Thursday, October 1, 2026
Half Hollow Hills sauntered into Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium with an undefeated record, No. 1 in the country among public schools, according to USA Lacrosse.
Led by Anthony Raio, Long Island’s all-time leading scorer, it bullied through the Suffolk Class A playoffs, winning their three playoff games by an average of 11.3 goals.
Half Hollow Hills left Shuart Stadium still undefeated, but realizing they survived a war, edging Massapequa, 15-14, in the Long Island Class A final June 5.
Hills (20-0) survived and advanced to take on Mamaroneck in the NYSPHSAA Class A regional final on Saturday, thanks to Luke Bradley’s goal with 9.7 seconds left in regulation that clinched the program’s first Long Island title.
“Going into the game, we realized that for once we were the underdog, so we used that narrative to get the boys fired up, and just let them know we just won the county championship as well, and we are an extremely talented team, even though we’re a very young team,” Chiefs first-year coach Kevin Catalano said.
Massapequa (15-5) gave Hills everything it could handle through 48 pulsating minutes. There were 11 ties and nine lead changes, with neither team leading by more than two goals at any point.
Trailing 13-11 on a Raio extra-man goal with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter, Matt Pettis orchestrated the Chiefs' late surge. The Albany-bound midfielder spun and scored to cut the deficit to one and then fed Rocco Spallina for his third goal of the game to tie the score at 13 with 3:59 remaining.
Following a big Will Krieg check and a Justin Farrell clear, Pettis got to the cage and gave the Chiefs their seventh lead of the game with his third goal at 14-13 with 2:15 left.
Raio, a North Carolina commit, spun and fired a high shot past Michael Jannotte for his fifth goal to tie the score at 14 with 1:22 remaining.
Nico Ghicas won the ensuing faceoff, and with overtime looming, Bradley fired high to score the winning goal, his fourth, with 9.7 seconds left.
It was a crushing end for a Massapequa team chasing a third Long Island title, and first since 2019. Still, plenty of Chiefs stepped up in the instant classic.
“Guys were fired up, our matchups were working well, transition was working well, and it was just an extremely fun game,” Catalano said. “That was the only way that game could end, right down to the wire. It was absolutely insane. It was, it was good to be a part of.”
Tyler Byrnes had four goals and one assist, Pettis and Spallina had three goals and two assists apiece, Braden Tucker had two goals and two assists, Nolan Wieczorek had one goal and two assists, and Jannotte made 17 saves to stymie Half Hollow Hills’ high-powered attack.
Pettis and Jannotte, and the other seniors on the team, left their mark on the game and throughout the season.
“The seniors really stepped up, their leadership throughout the season was huge, and they just laid it all out there,” Catalano said. “I couldn’t ask for any more than what the seniors left out there and how they helped us get the mojo back in our community and kind of put us back on the map playing a team like that.”
