Sports
Cyclones Lax Breezes By Bethpage, 9-3
South Side scores seven goals in second half; Bryan Gerrato and Kevin Waxon each finish with a hat trick.
South Side’s offense struggled against a stout Bethpage defense in the first half of its game Thursday, but the Cyclones exploded in the second half, scoring seven times to beat the Eagles 9-3 in its final non-conference game.
“I’m glad we responded," head coach Steve DiPietro said. "We didn’t have the focus and determination that we showed [Tuesday, against Lynbrook]. I think that shows some of the maturity and experience we lack. We came out flat, and we paid for it, but I’m happy we responded from it.”
The one constant in both halves was South Side goalie Dominic Moriarty. The former all-county selection stopped 23 shots and appeared to be everywhere for the Cyclones defense. Moriarty held the Eagles to three goals, and the final one came in garbage time.
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“If it wasn’t for our goalie standing on his head, we could have been losing by four or five goals today,” DiPietro said. “He’s a little unorthodox at times, but he gets it done. He had some huge saves for us, and without those, this game could have gone the other way easily."
South Side got offensive contributions from a variety of players. Bryan Gerrato had another hat trick, as did Kevin Waxon. Zach Scaduto scored a goal, and sophomores Cole Considine and Eric Gennari each put one in the back of the cage during the rout.
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“I’m glad we worked out of the hole, but I’m not happy with the way we started out on offense,” DiPietro said. “A lot of players stepped up on offense today, and that gives us a lot of options going forward.”
The Cyclones have played an exceptionally hard out-of-conference schedule, taking on the Colorado state champions, Cold Spring Harbor and Syosset. The idea was, DiPietro said, to get his young team ready for the grind of the league schedule, which begins Friday against New Hyde Park. Now that every game counts, DiPietro said he knows his team has to step up.
“This is what we were working toward – every game is now important toward the playoffs,” he said. “We’re a work in progress, but this is what we’ve been playing for.”
