Did Somebody Say Dynasty?

When the game ended on Saturday against Fairport giving West Islip their fourth state Class A title in lacrosse in the last five years, senior defenseman Eddie Ryan threw his helmet in celebration. The helmet cracked, a casualty of a grueling playoff tournament in which the Lions showed their dominance.

"I think it means something," said Ryan, who has anchored the Lions defense along with the three Kyle's — senior Kyle Kerrigan, junior Kyle Carrick and goaltender Kyle Turri.

Ryan and fellow senior standouts Nicky Galasso, Andrew Hodgson, Rob Moore, Matt Gebhardt and Joe Finnegan along with the other seniors will not be playing lacrosse for the West Islip Lions anymore as they graduate in less than two weeks. 

But what the Lions accomplished over the last four years will always remain as the team solidified West Islip as a lacrosse dynasty. "We've been the best around, maybe the best in the country. Am I impressed with that? Absolutely. Dynasty? I don't know. Next year is another year," said head coach Scott Craig. "People keep on saying what's life going to be without Nicky [Galasso]. We've won seven seven straight county championship, the first three we won without Nicky. I'm going to miss Nicky as a person, but I know we have enough talent to compete in the future. I just hope the other guys believe they have it."

While its hard to imagine the Lions not being competitive next season, especially with scorers Mike Sagl and Drew Federico and Turri still in goal, the team's accomplishments over the past five years put it in elite company. The only state title to escape them in the last five years was won by West Genesee, which won the title four straight years from 2002 to 2005. 

The West Islip lacrosse program's dominance earned it the 2010 Special Recognition Award from the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame. "I think the number one thing is [head coach] Scott Craig and Bill Turri and the entire coaching staff. They are the two common factors through everything in terms of their involvement with the kids on a daily basis and the lower-level coaches in the school as well as their extensive involvement with the youth program" said West Islip Athletic Director Tim Horan.

After losing their opener on March 31 against Sachem North 13-12 in overtime, the Lions rattled off 21 straight wins culminating in Saturday's championship. It took a myriad of factors such as support from the community, talented and committed players and a coaching staff that knows what it takes to win. 

"It's just like any successful program. There's so many variables involved with it. One of those variables is that tradition and the excellence that they've established," said Horan. "It just raises the bar for every kid and the expectations are there for every coach and every kid when they put on a West Islip lacrosse jersey."