Bethpage boys lacrosse's Anthony Guarasci, Chase Solliday help lead way in victory over North Shore

Bethpage won by two over North Shore, but the Golden Eagles could have won by a whole lot more.

They took a 7-5 decision over the visiting Vikings in this non-league boys lacrosse matchup Wednesday behind three goals by senior attackman Anthony Guarasci, four assists by junior midfielder Chase Solliday and a quality defensive effort.

Griffin Pinter was simply outstanding in front of the cage for North Shore, keeping it close, making save after save. The senior made 18 of them to be exact.

But Bethpage coach Patrick Gorman thought his team also contributed to making it a tight fight with some less than optimal decisions offensively.

“They were playing a zone, which we knew was going to be tough,” Gorman said. “That hasn’t been our strong suit all season. Their goalie played great. That certainly doesn’t help when you’re playing offense against a zone defense and he was standing on his head.

“… I’d like to see a little more patience, game awareness. We had a couple of shot clock violations that we’ve got to clean up.”

Gorman was pleased with the work at the other end, though.

“I thought the defense played strong overall,” said Luke Waxer, a junior long stick midfielder and Bryant commit who fit in well with that description. “We gave up some goals that we shouldn’t give up and we need to fix those as a team at practice in the next couple of days. But overall I feel like we’re strong defensively.”

The Golden Eagles reached the 2024 Nassau Class C semis. Their record is now just 5-6, but there’s talent on this team.

“We’ve shown in spots that we’re able to compete with almost anybody,” Gorman said. “We want to build on those. That’s where the frustration comes in today because I know and they know that we’re a better team than some of the moments that we showed today.”

North Shore fell to 6-4. But it has a big plus in Pinter.

“He’s been our best player the entire year,” coach John Savage said.

Savage started a combined count of six freshmen and sophomores. Eighth-grade midfielder/attackman Mason Silvia led the Vikings with a goal and two assists.

“We keep telling them they’re not young anymore because it’s time for them to step up to the plate, because they’ve been doing it all year long,” Savage said. “If we can get in the six- through-eight conversation (for seeding) and get a winnable first-round game, that would be ideal. We’d love to make it to Hofstra. That would be a goal of ours.”

There was a moment of silence before the game to remember Joe Killeen. The longtime Bethpage athletic trainer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020 and died at 60 in September of 2022 after coming down with pneumonia and contracting COVID-19.

Gorman knows it’s important to keep remembering him.

“Our seniors are one of the last groups that really had that close contact with him,” Gorman said. “… It’s important for the younger guys to understand what kind of character he had and what kind of man he was.”

Gorman’s Golden Eagles came out and built 4-2 edge at halftime.

Solliday then fed Guarasci, who scored 44 seconds into the third for a three-goal lead.

By the end of the third, it was a two-goal lead after Silvia fed Tyler Kaufman up top for a goal to cut it to 6-4.

But Solliday, operating on the left side, spotted Tommy Lagan on the inside and whipped the ball to him. The advantage was back up to three with 6:10 left.

Silvia sent a pass to Angelo Anobile, who made it a two-goal game with 1:19 remaining.

“We definitely should be pleased we got the win,” Guarasci said. “However, we could have done more on six-on-six. We were very good in transition. Once we put the pieces together, we’re going to be scary.”