Seahawks Lose to Rival Indians

Brendan Bouchard sat on the field well after the final horn had sounded. His final game as a Cold Spring Harbor Seahawk was in the books.  A 7-5 loss to rival Manhasset was the outcome. 

The Indians beat the Seahawks yesterday at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium to take home the Class "C" Championship and move on to the Long Island Championship.  Thanks in large part the duo of Chris Cook and Drew Belinksy, the Indians were able to stave off numerous Seahawk comebacks.

With the score 2-1 at halftime, the Seahawks had done pretty much exactly what their game plan had called for.  Slow down the pace of the game, play good team defense, and take smart shots on offense.  The Achilles heel for the Seahawks were turnovers.  Cold Spring Harbor committed 18 turnovers and went 14 for 19 on clearing attempts.  Even on successful clears, numerous times goalie Tommy Cox found himself crossing the midfield line to get the ball in the box.  In the long run, it came back to hurt Cold Spring Harbor. 

Cold Spring Harbor ends the year with a 15-2 record while Manhasset stays unbeaten at 17-0.  But for Dennis Bonn and his Seahawk team, its hard not to look at what could have been.  In almost every other important statistical category, the Seahawks had the advantage.  Cox made 8 saves, the team scooped up 29 groundballs, two more than the Indians, and they went 10-16 on face offs compared to the Indians who were 6 for 16 on the night from the face off X.  On paper, the Seahawks played a pretty all around game.  That is where Belinsky and Cook were the difference for the Indians.

Every time the Seahawks would tie it up, the Indians would respond almost immediately.  With 9:06 left in the game, Christian Kennedy tied the game at five and it looked as if Cold Spring Harbor had all the momentum.  Then, just 23 seconds later, Belinksy scooped up a groundball after the face off and went coast to coast to put Manhasset up 6-5. 

Belinsky scored his third goal of the game with 1:45 left to make it 7-5 Manhasset and that was all the Indians needed to close out the game.  A costly Cam Lee turnover with 1:08 remaining stopped any chance Cold Spring Harbor had at a comeback. 

 In the end, it came down to costly turnovers big saves by both goalies.  Manhasset's Frank Morelli made seven saves and none was bigger than his save on Kennedy with 6:48 remaining.  Kennedy gained speed from the alley and ran to the crease, only to be stopped by Morelli on the door step. Then, Kevin Lohan picked up the ball on the crease and was stopped again by Morelli.