By TONY BELLISSIMO
And he did it with a behind-the-back shot.
Serling converted a pass from junior Nick O'Reilly just before the horn sounded to give the Cyclones a thrilling 10-9 victory at the Dean G. Skelos Sports Complex in a game that easily lived up to the hype. It was South Side's first-ever triumph over the Trojans, who seized the momentum late in the fourth quarter by scoring three straight goals to tie the game.
"Knowing we made history makes it that much sweeter," said Serling, who had two goals and two assists and won 14 of 18 faceoffs, including a crucial one with 1:18 remaining after Francis McDonough pulled Garden City even. "I peeked at the clock with five seconds left when Nick started to move toward the cage. I wasn't sure if he was going to shoot, but when he passed it to me I knew I didn't have more than a second or two."
Serling wasn't the only star of the day for the Cyclones, who upped their winning streak to six games and improved to 8-3 overall and 5-0 against conference foes. Senior Pat Tighe scored five goals, O'Reilly had one goal and three assists and junior goaltender Ryan Alexander made 11 stops. "This win means a lot and puts our program back on the map," first-year coach Steve DiPietro said. "Winning that last faceoff put us in position to win in the closing seconds or go to overtime. It was great to see us possess the ball under pressure and convert."
Tighe was the only player to score in the third quarter, and he did so three times to give South Side a 7-4 cushion with 12 minutes to go. A defense led by senior Christian Sorensen and juniors Chris Berry and Nicholas Chu kept Garden City off the scoreboard in the third, though DiPietro knew the Trojans wouldn't go down without a fight. "We knew we had to play an exceptional game from start to finish," he said. "I thought one of the keys was we didn't take a single penalty."
It was South Side's fifth one-goal game this spring. The Cyclones beat Mepham, 6-5, and fell to Manhasset, 14-13, Syosset, 11-10, and Cold Spring Harbor, 10-9. There could be more, with trips to Wantagh (May 13) and Lynbrook (May 17) on tap.
"We're going to enjoy this win for a while," said DiPietro, "but we need to stay hungry."
Comments about this story? TBellissimo
@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 204.
