Wantagh rallies past South Side

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An overtime defeat at home to South Side late last season wasn’t forgotten by the Wantagh boys’ lacrosse team. A high level of intensity could be seen and heard from the coaches and players on the Warriors’ sideline throughout the team’s rematch against the Cyclones on April 13.

The two clubs once again provided a tightly contested matchup, entering the fourth quarter tied. But, in the game’s final 12 minutes, it was Wantagh that raised its play on both sides of the ball, to earn an extremely satisfying 10-6 Conference B-I victory on South Side’s field.

“It was an emotional win,” Warriors head coach John Cuiffo said. “They’re well-coached, and have a lot of good players. It’s a good rivalry, and it’s a good win for us. I’m really, really proud of my team.”

After the two teams went back and forth on the scoreboard for three quarters, Wantagh took full control in the final stanza, outscoring its opponent 4-0. 

“We didn’t have as much movement offensively as we’ve had in previous games where we’ve been successful,” Cyclones head coach Steve DiPietro said. “We were playing hard, we just weren’t executing as well as we needed to.”

The go-ahead score came with 7:05 left in regulation, off the stick of senior attackman Christopher Tucker. While driving down the field, Tucker received a pass from fellow senior attackman Anthony Teresky, and fired a shot home to put his team up for good.

“Me and Teresky always run that play through in practice,” Tucker said. “I was just cutting down, and it ended up working out pretty good in the game for us.”

Teresky registered a goal of his own just a few minutes later. Senior midfielders Devin Kennedy and Matthew Robbins provided scores for the Warriors in the closing minutes to put the game out of reach. Robbins had a team-high five points, while Tucker, Teresky and Kennedy all registered three points apiece.

Wantagh’s play on the defensive side of the field also proved to be crucial to its win. The team stepped up while shorthanded at several key points in the game, and during its occasional defensive lapses, saw senior goalie Michael Kessler come up large.

“I thought our goalie played great, and defensively 6-on-6 we were fantastic,” Cuiffo said. “At one point we were two-men down for a full minute, and they didn’t score on that. That was a big, big moment for us.”

In total, Kessler made 14 saves in the game. South Side junior goalie JT McCarthy also had a strong evening in the cage, turning away 10 shots. 

Senior attackmen Ryan Langdon and Mike Leake each had two goals and an assist for South Side.

After earning sweet revenge, heads were held high on the Warriors sideline. “We’re going to be pretty good this season now that we got this one out of the way,” Tucker said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster moving forward.”

The Warriors (4-1) travel to Manhasset this Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. faceoff.