Massapequa Boys Lacrosse Falter In Overtime Against Hicksville

The Massapequa boys lacrosse team recently pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to eventually win in overtime against rival Farmingdale just last Friday. On Wednesday night, the Chiefs (9-3) found themselves on the other side of the picture at Burns Park as they fell to the Hicksville Comets (10-2)  in overtime, 8-7.

Hicksville came back from a 7-3 deficit in the final quarter, leading up to the game-winning goal from Sal Geneva off of a pass from Joe Leonard with 1:46 remaining in overtime. Geneva led the way for Hicksville with three goals and an assist. Massapequa was led by Dylan Sheehan with two goals and Ian Lukaszewicz with two goals and an assist in the loss.

Massapequa got off to a good start, shutting Hicksville out for the first 18 minutes as they led 4-0 behind the two goals from Sheehan, one from Lukaszewicz and another from Brent Lawless.

However, Hicksville made their own run before the half, scoring three goals, one each from Nick Woessner and Pat McCormick and the first from Geneva with 50 seconds remaining to trail 4-3 after 24 minutes.

The Chiefs defense picked up their workload in the third quarter, holding the Comets scoreless again as both Jamie Shand and Luke Pellizzi added goals to make the score 6-3. Lukaszewicz scored another goal for Massapequa in the beginning of the fourth after a turnover that led to a breakaway goal on Hicksville’s Anthony Lomangino.

Joe Leonard put in the first of his two goals for Hicksville at 8:48 in the fourth, breaking a scoreless streak of over 15 minutes for his team. The goal started a fourth quarter comeback to remember for the visiting team as Leonard scored another shortly after followed by McCormick’s second goal to make the score 7-6. Geneva tied up the score for Hicksville with just 1:48 remaining in regulation to force overtime.

Lomangino made a critical save on Massapequa’s Steven Romano in the extra period as the ball nearly trickled over the line for the game-winner. However, with just under two minutes remaining, it was Geneva who put a shot low and outside on Joe Danaher, who tied a season-high with 16 saves, to end the game and give Hicksville their first win over Massapequa in six years.

Heroes: Sal Geneva capped off the late comeback for Hicksville with the game-winning goal to help his team recapture the Walker Cup, a trophy given annually to the winner of the game.

“Joe [Leonard] dodged from the left side and flipped it back to me, and I saw that I had my hands free and I just ripped it. It was amazing,” Geneva said. “It feels awesome to beat them because we’re right up there now with the best.”

Turning Point: With Massapequa holding on to a 7-3 lead with under nine minutes remaining, Hicksville put out an offense that seemed unstoppable. They scored four goals over the next seven minutes to force extra time and eventually win.

Quotable: “They are a great team with a relentless midfield to deal with. It was an up and down game for us, but our goalie came up with big saves there and we just kept chipping away to force overtime,” Hicksville head coach Chuck Arnone said. “That kind of thing happens and I’m sure they were thinking that they got some good chances that could’ve went in for them as well.”

“Overall, it was a great game, but they got after every ground ball and were more physical than us and they made their shots when it counted,” Massapequa head coach Tim Radomski said. “We didn’t possess the ball on offense. We had a chance to get a last shot and didn’t make it, so that’s the way the ball rolls.”

Bottom Line: The win for Hicksville was the first in six years over Massapequa and put them back in the hunt for the Conference title as playoffs approach. The loss was the first in the conference for Massapequa this season. Hicksville has now won six straight games after losing a thrilling double overtime game to Syosset on April 8.

Key Stat: Massapequa has had three of their last four games go into overtime, but the Chiefs are just 1-2 in those games.

Who’s Next: Massapequa vs. John Jay, May 7, 4:00 p.m.; Hicksville vs. Wantagh, May 7, 2:00 p.m.

Box Score:

Goals-Assists: H: Geneva 3-1, Leonard 2-2, McCormick 2-0, Woessner 1-0, Brendel 0-1. Totals: 8-4. M: Lukaszewicz 2-1, Sheehan 2-0, Lawless 1-1, Shand 1-0, Pellizzi 1-0. Totals: 7-2. Goalies: H: Lomangino- 13 saves; M: Danaher- 16 saves.