Farmingdale boys lacrosse captures its first Nassau championship in 12 years with win over Port Washington
Farmingdale’s Michael Ippoliti made eight saves and was named MVP as the Dalers won Class A final against Port Washington on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Credit: Bob Sorensen
The horn went off inside Shuart Stadium, and the players raced across the turf toward their goalie, sticks and gloves flying in the air. They all met to celebrate something that hadn’t happened in a dozen years.
Farmingdale claimed a county championship in varsity boys lacrosse.
The top-seeded Dalers defeated the defending champ, No. 2 Port Washington, 11-3, Tuesday at Hofstra to take the Nassau Class A title.
“They won in football, and a lot of the same guys play both sports,” Farmingdale coach Mike Hungerford said. “They have this way about them. It’s hard to explain. Self-confidence, but not arrogance. They come ready to play and practice really good and prepare, and they bought in to everything that we’ve been selling, and it’s pretty cool.”
Michael Ippoliti, the Syracuse-bound goalie, led the way on this day with eight saves, earning game MVP recognition. Chris Bergersen scored three times. Dillon Mehta had two goals and two assists. Sal Posillico had two goals and one assist. And Brendan O’Keefe had one goal and three assists.
So the 16-3 Dalers will face Suffolk’s winner for the Long Island championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Stony Brook.
“We already won the LIC in football (in November) and now we’re going back to another LIC in lacrosse; it’s a really good feeling,” said Mehta, a senior midfielder who was a wide receiver/safety on that football team.
Ippoliti won an NSCHSAA lacrosse title last season in his third year at St. Dominic and was an All-Long Island first-teamer. The senior said he transferred to Farmingdale “to play with my hometown friends.”
“It feels great to come home and win a championship with my friends who I started out playing with,” Ippoliti said.
He stopped three shots early on. Then Matt Cangelosi and Mehta made it 2-0 after one quarter.
Mehta found the net for the first goal of the second quarter and set up the last one with a feed to Bergersen in close. It was 6-0 at halftime.
Chase Pastolove then delivered his first of two goals for the 13-5 Vikings.
But Posillico scored and Bergersen converted twice for a 9-1 cushion after three.
“I said it to the guys on the way over: For us to be back here, nobody thought we’d be back in this game,” Port Washington coach Isaac Neal said. “So I think for us to get to this game was tremendous.”
