Ben Morris, Bayport-Blue Point top East Islip in battle of unbeaten teams
Bayport-Blue Point's Benjamin Morris reacts after scoring in the third quarter during a Suffolk boys lacrosse game against host East Islip on Tuesday. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Ben Morris and his Bayport-Blue Point teammates spoke about it in the locker room before taking the field at East Islip High School.
The Phantoms lost to East Islip early last spring, and both teams entered Tuesday’s Suffolk II boys lacrosse matchup undefeated.
Carrying the extra motivation of last season's loss, Morris scored six goals with two assists and led Bayport-Blue Point (6-0, 4-0) to an 18-9 win.
“That was fuel for us. We definitely remembered it,” Morris said. “It’s a big win, but we have bigger goals.”
Eight players scored for the Phantoms. PJ Shanahan netted a hat trick, and Connor Curran, JJ Aiello and Callum McClancy each added two goals.
The Phantoms have scored 15 or more goals in four games this spring. They reached that mark four times all of last season.
“We have a lot of guys who have been in big moments before,” Bayport-Blue Point coach Doug Meehan said. “Our depth is our biggest weapon. At all times we have six guys on the field that can score.”
Bayport-Blue Point showcased that depth on both sides of the field. Defenders Riley Spencer and Emilio Diaz held East Islip’s top-scorer, Matt McIntee, scoreless with one assist.
The Phantoms built a 9-3 lead at halftime behind three goals from Morris in the second quarter. That lead swelled into an 11-3 advantage early in the second half.
But East Islip (4-1, 3-1) scored four unanswered second-half goals and pulled within three early in the fourth quarter. Eighth-grader Sean Hannigan led the group with three goals and an assist, and Drew Walendowski's 10 saves kept East Islip in the game.
“We stayed together. Nobody got upset at each other,” Bayport-Blue Point’s Diaz said. “We understood we could win the game.”
Morris and Shanahan each scored twice in the fourth quarter to bolster Bayport-Blue Point’s lead and seal the victory. Morris, a Johns Hopkins commit, said he likes how gritty his team is this spring.
“We come out fighting every single time, we press out on guys, we lay some hits,” Morris said. “We don’t fear anybody.”
The Phantoms will play Islip and undefeated Mount Sinai over the next two weeks, along with Shoreham-Wading River, who ended their season last year in the Suffolk Class C semifinals.
“This win just pushes us forward,” Diaz said. “The season’s going to get harder.”
