Carey topped in quarterfinals

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A solid season on the boys’ lacrosse field came to a halt for Carey as the Seahawks hung with perennial power Manhasset for a half, but couldn’t stop the second-half onslaught and fell to the Indians 12-5 in a Nassau Class B quarterfinal round game played at Hofstra on May 14.

Senior Tyler Dunn scored four goals to lead Manhasset. Carey got four goals from senior Nick Spillane. The Penn State-bound Spillane finished the season with a team-high 43 goals. The Indians, who outscored Carey 5-1 in the third quarter, advanced to face long-time rival Garden City in the semifinals.

Carey coach Tom Aiello gave Manhasset its due. “They’re a very good team, and they’re playing their best lacrosse of the season right now,” Aiello said. “They’re healthy and they have so much depth. Tyler Dunn is one of the best players around. I thought we had some good looks at the cage, and some chances to convert. Our margin of error is much smaller than theirs. When you have opportunities to score against Manhasset, you have to take advantage of them.”

James Thomas, Matt Gavin and Logan Dunn each added a pair of goals for Manhasset. Domenick Serio, an Academic All-Conference recipient, had nine saves for Carey, which finished with a record of 11-6. Manhasset improved to 11-4,

Carey had advanced to the quarterfinals by beating much-improved Lawrence, 18-11, on May 11. Spillane, who earned All-County honors, had four goals and five assists. Dom Scorcia, an Academic All-Conference performer, added two goals and six assists. Scorcia finished the season with 33 goals and 22 assists.

Aiello was impressed with the Golden Tornadoes. “I watched tapes of two Lawrence games and was concerned about stopping their offense,” Aiello said. “They’ve got some very talented players and Joe [Martillotti] has done an unbelievable coaching job. We wanted to play as fast as we could and force their defense to make plays. I thought we did a good job from that aspect.”

Lawrence, which had last earned a trip to the playoffs in 2006, got four goals from Sean Moran, a hat trick from Jordan Fredericks, and 16 saves from goalie Melik Mavruk. Spillane, Scorcia, Mike DeLeo, Brett Campos, and Rich Katz each scored to give the Seahawks an early 5-0 lead. Carey held a 13-7 lead at the half, and took a commanding eight-goal lead into the final quarter.

Aiello took the loss to Manhasset in stride. “We had an extremely difficult bracket,” Aiello said. “To be on the same side of the bracket with Manhasset and Garden City is as tough as it gets. We put up a good fight, but they just have so many weapons. It was a good season for us.”

Others receiving postseason recognition were Jorge Cerquera, Mike Kadnar, and Tom Gallant, each receiving All-County honors. Kadnar scored twice against Lawrence. Campos and Casey Kloepfer were All-County/Honorable Mention honorees, while DeLeo and Serio were named Academic All-Conference recipients.