East Boy's Lacrosse Defeats Commack 12-5

Smithtown East boy’s lacrosse team picked up its first League I victory of the season and improved its overall record to 3-1 by defeating Commack 12-5 on the road Wednesday afternoon.

The Bulls jumped out quickly and led 4-1 after the first quarter and held a 5-3 lead at halftime. But Commack was resilient and turned their few offensive possessions into goals in the third quarter, storming back with a goal from David Murphy mid-way through the third quarter and then tying it up at five with a goal from Brandon Cook just 12 seconds later.

The veteran Bulls squad eventually settled down. With 1:51 left in the third quarter Vincent Ferraro scored the goal that put the Bulls ahead for good when he drove out strongly from behind the goal and put the ball past Commack’s Billy Sampson.

East's go-ahead goal proceeded a rapid offensive attack. 43 seconds after Ferraro put the Bulls ahead, Ryan Desimone put another goal on the board that was assisted by Garry Watson. Just 27 seconds later Dylan Senf made it 8-5 Smithtown with an unassisted goal.

That flurry allowed the Bulls to settle down and pull away in the fourth quarter.

“We had a bunch of chances in the first half that we didn’t capitalize on,” Smithtown Head Coach Jason Lambert said. “If you don’t do that in this league it comes back and bites you later in the game. We were fortunate today that it worked out and we were able to get some at the end and get out of here with a win.”

The Bulls tallied four more times in the fourth to provide the final margin. Watson led the charge with four goals and three assists, and Desimone contributed three goals and three assists.

“We just took our time on offense,” Desimone answered as the reason for the Bulls dominating second half. “We knew we had the skills, we just needed to calm everything down and give our defense a little break. That’s when we started pumping in goals.”

Both Lambert and Desimone realize that getting league wins on the road, especially early in the season, is extremely important.

“It’s huge,” Lambert said. “Any league win this year is going to be very, very hard to get. The league is as deep as it’s ever been so we needed to get our first league win today in a big way.”

Picking up league wins early will allow the team to settle down and play loose, Desimone said. “It’s really important to get a bunch early so we can settle down at the end and play our best lacrosse,” he said.

Up next for the Bulls is a Ward Melville team that is ranked number 13 in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse and is coming off a victory over then number two Garden City.

“We just have to worry about us and how we’re going to play as a team,” Desimone said about the upcoming battle with the Patriots. “If we have everything good on our end we should be alright.”

The Bulls host Ward Meville Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.