oceanside sails into playoffs

Oceanside closed the regular season in style May 16, taking care of business against Freeport, 20-10, to earn a split of the Conference A boys’ lacrosse eight-game schedule and set up a first-round playoff matchup with fourth-seeded Port Washington.

“We had a pretty good idea we’d open the playoffs with Port, but the guys did a good job not overlooking Freeport,” Sailors coach Jim Gillis said. “We’ve won three of our last four and we’re feeling good about ourselves. We had a tough start but we slowly began to figure things out.”

Oceanside, seeded fifth in the Class A tournament, continued its balanced attack in the win over Freeport with junior Jack Forbes scoring three times and senior Derek Cruz and juniors John Natoli, Luke Hickam and Joe Kiesche adding a pair. “We have a lot of different threats,” said Gillis, who moved Cruz and Natoli from midfield to join Hickam on the attack around the midway point of the season. “We’re sharing the ball and being aggressive at the same time,” he added.

The Sailors (7-8 overall) had five different scorers April 25 when they lost a hard-fought 9-7 battle with Port Washington at home. The Vikings netted the winner with four minutes remaining and got 16 saves from goalie A.J. Galassi. “It was a real solid game for us and proved that we were playing better lacrosse and were in the mix to make some noise,” Gillis said. “We had our chances to win it. Their goalie had a great day. He’s one of the best in the conference.”

Sophomore Kevin Carlson has been solid between the pipes in his second season as Oceanside’s starting goalie. He’s averaging seven saves per game working behind a revamped defensive scheme. “Kevin’s doing a very nice job and he trusts in the defense,” Gillis said. “All of those guys in the back are sticking together and bailing each other out when they have to.”

Gillis said the defense has thrived since incorporating some different looks. Senior mainstays Joseph Dougherty and Charlie Ward lead the charge along with long pole sophomore Joe Weidel and junior Ed Mannone. The latter has added a physical element to the unit. “The guys embraced the system change and work hard together,” Gillis said. “Dougherty and Ward have been through it all. They’re veterans and are unfazed by anything.”

The offense has been coming from a myriad of sources, the coach noted. Hickam has 25 goals, Kiesche 24, Cruz 17 (and 14 assists), junior Liam Artus 17, and freshman Tom Flavin 13.

“We’re keeping the ball moving until we find a quality shot,” Gillis said. “All the guys are doing a nice job recognizing matchups and taking advantage of what the defense gives us.”

Gillis said a 13-7 win over Plainview on May 8 sticks out as one of the better efforts of the campaign. “It was 4-4 after the first quarter and we pretty much shut them down the rest of the way,” he said. “It was a good test and we answered the bell.”