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.

Checkmate Black make Rhinos look like childs play

Ronkonkoma, NY--Written off the last month, the resurgent Checkmate Black are making a strong playoff push.

Greg Giampaolo had two penalties and one ground ball, Doug Fresh had one goal on a broken play and Checkmate Black beat the struggling Rhinos 21-15 last Thursday night for their third straight victory.

Checkmate Black (6-1) remained a half-game behind Good and Tender Meats in the race for the top playoff spot at CIS. They have to win their last game and need Good and Tender to lose their last game to secure the top spot.

"We put everything together and we're playing some pretty good ball right now", said midfielder Greg Giampaolo, who set a team record by playing in his 181st game with Checkmate. " We are a very, very confident group and we're looking forward to this next game."

The Rhinos (3-4) have lost three of their last four games. At least they finally played better in transition creating opportunities for themselves on both sides of the field. The Rhinos, who couldn't ride or clear the previous three games could be looking for a new coach to replace Kevin "Bagger Vance" Morris after the season.

"Our guys tried but I don't think we have enough ammunition to match up with them," team captain 'Broadway' Brett Jeffares said. " We fought in there defensively. We gave up some easy goals and got some turnovers. We were ineffective finding the back of the net."

Despite scoring first with a quick goal, the Rhinos soon relinquished their lead and trailed the rest of the game. Down 12-7 at halftime they couldn't close the gap down the stretch.

The Rhinos' Nick Marks ('Wogue '99) scored his second hat trick of the season and Brian Davis (Southampton '94) padded his stats by adding four goals and two assists. Adam "The Israeli Assassin" added two more for the Rhinos. Jacobs miss-fired on two more would be goals. " I made two mistakes that cost us pretty good,” the Assassin said. “I can’t put the defense in that spot."

Since his benching two week ago, Giampaolo has played like the guy who won five Jerry's kids awards and led Checkmate Black to four consecutive St. Mary's School for the Blind Lacrosse Championships. He has five ground balls and ten penalties in the last three games. His shot percentage is zero.

"He's playing confident, he's being aggressive with the ball and he's managing the game well," teammate and fellow midfielder Doug Fresh said.

Giampoalo came out firing in the first half, missing all five shots on the opening possession, including a wide open shot a point blank range.

In the second half, Doug "Doug E. Fresh" DeRosa stepped in front of a Steve Maloney pass intended for "Broadway" Brett Jeffares and raced ten yards for a goal to make it 17-12.

It was the first goal this season for Doug Fresh, who just agreed in terms to playing with Checkmate for the next six years. " It was definitely overdue", Doug said. " I dropped a couple of passes. It was time to finally get one. I'm sick of Giampaolo taking all the credit."

Glenn Mattson (Marist '92) defensive standout for Checkmate constantly harassed the Rhino attackmen throughout the evening, holding the Rhinos to less than ten goals per half.

Notes: Checkmate improved to 10-2 in December dating back to 2006..Rhinos' Scott Ferguson scored is 51st goal, setting a single-season team record(two on the night).....Rhinos have lost four or more games in four seasons of play (2 indoor, 2 outdoor)....D Jim Laura(wedding plans), M Scott Fitzgerald(sniffles) and M Rob Martin(bruised ego) sat out for the Rhinos.

Jesters crushed again courtesy of Rhinos

Rich Nessim, pictured here, frowns after losing to Rhinos and bruising his beer belly

Ronkonkoma, NY--The Rhinos finally looked like world-beaters. Brett Jeffares scored two goals against his favorite punching bag and Rob Martin had three goals and two assists including one to Scott Fitzgerald, to give the Rhinos a 28-20 victory against the LI Jesters on Thursday night.

It was the Rhinos' 11th straight win over their arch rivals in a series dating back to the birth of lacrosse play at CIS in 2006.

The Rhinos (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in five games. Once considered favorites to win the CIS Fall '08 Championship, they're still going to need a miracle to reach the playoffs. They trail Schlitz Faced by 2 games in the standings.

"It's a win and we take it no further than that," captain "Broadway" Brett Jeffares said.

"We don't want to make it more than it really is. It's one win; we got three games to go with two tough games. But it was a good confidence boost."


The Rhinos rebounding with such a fine showing didn’t surprise offensive star Scott Ferguson (Oswego '99) . The former All-American had six goals and six assists on the night. "We got a real good group of guys here that have a lot of pride and play for one another and I think that is evident when you are 2-3 and play with the energy and excitement and the care for one another that we did.”

The Rhinos were down 12-7 at the half. However in a momentum shifting series of plays to start the half, Jester's midfielder Rich Nessim was stripped twice by Scott Fitzgerald. Nessim also lost his stick on one of the checks, leading to 3 quick points for the Rhinos. Nessim was knocked down and didn't get up after getting stripped for the second time and was later taken to the locker room on a cart with an injured ankle and a bruised beer belly.

Tom " The God Father" Brazell tried to replace Nessim's intensity at the start of the second half. After dishing out an assist he was shut down by Rob Stossel until late in the game where managed another assist on a garbage time goal.

The Jester's (1-5) reached another losing record for the sixth straight year. They are 3-89 since being routed by Team HLL and former Checkmate coach Kevin Morris in the Cantiague Lacrosse Championship in Hicksville on August 15, 2003.


Martin's third goal of the night midway through the second half was the 7th of his brilliant two-year career.


A major milestone was reached when Rhinos' midfielder Scottie Fitz scored his goal early in the first half. It was the first of his illustrious career and was received with great fanfare by his teammates. “We’re excited to finally get back on track,” Scottie said. “It’s taken a while. We’ve had to go through a lot of ups and downs.”

Super-Charged Rhinos Victorious Over Remnants, 8-7 in OT

Holtsville, NY--Led by attackman Bryan Davis, The Rhinos scored 5 unanswered goals in the last few minutes of play including one in overtime, to bury the Remnants, thus avenging week one's forfeit loss. Davis had two goals including the game winner in OT. The Rhinos D and their goalie only allowed one goal during the entire second half. Their middies ran the Remnants off of the field. The Rhino's face-off specialist destroyed the Remnants FOGO Cliff Sinert, by winning over 90% of them. The Remnants wasted solid play by goal-keeper Keith Huber. Huber who is looking to return to his 1985 East Islip MVP form, had numerous stuffs at point-blank range and did a tremendous job of clearing and also quarterbacking the defensive unit. However, one man could do only so much. The defensive and midfield units were riddled with stupid penalties and sloppy plays. In fact, the only time the Remnants were able to score in the second half was on a freak play. Rhino D-Man Jim Laura helicoptered an opponent's stick and the ball miraculously landed in the stick of a wide open teammate who put it away. Bystanders observing the Remnant's' collapse called it "a self-imposed embarrassment and mockery of the sport".

The top four teams make the playoffs in this league. It looks like the Rhinos are beginning to gel and might squeak in. On the other hand, the Remnants are ready to be put out to pasture (or merge with Bruno's).

This upcoming week

Rhinos vs. Checkmate Orange 6/17/08 @ 8:30pm (Scottie Fitz will be back from drinking frozen daiquiris at the Jimmy Buffet concert)

Remnants vs. LandSharks 06/19/08 @8:30pm.