Teddy Bentley, Kevin Winkoff lead top-seeded Cold Spring Harbor into Nassau Class C championship game
Brady Strough, center, gets congratulated by teammates Teddy Bentley, left, and Will Giarraputo after scoring a goal during the Nassau Class C boys lacrosse semifinals against Floral Park at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium on Thursday. Credit: James Escher
Sometimes, Cold Spring Harbor’s players need to be reminded just what year it is.
“Coach told us at halftime, ‘This is 2018. We’re not last year’s team,’ ” senior midfielder Teddy Bentley said.
He is one of only a handful of players remaining from the elite group that won three straight state Class C championships.
Bentley scored three goals with an assist and Kevin Winkoff, the only returning senior starter on offense from the Seahawks’ 2017 team, added a goal and two assists as No. 1 Cold Spring Harbor pulled away from No. 4 Floral Park for a 12-5 win Thursday afternoon in a Nassau C semifinal played at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
The Seahawks improved to 15-1 with their 13th straight win and will play for the Nassau C title at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hofstra. Floral Park finished 8-6.
“There have been a lot of changes,” Bentley said, “but the younger players have stepped up big-time. They’ve got fire and energy.”
Sophomore Will Giarraputo scored two goals, junior Danny Striano — who missed last season with an injury — contributed two goals and an assist, and sophomore Brady Strough had a goal and two assists for CSH. The Seahawks responded quickly to a Floral Park flurry of three straight goals that made it a 5-3 game early in the third quarter.
Striano and senior Aris Goldschmidts (a substitute last year) scored 1:17 apart to make it 7-3 and Winkoff and Striano scored 1:48 apart early in the fourth to build a 10-4 advantage. Floral Park goalie James O’Grady, under siege for much of the game, made 15 saves.
“We’re much better when we move the ball,” said Bentley, who was mostly a defensive midfielder last year. “I’m more involved in the offense this year. Offense is fun.”
So is winning, 2018 style.
Massapequa advances to Class A final. The top-seeded Chiefs scored the game’s first five goals and the last six in an 11-3 win over Port Washington to advance to the Nassau Class A championship game at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hofstra. Garrett Gibbons scored four consecutive goals and added an assist for Massapequa (16-1).
“We started strong, then we fell off a little bit,” Gibbons said. “But then we started playing Massapequa lacrosse — play fast and move the ball. We’re not a one-man team.”
Timmy Ley added three goals and an assist, Colin Gleason had two goals and an assist and Logan Tucker contributed a goal and two assists. The Chiefs’ Angelo Petrakis dominated on faceoffs, winning 14 of 17 to create extra scoring chances.
“We trust that Angelo will get us the ball,” Gibbons said. “That’s a great advantage for us. We think he’s the best faceoff guy on Long Island and a huge part of what we do.”
Manhasset breezes in Class B. Aidan Mulholland and Logan Hyde each scored two goals for the top-seeded Indians, who scored all three goals in the fourth quarter to break open a slow-paced but tight game for a 6-1 win over Hewlett. Manhasset, which will play for the county title on Tuesday night at Hofstra, improved to 12-5. Hewlett, which got a goal from Alex Vardaro, finished 8-8.
Food, fun and fireworks: NewsdayTV's Fourth of July special NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano has your guide to Fourth of July fun across Long Island.
Food, fun and fireworks: NewsdayTV's Fourth of July special NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano has your guide to Fourth of July fun across Long Island.
