By TONY BELLISSIMO
Miller, a junior, scored seven goals, including four assisted by senior Nick Mastronardi, to lead the Bulldogs to an 18-9 victory last Friday. Mastronardi added two goals, junior Andrew Cohen had a goal and four assists and junior Tyler Edwards added a fourth-quarter hat trick. The Pirates got three goals apiece from Joe Anderson, Anthony Caponi and Travis Diana and 20 saves from goalie Mike Greubel.
"Today reminded me a little of last year's playoff game at Mepham when Beau scored six goals," said Hewlett coach Chris Passuello, referring to his team's 12-10 rain-soaked victory last May. "It took us a little while to get going, but we came out focused. It's the playoffs and kids on both sides were up for it. We knew it wouldn't be easy."
The Bulldogs, who were knocked off by Wantagh in a quarterfinal game at Hofstra on Tuesday afternoon, 12-7, defeated the Pirates by an 11-goal margin on May 3 but had a battle on their hands early and trailed by two with 1:24 gone in the second quarter after Anderson scored his first goal. "They have tough kids and they're well-coached," Passuello said. "I wouldn't say I was worried after they jumped out on us but we needed to start playing better."
Junior Joe Loria, who dominated on face-offs, ignited a six-goal spurt spanning the second and third quarters that put fifth-seeded Hewlett (10-4) in control. After senior Ben Saperstein and Miller scored to get the Bulldogs even, Cohen put them ahead for good with 5:46 remaining in the first half. Freshman Jake Geiger added two goals and two assists and sophomore Michael Stern also scored. "Joe's a key part of our team and a huge factor today," Passuello said of Loria, who scored five minutes into the second half to make it 8-4. "We're tough when he's winning face-offs and allowing us to control the tempo."
On Tuesday, No. 4 Wantagh avenged an 11-10 loss to the Bulldogs on May 10 and advanced to face top-seeded South Side in a semifinal at Hofstra on Thursday at 6 p.m. Hewlett entered the playoffs off a 10-9 victory over Kennedy in the Conference B-I regular-season finale. The outcome affected the playoff status of both teams, which went 6-4 in conference games. The Cougars were seeded No. 11 and lost in the first round at Carey.
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
