Suffolk Top 10 (as of April 1)

So hey – remember last week? When there was nothing at all unexpected in the Suffolk lacrosse rankings? Remember that?
We were so young then.

To quote poet of a generation Sheryl Crow: every day is a winding road. And, well, for the teams who withstood the onslaught of surprises and upsets, it was their turn to get a little bit closer…
….to number one.

(See what I did there?)

All records overall.

1. Hauppauge (3-0) – The Class B champs held their ground, defeating Harborfields and East Hampton this week. What’s more, they’re doing it in style: winning by five goals or more in every game this season. Taylor Ranftle did the whole, “I’m the fourth best attack in the nation” thing and tallied four goals and three assists in both games this week.

2. Ward Melville (4-0) – Am I gonna get killed for this? Yes. Is it too soon? Probably. I’m not saying I’m positive WM can beat Northport head to head, I’m saying they’ve been more impressive so far. It’s not that they have four wins, it’s who they’re beating: Sayville, West Islip, Sachem North, and Floyd. On Friday, they were dealt Floyd and All-American stud Chelsey Sidaras. The goalie allowed only eight goals. The Ward Melville defense, led by Jordan Porretto, only allowed five. That’s about right: Ward Melville is allowing 5.75 goals per game. C’mon. That’s pretty impressive.

3. Northport (1-1) – Don’t get fooled. The West Babylon team that beat Northport (11-8) is legit, particularly the explosive Christina Esposito. And the Tigers aren’t slowing down. In fact, Northport trailed 5-0 midway through the first before ending the half 6-4. Cortney Fortunato seems to still be getting in the groove, but once she finds her stroke, my prediction is that Northport will be back on top.

4. Bay Shore (3-0) – Consider this a high four. Bay Shore hasn’t come up against any really big competition yet, but this team is loaded. Caroline deLyra is money as the team veteran, but keep an eye on upcoming talent, on display in the Marauders 17-5 win against Commack. Junior Kaitlyn Arnold (which is apparently spelled Kaitlin on the roster – I’ll fix it!) had four goals and two assists while Kyra Harney added five goals and three assists. Harney is a sophomore. And by all accounts, she’s an absolutely awesome player.

5. Sayville (4-1) – The Golden Flashes get props for pulling out a 12-10 OT win over Harborfields and for bouncing back beautifully from last week. I’d like to take a moment to point out that Emily Meier has scored four or more goals in every Sayville victory.

6. Shoreham-Wading River (2-0) – SWR keeps on keeping on, with a 10-7 win over Rocky Point. Paulina Constant had three goals, four assists and five draw controls. I, for one, am looking forward to their game against ESM in the April 13 Battle of the Schools With Really Long Names. Mostly so I can stop asking myself if I should rank ESM above or below SWR.

7. Eastport-South Manor (4-0) – ESM is seven…for now. They had a nice win against Class C champion Mt. Sinai – a 9-8 win decided on Dene’ DiMartino’s score with two minutes left to play.

8. Mt. Sinai (3-1) – I’m not gonna drop them too low for a last minute loss to ESM, especially since they’re so young, so extremely talented, and have the unenviable task of trying to defeat Hauppauge next week. (See you there!)

9. Half Hollow Hills (2-1) –  Hills lost a 10-9 thriller to West Islip in the final 1:52, but defeated Connetquot 16-7 on the 28th.

10. Sachem East (4-0*) – Welcome to the Top 10. Also: Holy defense, Batman. The Flaming Arrows have held opponents to three scoreless halves in four games. Their biggest win was a 7-5 win against Floyd and it’ll be interesting to see how Sachem East holds up against tougher competition down the line. Keep an eye on Katie Trombetta. Those field hockey phenoms sure know how to lax. (*Sachem East played Saturday night, but the result wasn't called in)

So…what did you think? Rules from last week apply. If you think I’m wrong, convince me for next week. Try to be nice? Remember, the first cut is the deepest.

Happy laxing!