Sean Lawson, Alex Clark lead Mattituck/Greenport/Southold boys lacrosse to Suffolk Class D title

The Mattituck/Greenport/Southold boys lacrosse team plays best when it plays together.  

Six players registered multiple points for No. 1 Mattituck, which beat No. 2 Babylon 12-5 and earned its third Suffolk Class D boys lacrosse title at the Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex on Thursday.

Long stick midfielder Sean Lawson and midfielder Alex Clark each scored three goals, and Andrew Mckenzie stopped nine shots.

“This year was our chance,” Mattituck coach John Amato said. “We brought enough pieces back, we needed guys to step up, and they did that for us.”

Mattituck (7-10) only won one game two seasons ago. The sophomores and freshmen from that team are now seniors and juniors.

This year wasn’t easy, either. Mattituck lost six of its first seven games to start the spring.

“There have been struggles along the way,” Clark, a junior, said. “But it’s finally nice to get going, get a good win and keep playing.”

Lawson, a senior and key piece to Mattituck’s defense, scored three of his team’s first six goals. Defensively, Lawson credited his unit’s grittiness, toughness and communication against Babylon (6-10) on Thursday.

“I actually enjoy it more than playing defense,” Lawson said about playing offense. “I like scoring goals.”

“I like him on offense, too,” Clark added with a laugh.

Mattituck netted six consecutive goals after trailing by a goal early in the first quarter. Babylon didn’t score in the second quarter before Kai Jankow ended the Panthers’ drought with 4:42 left in the third.

Patrick Costa stopped nine shots, including six in the first half for the Panthers. But Mattituck’s offense swept around Babylon’s man defense and excelled in transition.

Mattituck scored all four of the fourth-quarter’s goals. Erik McKenna finished with two goals and an assist, and Marc Zappulla added two goals.

“I wanted to make sure we kept pushing our offense,” Amato said. “They didn’t get tight. They played fearless and just went for it.”

“We were working as a team, so it helped a lot,” Clark added. “We’re best when we play together.”

That was the key to beating Babylon for the second time this season. Mattituck downed the Panthers 7-5 in their first meeting on April 20 but knew they’d have to play better offensively to win again.

Mattituck will play the Nassau Class D champion for the Long Island title at Stony Brook University on Saturday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m.

“All of our hard work just paid off. It feels great,” Lawson said. “It’s not just a one-man game, it’s teamwork.”