Farmingdale Boys Lacrosse Tops Long Beach, Heads to Championship

The number one seed Farmingdale boys lacrosse team had a slow start in the semifinal game against Long Beach Wednesday, but once they got the game going, they were nearly unstoppable, capturing a 15-5 win and a trip to the Class A championships.

The win came after a quick start for the number four seed Marines, who came out strong in the opening minutes and played the Dalers to a standstill into the second quarter.

“Early on, we had a lot of good chances, but just didn’t finish,“ said Farmingdale head coach Bob Hartranft. “But eventually, we were able to pull away.”

Long Beach led for much of the first quarter on two goals from Connor Sofield, the first on an assist from James Forkin, and the second in a solo move from the left side. But two extra man situations for Farmingdale and a goal from middie Patrick Starke, rolling around from behind the net, made it 3-2 Dalers at the end of the first.

Farmingdale scored another early in the second quarter on a fast break goal by Brian Prendergast, but with 6:21 left in the half, it was still a 4-3 game.

But that was as close as it would get for Long Beach. Despite the best efforts of the Marines defense, the Dalers outscored them 5-1 in the next six minutes -- on goals from five different Farmingdale players, including defender Joe Ostrander.

In the fourth quarter, it was all Farmingdale. After a quick goal from Long Beach, the Dalers scored six unanswered goals, including two more on extra-man situations, to walk away with it.

In all, Farmingdale was 4-4 in extra-man situations, while blanking Long Beach in three man-down situations. “We spend a lot of time on those phases of the game,” said Hartranft. “Statistically we’re 85 percent when we’re man-down, and 50 percent when we’re man up. So we’re happy to see a lot of fouls.”

Scoring for Farmingdale was distributed over six players, including three goals apiece for Brian Prendergast, Sal Tuttle and Greg Catalano. Mike Petterine and Korey Hendrikson chipped in two apiece; and a goal each was scored by middie Patrick Starke and defender Joe Ostrander.

Farmingdale goalie Mike Palmer had nine saves. As for Long Beach goalie Mike Rourke, he got a workout in the net, registering 13 saves.

With the win, Farmingdale moves to the Class A finals, and will face the winner of the Massapequa vs. Syosset game happening this afternoon.

The game will be held Tuesday, May 31, at 3:30 p.m. at Hofstra University.