Thomas Girimonti's double overtime goal lifts Huntington boys lacrosse to Suffolk quarterfinal win over Smithtown East

Thomas Girimonti roared with his fists clenched down toward the ground as Daniel McNulty ran up behind him with his arms up in the air. Soon enough a whirlwind of white jerseys surrounded the duo to celebrate after Girimonti ripped a shot from 15 yards to send No. 4 Huntington to a 7-6 win in the Suffolk Class A semifinals over visitors No. 5 Smithtown East with 35 seconds left in double overtime Wednesday afternoon.

Huntington found itself in nearly the exact same situation as it was in a year ago, with the same seeding and opponent except with a different outcome as Smithtown East won that game with 0.2 seconds left on the clock.

“We’ve been waiting to do this all year long,” Girimonti said.

“We dream about moments like this,” McNulty added.

McNulty had a game-high four points with a pair of goals and two assists, including the winning assist to Girimonti. The senior attacker scored both of his goals in the second half, helping Huntington overcome a one-goal deficit entering the fourth quarter, and logged the go-ahead score with 6:52 remaining before Smithtown East’s Brian Devlin equalized two minutes later to force overtime. Huntington only held a lead for roughly three minutes of the game.

McNulty took the chance to name his “team’s MVP” from the day, justifiably praising goalie William Fallon. The junior made three unbelievable saves in overtime, including a key save with 15 seconds left in first overtime as he finished with nine saves.

“I thought my heart was pumping out of my chest,” Girimonti said. “I was standing at the midline thinking, ‘This can’t happen again.’ ”

“He holds his head high and we hold it for him as well,” McNulty said. “He’s awesome and we love him.”

Junior defenseman Parker Wands and senior defenseman Patrick Knieriem were just two parts of a strong defensive effort that had few lapses and managed to take Smithtown East’s Cameron James, who leads the team with 98 points, off the stat sheet. Junior midfielders Timothy McDonald and Tommy Kline also had strong games, with the latter scooping six ground balls with several in contested situations.

Smithtown East finishes the season 8-9 and played an exceptionally sound game. Junior goalie Brendan Carroll was the best player on the field, finishing with 18 saves which included a few remarkable stops in overtime as Fallon and Carroll alternated from highlight to highlight. Long-poles Sean Pellegrino and James Tedeschi played terrific defense in front of a zone defense that forced elongated Huntington possessions that often led to a save by Carroll.

Girimonti and his winning stick have until Saturday to rest and prepare as Huntington (13-4), will will travel to No. 1 Half Hollow Hills (16-1). Both Girimonti and McNulty expressed enthusiasm at the idea of a rematch against Hills, who defeated the Blue Devils two weeks ago.

“It’s a revenge game for us, and that’s the mentality,” McNulty said.