By Alexander Hughes
Previously, the team suffered a close loss to Trojans. This was their chance to show them up in the playoffs, and to leave their mark at South Side, as the Cyclones have never before been able to beat their old rival.
The game got off to a rough start for the Cyclones as Garden City took possession of the ball on the first face off. While goalie Dan Orlando, a senior, made a save that stopped them from scoring two minutes into the quarter, the Trojans turned the ball over again and scored their first goal less than four minutes in. Senior midfielder Bob Hayes won the face-off for South Side, but the team wrestled to keep the ball in their possession until 1:33 left in the quarter, when Garden City's Dean Gibbon's planted his shot in the net. The Trojans took the next face off, but Orlando turned it over again in another save. Two missed shots by South Side left Garden City in the lead, 4-0, by the end of the quarter.
The second quarter did not offer South Side a chance to put Garden City on the defensive immediately either, as the Trojans quickly took possession and scored another goal less than two minutes into the game, and another 7 seconds later. The game finally began to turn around for the Cyclones when #14, TC Neuhs, scored the first goal of the game with an assist from #11, Steve Serling, putting the score at 4-1. Garden City did not let it go unnoticed, however, and quickly scored again. By the end of the first half, Neuhs put another in the net, and Serling followed him, putting the score at 5-3 till the Trojans stopped the streak with another goal before the second half. The first half ended with Garden City up 6-3
Assistant Coach for the Cyclones Steve DiPietro reflected on the tough start to the game saying, "We had too many turnovers in early in the game." But Coach DiPietro also pointed out that "we outscored them 3-2 in the second quarter and held them to only one goal in the second half." In the third quarter, the Cyclones let up one goal to Garden City but shut them off entirely in the last quarter, when senior midfielder Bobby Hayes, #30, put the game at 7-4 and defenseman Kyle Yberg, #17, made his way down the field and hit the open net with two minutes left in the game, putting the final score at 7-5.
Despite the loss to Garden City, Coach DiPietro reflected on the season saying, "The kids fought hard all season long, and no one else in the county expected them to make it that far. Garden City is a very good team." For the season as a whole, DiPietro felt the team played strongly and cohesively together: "The seniors did a great job leading, and a lot of guys like Orlando, Hayes, Yberg, Serling and Beck all had strong seasons. All the players fell into their positions nicely, they finished the season 17-3, and between the three losses only lost by a total of 5 goals for the season."
Seniors Dan Orlando, goalie; Bobby Hayes, midfield; Kyle Yberg, defense; Matt Beck, midfield; Steve Serling, attack; and junior Keith Arcuri, defense were all named All County players. Orlando and Hayes will be considered as All-Americans, and the deliberation begins Wed., June 7. All of the Seniors named All-County will be continuing their careers in college, all of which are Division I teams but Molloy College, a Division II school. Orlando will be playing for Hofstra University on a full scholarship, Hayes for University of Massachusetts on a partial scholarship, Yberg at Molloy College, and Beck and Serling at Lafayette College.
Juniors Jimmy O'Reilly, TC Neuhs, and freshman Nick O'Reilly were also named Honorable Mention All County Players.
Despite the loss to Garden City, this year's Boys Varsity Lacrosse team had an impressive season, and Orlando says fans should expect the team to remain strong: "Our underclassmen are all outstanding players; their ability to beat teams like Garden City will only increase as they improve over the years. I wish them and the coaches the best and look forward to watching them in Hofstra Stadium in the playoffs again for years to come."
