By TONY BELLISSIMO
That's just what No. 7 seed Baldwin did in last Friday's Nassau Class AA boys lacrosse first-round playoff game against visiting East Meadow. The Bruins built a comfortable first-half cushion and held off the hard-charging Jets for a 10-6 victory that set up a quarterfinal round meeting with second-seeded Farmingdale at Hofstra.
"I was really concerned about this game because we had a few kids out sick earlier in the week and the only thing we knew about East Meadow was what we saw on film," Baldwin Coach Rich Garguilo said. "We stepped up today. We're a highly-skilled team and we're tough when we play with discipline."
The starting attack of seniors Tom Cerny and Brian Freehill and sophomore Zach Rodgers hurt East Meadow from the opening whistle. Cerny had four goals and one assist, Freehill three goals and two assists and Rodgers one goal and three assists. Each of them scored in the first quarter.
"We knew we had to be aggressive because they have two tremendous players in Chakrian [Ross] and Occhipinti [Charlie] and we didn't want to give up anything early," Garguilo said. "On top of being a strong team defensively, we've got very good leadership and it showed."
Freehill's goal 32 seconds into the game set the tone. Cerny scored at the 2:51 mark and Rodgers at 4:53. Meanwhile, senior goaltender Matt Billia (17 saves) and a defense led two players in seniors Ryan Kelly and Kevin Reilly whose status was up in the air just 48 hours earlier had the Jets frustrated.
"I'm proud of these guys," East Meadow Coach Sam Joseph said. "We came a long way. Our goal was to make it at Hofstra and we fell short so we're not happy with the loss. But we've got a young team and I'm looking forward to next season."
The Jets were making their first playoff appearance in three years and may have been victims of jitters in the early going. By the time the hit the scoreboard on Chakrian's unassisted goal with 1:04 left in the half, the deficit was 5-1. Cerny and junior Tim Clifford tallied earlier in the second quarter for Baldwin.
East Meadow looked done after Cerny converted a pass from Rodgers at the 2:46 mark of the third to make it 6-1. But Joseph's team had something left in the tank. "We showed some guts," the first-year coach said.
Goals by Alex Rivas and Occhipinti gave the Jets life and after Occhipinti and Joey Mazzie scored early in the fourth it was suddenly 7-5. "We relaxed a little bit and the next thing we knew it was a game again," Garguilo said.
The anxious moment for Baldwin lasted all but 12 seconds. Senior Kenny Byrnes won the face-off that followed Mazzie's goal and Reilly beat Teddy Leone (10 saves) to make it 8-5 with 6:59 remaining. Cerny and Freehill provided the insurance.
The Bruins gave Farmingdale a run for its money on April 13, losing 9-6 at home, and Garguilo liked the tournament draw as soon as it was released. "We played Farmingdale tough, but that doesn't get you the prize," he said. "We feel we can win if we do everything right."
