Mepham Boys Lacrosse Defeats Levittown for First League Win

The Mepham Pirates boys lacrosse team topped Levittown-Division Tuesday afternoon at home, 5-3, to win its first Conference B-I game of the season.

The Pirates (4-9 overall, 1-5) also snapped an eight-game losing skid after topping the Dragons (5-8 overall, 2-5), whose playoffs hopes took a hit with the loss.  

Vin Moryc led Mepham with two goals and an assist. Matt Byrne also put in two goals and Trace Agostino collected three assists in the win.

Tom Nuckel led Division with a goal and two assists.  

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter on a goal from Chris Vento.

The Dragons, who were held scoreless for nearly the first 18 minutes of the game, tied the score at 1-1 on a goal from Nuckel.  

With the score tied at the start of the third quarter, Byrne put in his first goal off of a pass from Moryc just more than a minute into the half. Division fought right back with a goal of its own from Shaun Fechtmann. Byrne and Dylan Cardno traded goals for Mepham and Division to end the quarter tied again, this time at 3-3.  

Mepham struck again early in the fourth quarter when Moryc scored off a pass from Agostino. Moryc put in an insurance goal with 3:15 to go, also assisted form Agostino, as Division was held scoreless for the entire quarter.

Mepham goalie Matt Castellvi made a handful of saves in the closing minutes to preserve the win for the Pirates.  

Heroes: Vin Moryc provided the offense for Mepham in the fourth quarter with his two goals, including the eventual game-winner for his team's first league win of the season.  

“Today we had intensity and had nothing to lose, so that really showed for us in the game,” Moryc said. “We just were able to score on transition and it paid off for us.”  

Turning Point: Holding on to a 4-3 lead for much of the fourth quarter, Castellvi kept his team in front by making two big saves with less than five minutes remaining before Moryc put Mepham ahead by two.  

Quotable: “The guys that played today did great and it was a team effort. Matt Castellvi saw the ball very well in goal and we just did a great job collectively” Mepham head coach James Koester said. “The mindset was just as important as the play with us being right there in the game heading into the fourth quarter.”  

“This was one that we needed to get today. We have got to beat Elmont and Carey in order to get into the playoffs,” Division head coach Jim Kern said. “We had two shots in the end when we could have scored, so we just need finish chances.”  

Bottom Line: Although playoffs are out of the question for Mepham, the win was an uplifting one as they will attempt to add to their league wins with games against Jericho and New Hyde Park remaining.

Levittown was fighting for a playoff spot and now must win their final two games against Elmont and Carey to have any sort of chance.  

Who’s Next: Mepham vs. Jericho, May 14, 10:00 a.m.; Levittown vs. Elmont, May 13, 4:30 p.m.  

Box Score: 

Goals-Assists: L: Nuckel 1-2, Fechtmann 1-0, Cardno 1-0. Totals: 3-2. M: Moryc 2-1, Byrne 2-0, Vento 1-0, Agostino 0-3. Totals: 5-4. Goalies: L: McDevitt- 6 saves; M: Castellvi- 10 saves.