Henry Griffith makes 11 saves in Manhasset boys lacrosse's win over Oceanside in Nassau I

Even when an opponent bypasses Manhasset boys lacrosse’s talent on the field, there’s still a massive test to ace between the pipes. Unfortunately for opposing attackmen, senior goalie Henry Griffith had the answer key for nearly every shot that came his way.

Griffith made 11 saves and allowed three goals in Manhasset’s 16-4 win over Oceanside Friday in Nassau’s Conference I opener for both. Oceanside played a tight game through the first 20 minutes, but Griffith made seven of his 11 saves in the first quarter to prevent Manhasset from ever falling behind.

“It’s not just me, it’s my defense giving them bad shot opportunities and not letting them get to the middle,” Griffith said. “I’m just grateful I was able to make the right saves.”

Oceanside (2-1 overall) battled Manhasset (2-1) blow-for-blow early in the game, forcing a tie at 3 in the second quarter with 8:28 remaining after junior attackman Brady Nardone netted the equalizer off a feed from junior midfielder Sean Mahoney.

“It’s a very good Oceanside team that’s very athletic and tough,” coach Keith Cromwell said. “It kept it close in the beginning. We were fighting some things early, but we were harping on our principles and eventually got the ball humming and moving.”

Senior long-stick midfielder Lochlan FitzPatrick helped the defense settle down while forcing loose balls via strong hits or precise stick pokes. The defensive discipline took the wind from the Sailors’ sails before sparking an offensive onslaught that had Manhasset score 12 unanswered goals from the second quarter to the fourth.

Attackman Daniel Kolin (one goal, four assists) often drew Oceanside’s standout defender, Dylan Bender, away from the middle of the field before finding a teammate quickly cutting in front of goal.

Often, that teammate was sophomore Marco Petruccelli. He scored four goals and assisted another in the win, dominating alongside junior Conor Sheerin (four goals).

“Our coach really wanted us to just move the ball,” Petruccelli said. “I think we did that pretty well to find guys inside.”

There were silver linings for Oceanside in its Nassau Conference I debut. Bender forced three turnovers in the loss and senior faceoff specialist Dillon Tveter won 10 of his 17 faceoffs. Senior goalie Sam Feldbaum performed well despite being in difficult situations all too often, saving 10 shots.

The strong Manhasset performance came at a good time for the program, with both Griffith and Petruccelli noting how the team wanted to bounce back from a 9-8 loss to Cold Spring Harbor on Monday.

“The boys were definitely fired up in practice this week to get back on the field and show ourselves,” Griffith said. “We didn’t show ourselves on Monday.”

“It’s like the ‘Ted Lasso’ quote — be a goldfish, forget about it and move on,” Petruccelli said. “I think that’s what we did today.”