Dominant Second Half Vaults Huntington Boys Lacrosse Past Bayport-Blue Point

On the schedule, it will simply go down as a win for the Huntington boys lacrosse program, their eighth in a row overall and their sixth straight against a conference opponent. But today's 12-5 victory over Bayport-Blue Point was really more of a statement.

Most of the League II teams they've beaten in this stretch were teams with sub-.500 records in the League. But the Blue Devils passed a test at Miller Place ten days ago, and today, after a relatively even first half, they outclassed a team ranked ahead of them when the day started in the second half.

"Some of the games, you can look at it and some people might say, “Oh, they haven’t really played anybody”, said midfielder William Coffey. "But [Bayport-Blue Point] is a team that has some respect around the league. We wanted to come out and show that we’re a team to be reckoned with."

Heroes: With Huntington's top attacker, Nick Saputo, out with a hamstring injury, Huntington head coach Paul McDermott needed the rest of the roster to pick up the goal-scoring slack, including players that hadn't seen much playing time to date. They responded.

"We’re putting band-aids on our team right now," said coach McDermott. "Guys are getting in that haven’t been in as much as other players, and they’re stepping up. We’ve got guys in there who haven’t played much, like Peter Beach, getting other guys in there, practice players, and they’re getting it done for us today."

Beach, a junior who filled in at attack for Saputo, contributed two goals and an assist. McDermott also got a three-goal performance out of senior attacker Jim Roselli. But he also got a significant offensive performance from his midfield in Saputo's absence, and leading the way from the midfield was Coffey, who netted a hat trick in the first half and added an assist.

"If Will isn’t scoring, he’s playing great defense and clearing the ball for us," said coach McDermott. "He does everything for us, and he found the goal today."

Coffey wasn't the only midfielder to make an impact. Junior Jack Cutrone contributed a goal and two assists, while junior Dan Plant and senior Duncan Murchison added goals of their own.

"With Saupto out, it hurts our attack, because he’s our number one shooter, he’s one of the top guys on the team," said Coffey. "The middies knew they had to step up as a whole. It wasn’t just me. Everyone stepped up in their own way, and that’s why we were successful."

Goaltender John McGrath continued his big year with fifteen saves on the day. While he was relatively untested in the second half, he was called upon to make several big saves in the first half, including a save on Bayport-Blue Point's Mike DeBlasio from point blank range just before the end of the first quarter.

"Sometimes things will hit off a helmet or a stick, but he’s on every ball," said coach McDermott. "You’re not getting a clean shot through him."

Turning Point: Huntington took a 6-4 lead into the halftime break. After Bayport-Blue Point kept possession in the early minutes of the third, the dominance of the Blue Devils kicked in. They scored five unanswered goals in the final 6:59 of the quarter, while stifling any sort of attack that Bayport-Blue Point could generate. When it was over, the Blue Devils had built a seven-goal lead and had made their statement.

"We just stepped up," said coach McDermott. "We were just on our game. Our offense started to generate more. Defensively, we’ve been great all year, and the defense generated a lot of transition for us in the second half."

"We came out more prepared," said Coffey. "We treated it as if it were a playoff game. We treated it as a must-win game. I don’t think they came out with the same intensity."

Quotable: Coming into the season, coach McDermott said that the team's goal was , as it is every year. For a team that finished 6-8 in League II last year, it seemed like a modest goal. But the Blue Devils eclipsed last year's win total with their victory today, and at 7-2 in league (9-2 overall), the goal might shift towards a more significant showing once the playoffs start.

For now, though, the team is still grounded. "We’re not thinking past any opponent," said McGrath. "We take everything one game at a time. But we definitely believe that we have talent to go far in the playoffs."

"You come in top 5 in the league, you could be league champions, that’s fine," said coach McDermott. "Competition-wise, I think we can run with Comsewogue. We have Shoreham-Wading River next week, that’ll be a tough one. We just have to make a statement pre-playoffs and get a nice seed and go on from there."

Key Stat: The Huntington boys lacrosse team won six games in League II in each of the previous three seasons. They registered their seventh League II win today with five games still remaining on the schedule.

Upcoming: Huntington is away at Harborfields on Tuesday before their winning streak gets its biggest test to date at undefeated Shoreham-Wading River on Thursday. Of course, there will be no winning streak on Thursday if the Tornadoes blow them away on Tuesday, something the Blue Devils are acutely aware of.

"I’m not looking past Harborfields," said coach McDermott. "That’s a must-win for us right now. We have two big games next week. First, it’s Harborfields, and then it’s Shoreham."

One thing's for sure: Huntington will be ready for Shoreham when they head there on Thursday. Their performance against Bayport-Blue Point proved that the team is not only for real, but that they're dangerous.

"It was a big statement game to let everyone know that Huntington lacrosse is back and that we’re ready to go far in the playoffs," said McGrath. "Every team we face, we’re going to go 100%, and hopefully get the W."

Box Score

Team..............................1..........2..........3..........4..........T

Bayport-Blue Point..........2..........2..........0..........1...........5

Huntington......................2..........4..........5...........1..........12

Goals

Bayport-Blue Point: Ward 2, C. White 2, Kreusher.

Huntington: Coffey 3, Roselli 3, Beach 2, Castelli, Plant, Cutrone, Murcheson.

Saves

Bayport-Blue Point: Fabiani 8, Wilde 5.

Huntington: McGrath 15.