Art of the assist: LI's best dish on lacrosse passing skills

Calling an assist simply the pass before a goal is drastically understating its art form.

Over the course of a game, there will be simple passes to a wide-open player who scores a goal, resulting in an assist. But the truly elite creators can turn an unexpected teammate into a goal-scorer.

“It’s like being the magic maker behind the magic,” Long Beach senior midfielder Delaney Chernoff said. “And to be able to celebrate a goal with someone else is way better than celebrating alone.”

Long Island has plenty of lacrosse players who emulate Houdini on a field. Whether it’s a no-look pass or a sleight of hand by making a defender think one thing, only to counter with a completely different move, plenty of tricks are played on a lacrosse field.

"When I go to feed, I really just use my lacrosse IQ and I’ve learned to pass people open,” said Alexa Spallina, a Mount Sinai senior attack and the No. 1 lacrosse recruit in the country who is committed to Clemson. “Most of the time I pass the ball and the girl who’s cutting doesn’t even know they are open yet . . . anyone can pass to a really wide-open player and I think that’s what makes my game so much different from a bunch of other people is that I see the ball develop before my cutter even knows it.”

Mirabella Altebrando led Long Island in assists (65) last season and returns for her senior season at Miller Place. She’s always found joy in creating opportunities for others, fueled by an on-field connection that goes beyond words.

“It’s a very personal thing because it sometimes feels like it’s just you and the cutter,” Altebrando said. “That’s really what it feels like. You feel like you are the only two people on the field. You see a lane and you just know it’s going to be there. You know the moment and you both see it. It’s just a cool feeling.”

Everyone loves the rush of scoring a goal. Even Long Island’s top feeders won’t argue that. But there’s a different satisfaction that comes with being the one orchestrating the goal before it enters the scorer’s stick.

“Obviously everyone loves to score goals and I love it,” Chernoff said. “I’m a midfielder, so that’s sort of what we’re supposed to do. But the other day, I fed a girl and she scored her first varsity goal as a freshman and that was so cool. It was so special.”

In the Spallina household, they say assists count as two points. Although it’s inaccurate on the scoreboard and an individual stat sheet, an assist does mean two players recorded a point on the same play, so there’s something to it.

“The flashy goals and dodging seven people is great,” Spallina said. “But being able to make a dodge and turn it into a feed is even better.”

After leading Long Island in assists last year, Altebrando said she’s going to “switch it up” and show off some different skill sets as well this year – seemingly having a few more tricks up her sleeve. And she’s not alone as often the best way to become a top feeder is by being a scoring threat.

“I feel like now I draw a little more attention and it’s so much better to share a goal with my teammates than going to goal myself,” Chernoff said. “I think it’s just better and that’s what makes our team so special and I think that’s what makes a team a team.”