BY DARREN SANDS
Note: Massapequa beat Baldwin, 15-8.
I'm trying to figure out which pair of quarterfinal matchups in Nassau Class A are more intriguing: Hicksville-Farmingdale and MacArthur-Long Beach at 2 and 6 p.m. tomorrow, or today's games between Massapequa-Baldwin and Syosset-Oceanside.
I, for one, was not surprised that Jeff Cohen scored six goals to power Syosset past Oceanside, 10-9. But you've gotta feel for Oceanside. They play well all season and then all of a sudden you've got to contain an All-American to save your season. Syosset, though they are the four-seed, is my favorite to win the tournament.
Baldwin has been on fire of late, and we'll find out if they were able to upset No. 1 Massapequa. Baldwin has senior leadership, a solid goalie in McHale and fast middies -- in my opinion when you have those three you have a shot to beat anyone, especially in the playoffs. We're expecting that result to be on our website anytime now.
As for the Long Beach game tomorrow, they should have no problem with MacArthur. Not to say that Chris Bergersen and Co. won't have those boys ready to play, but Long Beach has way too much firepower. Long Beach won the regular season game, 13-6, back in April.
As for Hicksville and Farmingdale, Farmingdale's mission is clear: Lock off Frank Kirchiem and hope for the best. So maybe it's not that simple, but since Keenan Ochwat will play his next lacrosse game at Ohio State, it's tough to say how well the Dalers will do tomorrow. Hicksville beat Farmingdale in their game nearly two weeks ago, a game in which Ochwat was injured. I'm only guessing about who will win (Dalers 9-8) but I know who'll be cheering the loudest (K.O.).
Hofstra, for the quarterfinals?
How do you guys feel about these quarterfinal games in Class A and B being played at Hofstra? I would think it would be more desirable for the higher-seed to host a game at their home field, and then just play the semifinals on the field turf at HU. It would be great for us because we get a nice press box and wireless access to file our stories, but we don't start covering games in Class A and B generally until the semifinals.