Assessing the Class A lacrosse landscape is a daunting task these days, one
that's open to more debate than a hipster-laden liberal law house when the
conservatives come calling.
A selefect few have pole vaulted into the Section's upper-crust in Class A.
As of now, however, Yorktown and Lakeland-Panas seem to be atop the mountain with a slew of scorers, depth, deft position players, and a stingy defense.
Those are a pretty accurate depiction of the essential ingredients for a LP lacrosse conquest.
Lakeland-Panas may have the upper hand on the Section I/Class A circuit as we speak, given their propensity for weathering runs. Lacrosse is a sport of spurts and the Rebels have been considerably better at handling runs and responding better than their blood-rivals this season.
If the seeds and projected pool were to be written up today, Lakeland-Panas
would likely lock down the no.1 spot. The Rebels trounced the Huskers in the
second half of the Murphy Cup and eked out a one-point win over Mahopac in a
double-overtime pulse-pumper last Thursday.
If he's reading this, I see Huskers cach Dave Marr's teeth clenched and eyes burning. He's bringing this piece of prose to practice to supplement a "they think were finished" speech. He is using that same torch he applied to the Huskers' feet following the Murphy Cup less to blaze this very paper to pieces. Let's hope not.
Then again, perhaps a man of his caliber sidesteps the bloggers, the hype artists, the self-proclaimed experts (NCN or whatever it is they're calling themselves these days),the rankings systems, altogether.
A man about his business, Marr knows business shall soon be booming. The playoffs are around the corner which means the hellfire offenses and put-the-clamps-on defenses will be ratcheted up.
Lakeland-Panas closed out the regular season in dramatic fashion, eking out a 12-11 double-overtime barnburner over Mahopac on Thursday.
The frenetic paced, back-and-forth brawl concluded in fitting fashion. Rob
Caffrey, who frequently permeates the nooks and crannies of defenses and emerges
as the primary beneficiary of the Rebels' crafty passing, deposited one past
Johnny McGuigan to close the door on a senior night thriller.
Jim Lindsay apparently did a commendable job studying the scouting report on the
'Pac. The Rebels' defense draped the Indians, staving off their dodgers with
ziplock-tight defense.
Mahopac is a team that likes to answer the call. So after Lakeland-Panas opened
up an early edge on them, the visiting Indians reeled off a mini-spurt and led
6-5 at halftime.
The third quarter, however, was once again time for Panas to blast balls
between-the-pipes as they fired a scorching 5-of-5 in the momentum-swinging
stanza.
Similar to the Murphy cup, their offensive fireworks set off in the third
quarter, after senior captain Will Fallo and All-American Shawn Hanovich drilled some
crucial points home at the half.
Lakeland entered the fourth with a 10-8 cushion, but the Indians would once
again respond with two goals by Chase Thompson (by way of a Kevin Carey dish)
and T.J. Foley, who netted home the game-tying tally with just a thread under 36
seconds remaining.
Both teams' offenses were held in check during the first overtime. Rebel
goalie Rob Belger's eye-popping save prevented the Indians from sealing the
deal. The opportunities were there, but the Indians failed to finish. They saw the opening at the case but got shots on goal stoned a la Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Lakeland-Panas wasn't going to sell the store on senior night. They defended the castle.
Conor Prunty powered the Rebels during high-pressure points. He netted a
game-high four goals.
Hanovich scored three goals and added an assist.
Chris Monteferante scored two goals, Fallo deposited one, and Caffrey scored
the game-winner while dishing out two assists.
Thompson scored three goals to pace the 'Pac, John Brandofino, Foley and John
Bota each contributed two. Carey handed out three assists.
The Indians, who are used to responding as opposed to punching the opponent in the mouth from the get-go, would flip the script on Thursday. Mahopac hung a 10-7 win on PUTNAM VALLEY in a game that saw both teams trade momentum bursts.
They opened up a 7-1 lead that would soon evaporate as the Valley, another team which tends to roar back from early deficits, stormed back to make it 7-5.
After surrendering a 4-0 surge as Putnam Valley's Ryan Fitzgerald shredded the 'Pac during a span from the end of the second to the the third stanza (Fitz, the blink-quick senior attacker/middie, orchestrated an individual four-goal tear and deposited back-to-back goals, 45 seconds apart from each other in the third), Indians co-coach Mike Haddeland called a crucial timeout.
During that brief time to talk it over, he asked for his seniors to step it up and quit letting the visiting Tigers hang around.
That they did.
Okie Bernabo's unassisted goal at 4:26 gave the Indians an 9-6 edge. John Brandofino then swelled the spead to 10-6 as the standout senior got free and slipped one past unmarked territory.
"We had to stop the bleeding," said Haddeland. "We asked those guys (Bernabo and Brandofino) to step it up and weather the run and they took the words to heart. John is a four-year varsity starter, both guys have been in this position before."
When asked if the Indians' smoking start was perhaps lingering effects of the Lakeland-Panas battle, Haddeland didn't flinch.
"I the think the guys had a little chip on their shoulders (following the loss). That's the way we wanted them to come out for us. An important factor was Chase Thompson on the faceoffs, he came up big."
Brandofino branded the Tigers to the tune of five goals and two assists to lead the 'Pac. Bernabo contributed three goals and an assist. Thompson dealt out two dimes and Johnny McGuigan had a monster game in net, collecting a season-high 21 saves.
Fitzgerald, a force to reckon with in the open field, facilitated the fast break game and deposited a game-high six goals.
Kevin Christopher added a goal on a long range rocket that sliced the lead to 8-6. Brendan McCrudden made 10 saves.
For the second straight game, the Tigers came clawing back from a deficit.
“Were one of those beaten dogs that never quits,” said Tigers coach Brian Kuczma, the former professional and local product.
“Sooner or later, it’s going to come back to bite us. We have to make some adjustments for the playoffs. Coming into these games, you have to be prepared."