Smithtown West boys lacrosse's John Savino tallies six points in first half to lead Bulls past Harborfields

Smithtown West’s John Savino runs like the Bull that he is, yet he accelerates like a cheetah at the point of the attack.

That athleticism found itself on full display Monday evening as Smithtown West went to Harborfields and left with its second-largest win of the season, a 16-5 triumph in Suffolk Division II boys lacrosse.

Savino, who had four goals and two assists — all in the first half as Smithtown West led 11-2 at halftime — showcased ridiculous bursts at every opportunity. His final goal was one of beauty, sizing up his defender with less than a minute to play in the second quarter before suddenly sprinting his way left of the cage and skipping inside past another defender as he slotted the ball in the far corner.

“We just didn’t slow down,” Savino said. “Once we are scoring we just keep going. They beat us pretty good last year, so we had to keep pushing them.”

Savino and midfielder Eric Kowalski either scored or assisted on five of the Bulls’ first seven goals. Kowalski had two assists, both on Savino goals, and scored one of his three goals with 1.9 seconds left in the first half.

“We’re really just doing it for each other,” Kowalski said. “We’re giving it everything we got this year for [the seniors].”

Smithtown West's defense made it hard for Harborfields (5-7, 4-6) to string passes together. A rhythm came even harder to find thanks to Smithtown West FOGO (Face Off Get Off) man Necco Cottage, who coach Matt Schultz described as “special” after the senior won 16 of 19 faceoffs, kickstarting a stampede of Bulls’ attacks.

“He’s dominant,” Schultz said. “We wouldn’t be this team without him.”

Schultz also praised midfielder Carmelo Pace, calling him a “tremendous defensive player.” Pace delivered consistent checks to disrupt Harborfields’ offense, and also added a goal and two assists.

“He’s really a great leader for us and the seniors,” Schultz said.

Liam Byrne added six points and Dylan Frank had three points for a Smithtown West team that does a little bit of everything right.

Still, Savino, Kowalski and Schultz all agreed that the work is far from done.

“We’ve got to win [the regular season] out,” Savino said. “Hopefully we make it to [the county finals] and make history.”