Calhoun boys lacrosse stays hot, improves to 13-1 with win over Long Beach
Harley Finkelstein of Calhoun moves down field with Brody Riedel of Long Beach following closely behind during a Nassau boys lacrosse game on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in Merrick. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The Calhoun boys lacrosse team is a perfect example of how sizeable the gap can be between ‘what should be’ and ‘what is.’ With the Colts, it’s turned out to be a pretty big chasm.
Calhoun appeared in the last two Nassau Class B title games but appeared gutted going into this season. There were 23 departures via graduation. Only four senior starters remained. And formidable Class B newcomers have made the championship landscape far tougher.
But projections can be deceiving, and the Colts are far more dangerous than projected. Calhoun won for the 13th time in 14 games on Wednesday by shrugging off a blasé first half and using a highly-effective transition game and steady defense to tough out an 8-6 win over visiting Long Beach.
The Colts (13-1, 10-1) are in position to grab a top-four seeding, just as they were the last two seasons when they pulled semifinal upsets.
“Calhoun is always getting slept on,” Harley Finkelstein said.
“That’s fine with us because we like being thought of as an underdog,” added Mark Restivo.
Shaun Walters raced the right side off a turnover and found Finkelstein close by the goalmouth for a 6-5 lead with 6:54 left to play. Then Walters scooped up the loose ball out of the ensuing faceoff and sprinted in for another goal nine seconds later.
“We were juiced with momentum after the goal,” Walters said, “and sometimes when we fire the (opponent) can let down and defeat themselves.”
Long Beach (8-4, 6-4) — which has now lost four games by a total of just six goals — wasn’t exactly defeated right there. Charlie Conway cut the margin in half when he drove from the left side and put in a shot on a near-impossible angle.
In the final 3:08 Restivo — who teammates nicknamed “Playoff Mark” for great late season performances in goal — made four of his 15 saves before Finkelstein’s insurance goal with 14 seconds left. Restivo also made impressive third-quarter saves on a trio of quality Marines shots and defenseman Xander Megias blanketed Long Beach leading scorer Luke Hartman and kept him off the board.
“On offense we were unselfish and made the extra pass when they pushed up, but our defense made the difference,” Calhoun coach Jim Femminella said. “People laugh when I say it, but the goal is to win the game by one.”
If Calhoun were to award a game ball, however, it would have to go to junior midfielder Braden Garvey, who had a career-high four goals among the Colts’ first five. “They created tension in the center and that allowed me to get open in the crease where my teammates found me,” he said.
Jonathan Cardo had a goal and an assist for Calhoun. Cian Donaghy had a pair of goals and an assist and Maverick Chernoff, Jonathan Hayes and Rory Ahern had goals for the Marines.
As Megias sees it, the new starters have come on to jell with the returning starters to form a winning chemistry. He explained, “it’s like we get better every single day.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
