By:Tom Jordan
OK/GS
Rockville Centre coach leads team to victory
The Long Island Lizards, a brand-new team from a brand-new league, and one with a lot of familiar faces on its roster, notched its first-ever victory on Thursday, June 14, against the Rochester Rattlers. More than having evened their record at 1-1, after a 16-13 loss in their inaugural game at Baltimore the previous week, the Lizards, coached by Rockville Centre's John DeTomasso, introduced professional lacrosse to Long Island.
It seemed to be love at first sight, especially for the green-wigged fanatics with L-I-Z-A-R-D-S spelled across their chests in green and black paint, and those waving giant foam hands positioned to indicate not "we're No. 1," but instead, "hang ten, dude."
A crowd of 5,243 at Hofstra Stadium welcomed Major League Lacrosse to Long Island, where the new, six-team league played for the first time. In addition to the Lizards and the Rattlers, the Baltimore Bayhawks, Bridgeport Barrage, New Jersey Pride and Boston Cannons began playing this spring.
Hofstra Stadium, where the Lizards will play their seven home games, was filled with the type of pageantry usually reserved for college football. During pre-game introductions, players raced onto the field through the open mouth of a twelve-foot inflatable lizard, waving to the crowd. "Pump up the Volume" poured from the public address system. The Lizards' Ninja-Turtles-gone-mad mascot paced the sidelines.
But from the first face-off, the players showed this game is about more than flash. It's about bone-jarring substance, as well. Two minutes into the game, defenseman John Gagliardi delivered a hard shot on a Rochester player, drawing a roar from the crowd. A moment later, Gagliardi was racing in the other direction with the ball.
Pageantry? We've got your pageantry right here.
"At the core of what we have going on is that we have the best lacrosse players in the world playing in this league. There are no gimmicks. Not many start-up leagues can say that," said league founder Jake Steinfeld, a Baldwin resident best known for his Body by Jake fitness industry. "Most of us grew up with baseball, but there is a new generation of kids looking to take ownership of a new sport, and it's lacrosse."
Steinfeld got his first taste of lacrosse at Baldwin High School, then played at Portland State "for about an hour." He believes the early attendance figures -- the Lizards and Bayhawks drew 5,953 on June 7 -- will only increase.
"Fans in Baltimore told me they couldn't believe there was anything better than college lacrosse until they saw our game," Steinfeld said. "They loved it. And, believe it or not, it's only going to get better."
Whether or not Long Island will support a professional lacrosse team over time remains to be seen, but those who showed up for the home opener were in full throttle from start to finish, cheering good plays made by each team.
And though it was Casey Powell, the four-time All-American from Syracuse University, whom the Rattlers would later see in their nightmares, it was the hometown heroes who remained in the hearts of the fans.
Powell was dynamic, scoring seven goals, including a two-pointer, to lead the Lizards to the 18-13 victory. Powell's brother Ryan also had a big night, scoring four goals and dishing out three assists for the Rattlers. But the longest and loudest ovations were for Tim Byrnes and Terry Riordan, who like Steinfeld, grew up in Baldwin; Vincent Sombrotto, Joe Astarita, Brad Obloj, Joey Ghedina and Brian Spallina, Hofstra graduates, who signed autographs and posed for pictures after the game; David Kelly and Bill Santamaria, who went to C.W. Post; Pat McCabe, the defenseman from Elmont, and head coach DeTomasso. All had a hand in the victory.
"I don't think we ever dreamed we'd be playing before 5,000 people on a Thursday night," DeTomasso said. "I'm ultimately impressed."
He was equally impressed with the team's first win. The Lizards took control of a 7-7 game with eight third-period goals and responded with three more after the Rattlers closed to 15-13 with 8:44 remaining. Fans should be advised not to blink while the ball is in play; they're likely to miss a goal or two.
"Sixteen-13 and 18-13," DeTomasso said, shaking his head. "We played hard in the first game, but not particularly well. For the first two quarters tonight, we played hard, but things didn't come easily. But then we started to do the little things. We played with passion; we relied on one another. We seemed to pick up every ground ball."
Powell scooped up seven ground balls. Gagliardi had six, the last coming as the final seconds of the game melted away and the crowd stood as one and cheered the Lizards' historic first entry in the win column.
