BOYS LACROSSE CLASS A STATE FINAL
Orchard Park’s stellar year comes to an end
West Islip dominates second half of 10-5 win
ROCHESTER — As the final horn of the Class A state championship game sounded, Long Island superpower West Islip and the players on its 45- man roster sprinted onto the turf and chased down their goalie, throwing sticks, helmets and gloves everywhere in the universal sign of a lacrosse championship celebration.
At the other end of the field, Orchard Park senior David Michael slowly walked over to classmate, goalie Ryan Cole, and gave him a quick hug and a slap on the back.
The gesture was one of disappointment, because this was surely not how OP wanted its season to end. But there was some recognition there — that it was quite a game, quite a lacrosse season, and quite a senior year.
Orchard Park — which got a tremendous, 12-save performance by Cole — hung with West Islip in a 4-4 first half, but the second half was a display of Long Island lacrosse superiority. The Lions locked down OP’s offense and scored on nearly unstoppable shots to beat OP, 10-5, before an estimated 3,000 at Marina Auto Stadium.
West Islip (22-1) used a 4-0 third quarter to gain control of what would be its third championship game victory in four years. The loss brought an end of Orchard Park’s attempt to become the first Section VI state champion in the sport and also prevented OP — which won the Class AA football championship in the fall—from bringing home its second crown of the school year.
“They have a great schedule, and they’re probably more tested than we were,” OP coach Gene Tundo said of West Islip. “Our guys fought the whole game. I’m proud of our team, I’m proud of our whole program. To get here is hard to do.”
With Section VIII (Nassau County) champion Manhasset’s win over Lafayette of Section III (Syracuse area) in Class C to start Saturday’s state championship tripleheader, Long Island has now won nine of the last 12 state titles. In Class B, Canandaigua of Section V (Rochester area) beat Section II (Albany area) champion Niskayuna, 10-5. Canandaigua joined 2001 Class C champion Penn Yan as just the second champion from the Western Region (Section V or VI) since the state tournament began in 1977.
Section VI’s chances for a historic title looked quite good after a first half in which Cole shined and OP (21-2) traded blows with West Islip, the champion of Section XI (Suffolk County). The Quakers took a 4-2 lead in the second quarter behind one goal by junior Sean Rimmer and three by senior Jeff Tundo, who scored four goals on the day.
Cole made several standout saves early on against West Islip, which then began to miss the cage wide to one side or the other. The Lions — who outshot OP, 39-19—seemed to find themselves late in the second quarter as they scored twice in the final 2:04.
In the third quarter, West Islip scored four pretty goals — the last three of which were nearly unsavable for Cole since they came off of great passes. Junior Nicky Galasso (four goals, four assists) had two goals and an assist in the pivotal third quarter.
On the other end of the field, Tundo drew more double and triple teams from the West Islip defense, which also locked off (face-guarded) senior middie Artie Marrapese, who went without a point after scoring four goals in OP’s 8-7 semifinal win over Ithaca.
With West Islip’s offense patiently working the ball, its 8-4 lead and its defense dominating, the fourth quarter was quickly drained of drama. Tundo beat a double team to score on a jump-shot for the Quakers’ only goal of the second half, which made it 9-5 with 7:04 to go.
Among the 25 players on the Orchard Park lacrosse roster, nine won a football state title and played for one in lacrosse, both under coach Tundo. They are: junior defenseman Gary Davies, senior middie Kevin Collins, senior middie Luke Nowakowski, senior middie Dave Goltz, senior middie Connor Stalker, junior defenseman Jeff Baker, Jeff Tundo, Michael and Cole.
“We all played Orchard Park little loop football, and we all had a great time, and it was the same thing with lacrosse,” said Michael. “Summer camp for lacrosse started in second or third grade, and we played together for a long time. We’re just going to have great memories.”
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