BY JOSEPH STASZEWSKI
Smithtown West had me believing.
I said to myself, "They just may win this thing," after the Bulls tied the score at 5 on a spectacular pass and score between Kyle Keenan and James Pannell. The eighth-grader some how caught a high lob pass in traffic on the crease and then sent the Smithtown bench into a frenzy.
It appeared Ward Melville's inconsistent offensive play would finally catch up to them. The momentum had swung back to the young Bulls quad after a easy Patriots goal on a mistake by goalie Dillon Pope deflated it a bit to end the third.
The veteran Patroits (19-0) got a lift from one of its youngsters, when sophomore Chip Pittard scored to give them a 6-5 win in a Suffolk Class A semfinal.
“We have been in this situation before with West Islip and Garden City and actually we got a surprise from East Islip,” Ward Melville goalie Steven Rastivo said. “We just calmed down. We just took a deep breath.”
So we will get what Long Island and I'm sure lacrosse fans around the state have been waiting for: No. 1 Ward Melville vs. No. 2 West Islip in the county final on Thursday afternoon at Stony Brook University.
No. 4 Smithtown West came a long way since I saw them early in the season against Farmingdale. It has plenty of young talent that played a big role in almost upsetting one of the nation's best teams. Games like this and plays like Keenan and Pannell's go a long way to building hunger and confidence.
"With the young kids we knew they were going to be a better offensive team than they were in early April and they certainly showed that," Ward Melville coach Mike Hoppey said. "I told coach Keenan after the game that they played a great game and they certainly have a bright future ahead of them"
Ward Melville's future plan is to pry the county title from West Islip. Sure the Lions didn't look over powering either in a 7-3 win over Lindenhurst, but Ward Melville's lack of offense has worried me all season. They will have to be better on both ends come Thursday.
Smithtown West coach Sean Keenan said something that was pretty telling I feel. It tells you what people think about the West Islip offense led by Nicky Galasso, Ed Plompen and Ian Braddish.
"It was just a good draw for us," Keenan said. "If we have the other draw and we had West Islip I don’t think we match up with them. It's just a good draw for us losing that last game of the regular season. I kind of look at it like a god send. We didn't want to get blown out in a semifinal game."
The Patriots are still perfect, but for how long. Check the blog on Tuesday for my county final predictions.