Saturday, May 24, 2025
Two teams trying to navigate their way in the rugged Nassau boys’ lacrosse power conference hooked up for an intense roller coaster battle April 15 that wasn’t decided until less than a minute remained on the clock.
Host Oceanside fought back from a pair of three-goal deficits to pull even with Calhoun, but the Colts scored the eventual game-winner with 1:04 remaining in regulation when sophomore Brandon McCabe pounced on a loose ball 15 yards out and flicked a quick shot nobody saw coming for a 10-9 victory.
“It was an interesting game and I’m proud of how we responded and kept making plays,” Calhoun coach Jim Femminella said. “We’re a work in progress and getting better every game. Today was probably the most consistent four quarters we’ve strung together. Oceanside kept coming but our guys dug in.”
Junior first-year starting goalie Nick Greci starred with 16 saves and got offensive support from senior Harley Finkelstein (hat trick and one assist) and senior Ryan Burr and junior Nicholas Voll, who netted two goals apiece, as the Colts improved to 2-3. The Sailors (1-3) got three goals and one assist from junior Luke Miller and two goals apiece from juniors Brady Nardone and Ethan Famularo. Senior goalie Sam Feldbaum made 13 stops.
“We’re doing some good things every game but we’re also shooting ourselves in the foot too much,” Oceanside coach Mike Santisteban said. “Today we showed how tough we can be battling back, but our big issues were man-up and man-down. We didn’t take advantage of opportunities we need to capitalize on.”
The first half was chippy with both teams drawing six penalties. Calhoun, which never trailed, scored 7 seconds in when senior Braden Garvey converted a pass from sophomore Michael Nicholson, who won the opening draw. Each team managed a power play goal in the first quarter (Nardone and Burr, respectively), but the Colts built a 6-3 lead early in the second on a dynamic behind-the-back shot by Voll and killed off a two-man down situation with senior Lucas Porcaro, junior Andrew Nill and freshman Jonathan Ruisi leading the defense in front of Greci.
“Nick came into the season with big shoes to fill and he’s stepped up,” Femminella said of Greci.
Famularo got Oceanside within 6-4 at halftime and the Sailors opened the second half strong with a fantastic solo effort by Miller to make it 6-5 and the tying goal off the stick of senior Andrew Dato.
Calhoun re-rallied and scored three of the next four goals and led 9-7 with 8:25 remaining thanks to junior Jake Condela’s tally. Back came Oceanside with freshman Dylan Parker cutting the deficit in half and Famularo netting the equalizer with 1:27 left.
Porcaro blocked a shot late to secure the victory for the Colts, who were coming off losses to defending state Class B and D champions South Side and Cold Spring Harbor, respectively.
It was the second straight one-goal setback for Oceanside, which opened the campaign with an 8-1 win over Locust Valley with Nardone and Dato recording four points apiece.
