One of the best boys’ lacrosse seasons in Long Beach High School memory drew to a close on the artificial turf of Hofstra University Wednesday, as the No. 4 seed Marines fell to the onslaught of No. 1 seed Farmingdale 15-5.
The loss came despite a quick start for the Marines, who came out of the box strong in the opening minutes and played the Dalers to a standstill well into the second quarter.
“We played a good quarter and a half,” said Long Beach coach Jim Kaspar. “We were the underdogs coming in, but we played as hard as we could.”
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Long Beach led for much of the first quarter on two goals from Connor Sofield, the first on an assist from James Forkin at 10:26, and the second in a solo move from the left side. But two man-up 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 goal early in the second, but midway through Joe Radin scooped up a ground ball and sent it into the net to go up 4-3 with 6:21 left in the half.
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But that was as close as Long Beach would get to victory. Farmingdale’s offense began to click, and despite the best efforts of the Marines defense, they were outscored 11-2 for the remainder as Farmingdale walked away with it.
Sofield finished the day with two goals and an assist; Forkin had one goal and an assist. Other Long Beach scorers were Blake Gregor (1 goal), Joe Radin (1 goal) and Matt Sheehan with an assist.
Six players scored for Farmingdale — including three goals apiece for Brian Prendergast, Sal Tuttle and Greg Catalano. Mike Petterine and Korey Hendrikson chipped in two apiece; and middie Patrick Starke and defender Joe Ostrander each scored a goal.
Long Beach goalie Mike Rourke got a workout in the net, registering 13 saves. And he got some assistance during a second quarter melee — when he got caught out of position— from Jake Shapiro, who in a gutsy move stepped into the net and stopped a point blank shot on goal.
“This was a good season,” said coach Kaspar after the game. “We finished 13-5. That may be a school record. This is a team of juniors; they’re all coming back. I’m looking forward to next season. Maybe we can be as good next year as Farmingdale is right now.”
