To help the Wantagh boys’ lacrosse team win a second consecutive county title, the Martini brothers turned Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium into their backyard.
Dylan Martini fed brother Luke Martini, and the freshman rounded the cage and scored the overtime winner to lift second-seeded Wantagh over top-seeded South Side, 11-10, in the Nassau Class C final Saturday.
“Me dodging from the top alley, initiating, trying to draw his guy to me. He was supposed to go to the left,” Dylan Martini said. “His guy played his left, he takes his right, and you can’t give ’32’ his right. That’s automatic.”
It was an instant classic in a rare meeting between defending county champions. South Side, which won the Nassau Class B title a year ago, won the regular-season showdown, a double-overtime thriller at Wantagh on May 2. In that game, the Cyclones rallied from a five-goal deficit in the fourth quarter. On Saturday, the roles were reversed.
On Cullen Lynch’s third goal of the game, South Side (14-5) led 10-6 with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
But then Wantagh (14-4) chipped away. Luke Martini scored 23 seconds later, and then Dylan Martini netted his third to cut the Warriors’ deficit to 10-8 with 9:16 left in regulation.
A controversial moment followed when it appeared Luke Mullen scored the Cyclones’ 11th goal, but after a meeting on the field, the officials said the ball landed on the outside netting.
Goals by Sean Stachlik and Devin Paccione, less than a minute tied the score at 10 with 6:43 left.
The Wantagh fanbase, though, was silenced a few seconds later when Dylan Martini was lying on the turf in pain.
The Warriors’ leader has played through a torn labrum and rotator cuff all season, and his return was up in the air — but not to anyone on the Wantagh sideline.
“Not a doubt in my mind he was coming back. He’s the toughest kid I know,” Luke Martini said. “He’s been knocked down so many times, but he always comes back.”
While Alec Notaro won the opening faceoff of overtime, South Side never got over midfield because of Dylan Martini, who checked the ball out of Cyclones goalie Jack DiSarlo’s stick on the ride.
John Gendels chased down the loose ball by the sideline and Wantagh called timeout to secure possession and set up the championship-winning backyard play by the Martini brothers.
“When you have a team with the heart of a champion, they’re not going to be held down,” Wantagh coach James Polo said. “They rose to the occasion today, just so proud of them.”
And while the play didn’t break exactly how it was drawn up, the ending couldn’t have been scripted any better, with Luke Martini winning the game with 3:05 left in overtime.
“It didn’t feel real for a good minute until he came over, gave me a huge hug,” Luke Martini said of his big brother. “Then it really sank in that we just won that game.”
South Side won the state title last spring and brought back only a few with varsity experience yet came within a goal of a county title.
“After losing 27 seniors off a dream season, no one had many expectations of the 2025 group and they showed tremendous growth and character,” Cyclones coach Steve DiPietro said. “They played their hearts out in a game that could’ve went either way.”
