Greeley Boys Lax Season Ends with 13-12 Loss to Ossining

Horace Greeley's boys lacrosse season came to an end on Tuesday in Ossining.

Despite six goals from senior midfielder Dan Leventhal, Ossining would come back from an early deficit in the second half and advance in the Section 1 Class B quarterfinals with a 13-12 win.

The game went back and forth throughout, with neither team ever having a lead more than two goals. Indeed, the score was tied 4-4 at the end of the first quarter and 6-6 at the end of the half.

The Quakers came out of the second half and took an 8-6 lead, but that is when Ossining stepped its game up.

Ossining scored four of the next five goals to take a 10-9 lead. Greeley continued to battle back and would again take the lead at 11-10 at the end of the third quarter. 

Heading into the fourth quarter the game was being played evenly and Greeley Head Coach Vin DeGregorio was impressed by the fight Ossining was showing.

"My hat's off to the Ossining players. They played really hard and I thought they worked real hard and deserve all the credit that they get," he said.  

Late in the fourth quarter and with the Quakers in the lead, 12-11, Ossining began its final comeback of the game. At the 5:21 mark, Ossining tied the game and, 20 seconds later, Ossining midfielder Jamie McCulloch scored to give his team a 13-12 lead.

It became a game of keep away, as Ossining tried to hold on to its slim lead. Greeley had trouble regaining the possession, but with 26 seconds left in the game, an Ossining turnover would give them one final chance to tie the game.

DeGregorio called timeout and tried to set up a play to get his team to force overtime.

"We ran a little pick and pop, and I told them to keep the ball moving and look to the back side and let it go," he said.

Ossining's defense though came up big one more time and did not allow the Quakers to get a shot on goal.

Greeley goalkeeper Gabe Weissmann finished with 11 saves and co-captain Nate Becker added two goals and two assists.

The Quakers finished their season with a 6-11 record, but the program is improving and DeGregorio sees a promising future.

"The future is very bright. We have a lot of sophomore and juniors that are contributors to the team and we're looking for those guys to step up and fill the shoes of an extremely talented senior class," he said.