War on the Shore LC defeats Grey Dogs 8-5 with dominant 2nd Half: Avenges First Session Loss!

Holbrook, NY--Led by two goals and an assist in the second half from James Sgiugna, War on The Shore LC rattled off 6 straight goals, erasing a 3-2 halftime deficit to roll past Grey Dogs 8-5 last night in lax action at the Holbrook PAL Complex.

Sgiugna who continues his excellent midfield play from the Greenport Tournament, where he played for Typhoon Lacrosse, got things going early in the second half with a bull dodge from the top of the restraining box in the middle of the field, ripping a stick-side low shot that the goalie didn't even see.  Next offensive set, off of a pick and roll, he ripped his second G, upper right corner, from a step inside the restraining box pulling his team ahead  4-3 with what would turn out to be the turning point in the contest.   Minutes later in transition, Sgiugna threaded the needle through an over aggressive Grey Dogs defense, finding a War on the Shore attackmen cutting back door in front of the crease for an assist increasing the lead to 5-4. 

With only one substitute the entire game, and momentum on their side, War on the Shore implemented a slow down offense.  Working the ball around several times on each offensive possession, they showed poise and patience, taking what the defense game them rather than forcing things.  The strategy seemed to work, wearing down the Grey Dogs defense, creating mismatches on offense, giving their own defense a rest, but most importantly running precious time off the clock. 

With fresh legs at midfield, War on the Shore dominated in the transition game. Clearing, riding, scooping up ground balls, and dominating face-offs deep into the second half.  Scottie " Fitzie" Fitzgerald played an outstanding game at defensive middie and was the catalyst for goals 6 and 7 that put his team firmly in the lead.  Fitzgerald, a former Naval Officer at Annapolis, who is often criticized by fellow teammates for playing soft, silenced his critics with excellent open field stick checks, and scooping up 5 ground balls. Two of those groundballs led to the aforementioned goals.

After losing the majority of the face-offs in the first half, War on the Shore turned things around in the second half winning over 90%.  "The face-offs were they key to the slow strategy.  The enabled us to maintain possession and the lead", exclaimed War on the Shore attackman Steve 'Braveheart' Maloney.

With another quick goal of of the face-off with 3:30 left to play War on the Shore went up 8-3.

 Grey Dogs did not lay down to die. They managed to pump in 2 goals in the final 2 minutes of the game in attempts to stage a comeback which eventually fell short.

War on the Shore goaltender Brian Buckley of Holy Cross fame continued to show why he is the team's MVP.  Buckley kept his team in the game early and often, bailing out his defense on missed communications and poor transition plays. He held off Grey Dogs until his team's offense finally started rolling.  Buckley, a man of few words, sporting the professorial beard, had 14 saves on the night. He also did a great job of hitting his outlets in the clearing game.

Other notes:  Bryan Davis scored the first goal of the game despite back spasms which forced him to leave the game early during the beginning of the second half.  Steve "Braveheart" Maloney (Marist '90) started at X in the place of "Broadway" Brett Jeffares.  Maloney was the impetus behind the first two goals of the game for War on the Shore.  His contributions were a major factor in the victory.

War on the Shore is now 1-1 on the season.  Grey Dogs drops to 0-2.



Other News.....
Landsharks White defeated SCPD by a score of 8-2.  Goaltender Rob Serratore (Stony Brook '91, Comsewogue '87) was a good as Kevlar against Suffolk's Finest.  LI Lax Blog couldn't believe the final score.  Showing up late to the field, we didn't know who was in goal for the Landsharks.  We asked ourselves, "How could Landsharks beat SCPD this badly?"   Serratore took his helmet off to shake hands with the other team and that explained it.

Lily Flanigans Masters Outguns Suffolk County's Finest 8-7 in Thriller

Holtsville, NY-- In what many are calling one of the most exciting games in PAL Nor'Easter Lacrosse history, Lily Flanigans' defense holds on to seal an 8-7 victory in the final 1:30 of the game.

It was a display of lacrosse at its finest (no pun attended); clean with great sportsmanship displayed by all players. Two penalties were called the entire game.

The contest featured two teams tied in first place at 2-1 in the standings, with the winner vying for the top spot in the race to the playoffs in this competitive 2nd summer league session.

SCPD drew first blood with an unassisted bounce shot from the top of the restraining box to take the lead within the first 90 seconds of play. Flanigan's scored a minute later on a sweet behind the cage feed from Steve "Braveheart" Maloney (Marist '90) to Scott Ferguson (2g, 2a)of Oswego fame. Ferguson went airborne grabbing the pass in mid air and sailing through the crease to score. SCPD responded minutes later with a transition goal, beating Lily's tired midfielders down field.

Lily's however did respond on the next possession with a goal from Bryan Davis (2g,3a). Scott Ferguson found Davis cutting across the middle of the field through a rare, small seam in a good SCPD defense. The play was perfectly executed from Ferguson's drawing of the defense to Davis' turning and leaping blast.

Lily's scored on their next possession with Scott Ferguson picking the top right corner from a step within the restraining line on an assist from Bryan Davis. But just when you thought Lily's was gaining momentum, SCPD scored when team Captain "Bono" took it down the alley along the right side of the field. He blew right past his defender and found the back of the net with a twelve yard bounce shot.
Lily's came right back and scored on another Ferguson to Davis play. With Davis moving well off ball the entire night, he took the pass and fired low through traffic finding the back of the cage.
SCPD scored another goal with under minute left in the half when their 6'4'' 250 attackmen score unassisted with a bull dodge to the cage. Both teams were tied 4-4 at the half. At this point it was anybody's game for the taking. It would come down to which team, and more importantly which players wanted it more....please queue the "Eye of the Tiger" on your iPods folks...because...
during the second half there was one player who put the weight of his team on his shoulders, the weight of the entire season, 1st place on the line-"Broadway" Brett Jeffares!

Jeffares scored on two unassisted goals when his team needed him the most. With Lily's down 5-4 halfway through the second stanza, "Broadway" took the ball goal line extended to the left of the cage and with the stick in his right hand, powered through the defense, beating two defenders and slammed the ball home tying the game. On the very next offensive possession "Broadway" took the ball from the right wing, and with a right to left split dodge he found the upper right corner of the cage. The sidelines roared! The capacity crowd of 21 spectators began the wave and started chanting, " BROADWAY, BROADWAY!" That goal put Lily's in the lead 6-5.

Flaningan's went on to score two more unanswered goals pushing the lead to 8-5. SCPD might have been down but not out. They managed to pull together in the last 4 minutes scoring on two goals in transition to cut the deficit to 1. Here's where the other half of Lily's stepped up...the defense. With SCPD dominating possession in the last two minutes of the game, they virtually maintained control of the ball during that entire span of time and the fate of the game in their hands. Goalkeeper Brian Buckley(Holy Cross) closed the door on any hope of sending the game to overtime. He made stops with his head, body, and stick keeping the oncoming assault at bay. With SCPD out hustling the Flaingan's team on ground balls and winning the races to the end line they were able to maintain possession several times including an all important last possession with 15 ticks left on the clock. That's when Ed Flood came up huge. Rotating to the top of the box to cover SCPD's top middie . He provided excellent position defense and a takeaway poke check putting the ball on the turf. The subsequent scrum on the turf had the ball roll out of bounds on the far corner of the field as time expired.

Flanigans catapults to 3-1 securing a spot in 1st place. SCPD drops to 2-2 and moves into 2nd place. Despite the loss everyone around the league has a feeling that SCPD will be there at the end when it counts.

Team captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares chalked the victory up to good chemistry that has developed over the past several weeks with his squad.

The Long Island Lax Blog's Blogworthy Performance award goes to Lily Flanigan's midfielder Chris Koehler who scored his first goal of the season. That was Lily's seventh goal of the contest and was assisted by Bryan Davis. Congratulations to you Chris!

Liliy Flanigans over LandSharks Blue; record landmark first ever victory

Holtsville, NY--Coming off a crushing loss to Gregg Giampaolo's Checkmate Orange last week, with only 12 guys, Lily Flanigan's Masters ended up victorious after a 7-6 "Braveheart" battle won by "warrior "Steve Maloney. Flanigan's goalie Brian Buckley kept his team in the game with what team captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares called ,"a 'ridiculous' 2nd half!" Lily Flanigan's Masters improves to 1-1 on the season.

Lily Flanigan's Open team improves to 3-0, locking up 1st place with their win Thursday night over Team Nor'Easter. Team captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares commented on the victory by saying, " Antonio (Massone) stood on his head giving us an 8-1 victory", referring to the stellar play of his goalie. " Tremendous play by everybody", he added.

Rhinos Rout Rival Remnants 9-6 in Historic Final Game

Holtsville, NY--This time there was no bloodshed. No trash talking. No complaining about"The Blog". It was just a head-to-head match-up of one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports...Rhinos v. Remnants.

The Rhinos (4-2), whom were without their fearless leader "Broadway" Brett Jeffares, mounted a second half comeback to overtake their opponents Wednesday night at the P.A.L. Holtsville Athletic Complex. The Rhinos in their final game as the Rhinos will playing under the Lily Flanigans moniker going forward.

The Rhinos drew first blood when Adam "The Israeli Assassin" Jacobs scored on an unassisted rifle-like shot from two steps outside the restraining box that caught the listless Remnant goalie sleeping.

Tom McCandless (Cortland '94) dominated his opponent at the face-off X, winning a whopping 70% of his draws.

The Rhinos, who initially looked sluggish during 6-on-6 sets, gained momentum with aggressive play in the transition game. They out-hustled their opponents on ground balls, got back in the hole on defense, and scored several times off of clears.

Rhino Goalkeeper and former Holy Cross standout, Brian Buckley allowed only two goals in the final 28 minutes of play as the Rhinos defense tightened up during the second half.

The Rhinos are now tied for 2nd place with an upcoming game against Greg Giampaolo's 1st place Checkmate Orange.

Remnants drop to 1-4 on the season. Their next game is versus Land Sharks White who sit at 2-2 for the season.

Rhino's get Sh_t -Faced!; fall to 2-2 on the season

Ronkonkoma, NY--In a see-saw battle that included a dozen lead changes, Schlitz Faced managed to sustain a late game rally to win the game 24-18. Schlitz Faced pulled away in the last six minutes of play and out-hustled the Rhinos in transition and on ground balls.

The Rhinos resorted to sloppy play that we haven't seen since the Winter '08 season at CIS. Hat's off to The Schlitz's defense. Their effort contributed to many Rhino turnovers, which included man-up possessions for the Rhinos.

Schlitz Faced made it look easy at times moving the rock up field and finding the open man.

The Rhinos wasted spectacular efforts by goalie Buckley and Mr. Amplo on defense. Amplo also scored a hatrick on the evening.

The Rhinos can salvage their season in part to a soft schedule the rest of the way. The remaining three games are against the respective doormats of the league: Jester's, Checkmate Black, and Remnants.

Next up for Schlitz Faced is Grey Dogs, followed by Checkmate Orange and Jester's.

Rhino Comeback Leads to Victory, 2-0 for the season

Holtsville, NY-- In their first Friday night action of the season, and a week and a half after pounding Bruno's(whose defense had more holes in it than a Tawaina Brawley cross-examination), the Rhinos' who were down 8-1 at the half against the Landsharks, charged back to win 11-10.

Rhino middie known as "Dez" basically carried the team on his back and scored so many of the Rhino goals that we had a hard time keeping count. Besides Dez, Brian Degenfelder standing in for Buckley, did an outstanding in the cage. It appeared that he became more confident and stronger as the game progressed. Also, hats off to the Close-D unit. They were light in numbers but hung in tough and held the Landsharks to a hat trick in the second half.

The Rhinos have seized sole possession of first place and are very much looking like favorites to runaway with the championship.

The Rhinos next summer league action is 7/29 @9:30 against the Sharks once again. But, the Rhinos will be making their first ever Greenport Tournament appearance this upcoming Sunday July 27th.