Kevin Burns scores three goals to help Cold Spring Harbor boys lacrosse wrap up its third straight Long Island Class D title
Kevin Burns #16 of Cold Spring Harbor, center, gets congratulated by teammates Andrew Mazzei #43, left, and Roy Testa #39 after scoring his first of three goals in the Class D boys lacrosse Long Island Championship against Babylon at Shuart Stadium on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Credit: James Escher
Cold Spring Harbor and boys lacrosse championships have become synonymous. Wednesday’s performance against Babylon showed why.
After trailing by one early in the second quarter, the Seahawks scored five unanswered goals and did not concede a goal over a 19:46 stretch between the second and third quarter. Junior attackman Kevin Burns scored three of the goals as Cold Spring Harbor controlled the entire second half in a 6-3 victory to secure its third consecutive Long Island Class D crown Wednesday at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
“If you win one it’s special, three in a row is amazing,” Cold Spring Harbor coach Dennis Bonn said. “That’s the goal every year. Like I said after the county championship, the goal every year is to win the county, and we did that. It’s one trophy, one title at a time, and that’s all you can play for.”
“It feels great,” said Burns, in his first varsity season. “Everyone’s super hyped up at practice, and all the seniors talking about how good it is to win. And you just got to keep going.”
Freshman goalie Matt Kammer, who made five saves, was named championship game MVP in a postgame ceremony. Kammer, also a first-year varsity player, helped continue Cold Spring Harbor’s winning pedigree despite being a new face in the cage.
“It’s such an honor,” Kammer said. “I mean, I can’t do it without my defense. My defense is where it all starts. Our defense played great today, and we wouldn’t have the game today if it wasn’t for our defense.”
Cold Spring Harbor (11-6) held Babylon (10-6) scoreless for the final 14:27.
The Seahawks advance to play Section IX champion O’Neill in the Southeast Regional final at 10 a.m. Saturday at Middletown High School. Cold Spring Harbor, which claimed its seventh Long Island title Wednesday, is three wins away from its third straight state title and seventh overall.
Burns scored two first-half goals for Cold Spring Harbor, which led 3-2 at halftime. Burns opened the scoring 2:16 into the first quarter, and he scored with 9:29 left in the half to erase Babylon’s 2-1 lead. Midfielder Sam Bruno cashed in on an unassisted goal with 4:41 remaining in the second quarter.
Midfielder Ryan McGloin, who had the Seahawks’ lone assist on Burns’ second goal, extended the lead to 4-2 with 9:54 left in the third quarter. Midfielder Alex Bauer scored to make it 5-2 with 6:50 left in the third, and Burns’ third goal gave the Seahawks a 6-2 lead 1:48 later.
“Every score is big,” Burns said. “Just the teammates getting through, feeding me the ball, getting the ball where it needs to go and really getting into a set offense really helps.”
Babylon attackman Shane Dellafranca scored off an assist from his brother Ben Dellafranca, who also had a second-quarter goal, with 2:27 left in the third for the final goal of the game.
Said Bonn: “Those wins toward the end of the season and even the two losses [against Garden City and Farmingdale], couple that with the two wins now in the playoffs, I think we’re going in the right direction.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.