NCN LAX/BASKETBALL BLOG

The Tuskers blew an early 6-2 lead to the Garnets, falling by a final of 9-8 in overtime.

Also, there are rumblings of Putnam Valley upsetting Jay over on LaxLessons.

Something must have been in the air tonight.

Somers vs. Rye video highlights should be up at some point this evening.

Feel free to drop any info regarding today’s slate of games.

 The Rebels celebrate Will Fallo’s OT goal against John Jay last night.

L/P’s 13-12 overtime win over John Jay last night — which snapped a nine-year losing streak to the Indians — was impressive in its own right.

But here are two things to keep in mind.

1. The Rebels played the game with a rotation of about 15 players.
2. It was hotter than the Sahara at John Jay.

As a result of these two factors, the win went from being “impressive” to “downright amazing.”

If you are ever sitting in the stands at one of L/P’s games, take a look down at their sideline. What you will see is a bench skimpier than something Lil’ Kim would wear. It stood out even more last night, as John Jay had its usual army of reserves on the sideline.

So, let’s take a little while to examine L/P’s depth issues and, more importantly, how they’ve overcome them.

First, why are there so few kids playing lax at a traditional North County powerhouse? I went to Head Coach Jim Lindsay for that answer.

“It’s a weird year numbers-wise,” Lindsay said. “We are starting to get solid numbers back through the system now and the JV has solid numbers with good lax players. But last year it was more a hodgepodge of kids. Some of them just weren’t going to be lax players. We lost those numbers and it’s a weird lull in that year.”

Lindsay continued, explaining how the lack of a freshmen team has hindered the program’s overall development.

“There is a bottleneck where I’ve got some freshmen and sophomores that I have to take off the JV to fill numbers on the varsity, but they should be on the JV,” the coach said. “I have freshman on the JV that should be learning on the freshmen team, so my JV team is like a freshman team. We are just starting to right the ship to get the numbers where they need to be up the line, but it’s going to take a couple of years. It is what it is. We have to play with what we’ve got.”

Lindsay is forced to insert his players into multiple different roles to mask try and mask non-existent depth.

“This is not a traditional team where we can play six on offense and six on defense,” Lindsay said. “I have kids that play on the wing short-stick and then they grab a pole and I have attackman going in.

“We are learning as a coaching staff and team that we need to play to our strengths to win games like this [against John Jay]. Getting the guys onto the field where they can excel is something we are struggling with, but we are learning it.”

Basically, a lot of the Rebels are forced to wear multiple hats.

In senior Matt Voelkel’s case, it’s two sticks.

Voelkel, a natural middie, has picked up the long pole this season. L/P’s lack of depth at defense is more noticeable than anywhere else, as they really only have five guys to plug in. After John Jay went up 7-2, Voelkel grabbed a pole to help out the undermanned unit.

“We needed a senior to take charge vocally,” Lindsay said.

The Rebels defense held the Jay’s offense down the rest of the game.

“I guess our defense really stepped it up,” senior attackman Jack Doherty said. “We were doing OK on offense, but our defense started making stops.”

Senior long-stick Andy O’Mara was masterful, completely shutting down John Jay star Mike Daniello after he notched his lone goal in the first quarter. Goalie Stephen Hoch came up clutch down the stretch, turning away numerous Jay opportunities in the second half. Long-stick middie Andy Fazio was a terror on groundballs and transition.

At midfield, Shawn Honovich (3 goals) ran the equivalent of a marathon. He was the main option on clears, sprinting the ball end-to-end on more than once occasion. Honovich also played d-middie and was the top-option up top on offense. In truth, I found it truly amazing that he was still standing at the end of the game.

John Fitzpatrick (2 goals) played both middie and attack, inverting behind the cage and up top. Like Honovich, he rarely came off the field. Johnny Hittman was an iron man at the face-off X, taking every single draw throughout the entire game.

On attack, Jack Doherty was the rock. Surrounding him were James Bugeya (3 goals) and Will Fallo (2 goals). With most of Jay’s efforts concentrated on stopping Doherty, the two underclassmen thrived.

With all systems running on full blast, L/P stormed back from the 7-2 deficit. They proceeded to outscore John Jay 10-3 in the second and third quarters, taking a 12-8 lead with 4:53 left in the third.

But then John Jay fought back, tying the game at 12-12 on a goal by Will Stewart with three minutes left in regulation.

After running out of steam in a 15-10 loss to Guilderland Saturday, L/P was determined to not let history repeat itself.

“You guys are it,” Lindsay said to his team. “There’s nobody else on the bench. We are going to live or die with who is on this field. So you are either going to raise your level of play or we are going to lose.”
Now, L/P’s platoon system certainly isn’t the norm — and certainly not ideal.

But Doherty wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think it helps if anything,” Doherty said. “All the guys that are here really want to be and really want to play lax. It makes us tighter knit. I’d rather have that — just 20 guys.”

Lindsay, who was taken on a roller coaster ride during the emotion-packed overtime thriller, was almost speechless after the win.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said. “They are a good group of kids that accept their roles. I’m having fun. I’m losing hair, but I’m having fun.”

Enjoy.

L/P pulled out a 13-12 overtime victory against host John Jay this afternoon.

Despite having a barren bench, the Rebels fought back from a 7-2 first-half deficit.

Rebels attackman Will Fallo ripped the game-winner on an underhand crank (see below).

As Joe over at Laxlessons said, this was the game of the year thus far in Section 1.

Check back later for video highlights and some commentary.

Yorktown’s Brendan Brunelle scores in the second quarter against Darien Saturday.

Here are a two quick hitters from Yorktown’s 9-6 win over Darien.

* The more I watch Tom Casey, the more I really appreciate his game. As a result of Kevin Interlicchio’s insane start to the season, Casey’s consistent play has been overshadowed.

With 16 goals and nine assists, he is unquestionably the third option on Yorktown’s offense behind Interlicchio and John Ranagan.

If Charles Barkley chose lax instead of basketball, he would play exactly like Casey.

On two of three goals against Darien, the 6-2, 210-pounder overpowered his man by backing in. When the slide came, it was like watching a boulder collide with a bouncy ball.

Casey’s ability to choke up on his stick in traffic allows him to setup a quick shot and also to maintain possession.

* Brendan Brunelle did his best Ethan Fox imitation, going on the offensive to score a goal against the Blue Wave. His shot was perfect, bouncing into the turf and beyond the Darien goalie before he could react (look at photo above).

“It’s [Brunelle’s] birthday tomorrow [Sunday], I believe,” Yorktown goalie Michael Bonitatibus joked. “ I like seeing my defensemen go down and score goals like Ethan had done before. Now we just need Fen go down there and rip a G.”

While Fennessy didn’t “rip a G,” he did something that was nearly as impressive.

It happened in the second quarter. Fennessy teamed up with Cody Hanlon to lay a clean lick on Darien’s Tyler Foley behind the cage. Hanlon scooped the ball up and passed it toward the wing to Fennessy, who took off up the field.

He then beat about five Darien defenders in transition, angled behind the goal like an attackman and threw a precise pass to fellow defenseman Justin Vercruysse, who was positioned right on the crease.

Vercruysse — and who could really blame him? — shot the ball directly into the Darien goalie’s stick. But he also got a little shove from behind, which could have had something to do with it.

Regardless, it would have been a Top 5 play of the year if Vercruysse had cashed in.

Per usual, you can get more info on this game in the 4/29 issue of the North County News.

PV’s Jimmy Van de Veerdonk torched Rye on Saturday.

Here are a few quick hits from PV’s 15-9 win over Rye.

* It wasn’t quite as dramatic as John Elway winning the Super Bowl, but PV’s had to feel a tingle of pride after defeating Rye for the first time since 2005.

PV senior attackman Dillon Chesnut summed it up best.

“For any senior on this team, I think this is a big relief,” Chesnut said. “I’ve been losing to them since I was in ninth grade. This isn’t the only the first time I’ve scored against them, but it’s the first time we also beat them. It’s great. We haven’t won anything yet, but it’s still just a personal accomplishment to beat that team.”

* I’ve been quietly hyping — if that’s even possible — PV’s Jimmy Van de Veerdonk since I watched him pop in two goals in a 9-6 win over Brewster.

After Jimmy V’s six-goal explosion against Rye, I think my “hype man services” can be retired.

Still, for the doubters out there, I would take some time to check out Jimmy V in action. He is one of the most fluid middies I’ve seen this year, effortlessly gliding in transition and into the very heart of the defense. Rye had absolutely no answer for him. They even stuck star long-stick Donald Keough, who had been guarding attackman Ryan Fitzgerlad, on him at certain points.

Jimmy V’s style of play is actually similar to former Yorktown middie Drew Lodewick — the younger brother of Yorktown defensive coach Adam Lodewick. Drew, also a football player, was nicknamed “The Eel,” as he had a knack for slithering away from defenders. Think of Jimmy V as “The Eel Part II.”

*An overlooked aspect of this game was the fact PV had a ton more depth at midfield, which was an even bigger advantage in the bizzaro heat wave. Can anyone remember the last time the Tigers boasted a deeper bench? And these aren’t just bodies, the Tigers have athletic and skillful players littered throughout the midfield.

“Every time I looked on the field, Cole McCormack was taking face-offs and No. 33 and No. 44 were on the field and never came off,” PV Head Coach Brian Kuczma said. “For the first time in four to five years, we had a little more depth.”

Per usual, you can get a ton more of info on this game in the 4/29 issue of the North County News.

Enjoy.

I’ll be back later tonight with commentary/photos on both the Yorktown and PV games.

Enjoy.

I should have the PV vs. Rye highlights up in a bit and will also check back in with some photos / commentary from both games.

Yorktown defeated Darien for the first time since 2004, pulling off a 9-6 victory.

Meanwhile, Putnam Valley knocked off Rye for the first time since 2005, winning by a final of 15-9.

Check back tomorrow afternoon for video highlights, photos and commentary from both games.

Until then, I’ll be applying aloe lotion to my Irish face, which was absolutely brutalized by the sun.

Tomorrow, I’ll be hitting the pavement to watch a pair of classic matchups.

Here’s what’s on tap:

• Yorktown @ Darien at 1 p.m.
• Putnam Valley vs. Rye at 4 p.m.

As always, you can bang it at the Tiwtter feed for live updates from both games.

Check back later Saturday night / Sunday for a slew of coverage, which will range from video highlights and photos to commentary.

Enjoy the games.

And don’t forget your shades.