Hewlett Boys Lacrosse Takes Down Mepham With Dominant First Half

The Hewlett and Mepham boys lacrosse teams took the turf at Hewlett High School Saturday morning in a steady rain as the Bulldogs (6-2) took down the Pirates (3-5) by a score of 11-6.

Michael Gray led Hewlett with three goals and three assists and Chris Loria added three goals and an assist. Brian Monks led Mepham in the loss with two goals.

Loria got his team off to the start they were looking for with his three goals in the first quarter, along with a goal from Zach Richman. The offensive surge continued for Hewlett going into the second quarter as Jake Geiger scored twice and both Mark Rizzo and Josh Rivlin added goals.

Down 8-0, Monks scored his two goals in the final minute of the first half for Mepham as the Pirates trailed 8-2 at the break.

Gray added his first two goals in the third quarter, but Mepham kept even with goals from Matt Hackett and Vin Moryc. Down 10-4 with just more than five minutes to go, Mepham scored two quick goals to pull to within four goals.

Another goal by Gray in the fourth gave some momentum back to Hewlett as they went on to win 11-6.

Heroes: Michael Gray has been on a hot streak as of late for Hewlett in April with his six-point game against Mepham, following up nine-point and eight-point performances against Wheatley/Carle Place and Glen Cove, respectfully.

Turning Point: With Mepham lacking a quick scoring offense, falling down 8-0 in the first half proved to be too much of a deficit to come back from against a talented Hewlett team.

Quotable: "We had trouble possessing the ball in the beginning and right before halftime they switched to a zone, which we were able to deal with," Mepham head coach James Koester said. "They played very well against us but we gave a good effort against Hewlett."

Bottom Line: Hewlett is amongst the top teams in Conference III and will have tough tests in Manhasset, Lynbrook and Bethpage left on their schedule.

Mepham has suffered four consecutive losses since defeating cross-town rival Calhoun in early April and currently stands at 3-5 with a 0-2 mark in Conference II.

Key Stat: Mepham outscored Hewlett 4-3 in the second half, but could not convert early on and was outscored 8-2 by the Bulldogs in the first.

Who’s Next: Mepham vs. Elmont, April 27, 4:30 p.m.; Hewlett @ Lynbrook, April 27, 4:30 p.m.

Box Score:

Goals-Assists: M: Monks 2-0, Moryc 1-0, White 1-0, Shevins 1-0, Hackett 1-0, Byrne 0-1. Totals: 6-1. H: Gray 3-3, Loria 3-1, Geiger 2-0, Rizzo 1-2, Rivlin 1-0, Richman 1-0, Grill 0-1, Tarica 0-1. Totals: 11-8. Goalies: M: Lazarus- 8 saves; H: Fine- 1 save, Versheiser- 1 save.