By JOSEPH KELLARD
Long Beach pulled out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period. ³They came out fired up to beat us,² said Oceanside coach Bob Moltisanti. ³Our goalie [John Bella] started out shaky, but he soon settled down.²
As Bella¹s defensemen blanketed Long Beach¹s offense in the second half, he saved the Marines¹ few shots on goal with everything from his stick to elbow. The Marines managed to tie the game early in the third period after the Sailors took a 6-5 halftime lead, but scored just once while Oceanside defensemen Matt Murane and Mike Lapkowski served slashing penalties late in the fourth period.
³We started playing more slide defense and using more midfielders,² Moltisanti said about his halftime adjustments.
The Sailors¹ defense, lead in part, by the aggressive John Mirando, was either stealing the ball right from the Marines¹ sticks or intercepting passes, even on Long Beach¹s extra man opportunities. Murnane had two interceptions on the day.
Attackman Peter Boucher lead Oceanside¹s offense with four goals and two assists. Boucher last and most dramatic score came after midfielder Brian Kirschner took a shot that hit the goal post, and he was there to scoop up and net the ball with 4:51 left in the game. Kirschner had two goals, one coming on a crank shot at 5:11 in the third period that put the Sailors up 8-6.
After assisting Kirschner on this goal, midfielder Terrance Nash scored next when he streaked from behind the net and across center to deliver his shot. Attackman Sean Lucas also ran around the back of the net to score from the right wing and cap the Sailors¹ 11-7 victory.
On Saturday, Oceanside fell to Calhoun in a 9-8 double overtime game. But at 8-2 in Conference A, and with such playoff-caliber teams as Freeport, East Meadow, Hicksville and Massapequa on their schedule, Moltisanti has high hopes for his team.
³I think with this group,² he said, ³we have a good shot at a county championship.²
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
