Sports

Patriots Rout West Islip

Strong defensive play, solid goaltending lead Ward Melville past Lions 11-2.

Throughout the past decade dominating third quarters has been a vital chapter in West Islip’s playbook. 

On Monday, Ward Melville took a page out of the Lions’ playbook, scoring five third quarter goals en route to a convincing 11-2 victory at West Islip High School. The win moves the Patriots to 10-0 in conference play (12-0 overall) and left little doubt as to which is the top boys lacrosse team in Suffolk County. 

Leading 3-1 at halftime, Ward Melville put the game out of reach in the third quarter with five goals that served to inspire the large gathering of Patriots fans who made the trek to West Islip from East Setauket. 

“We won today with solid defense, good goaltending and opportunistic team offense,” said Mike Hoppey, Ward Melville’s head coach. “It’s what we’ve been doing all year. 

Senior Jack Bruckner got the Patriots going in the third with a goal just 42 seconds in. Senior Brendan Hegarty (two goals) and sophomores Daniel Bucaro and Jack McCulloch rounded out the Patriots scoring in the quarter. Bucaro led the Patriots with 2 goals and 5 assists. 

For West Islip, the loss proved to be another frustrating afternoon in which the Lions struggled with groundballs and its offense was stagnant in the face of strong defensive play. 

When the Lions did get opportunities, Ward Melville goaltender Daniel Nemirov (10 saves) was stellar in between the pipes. 

Over the past two weeks, Ward Melville has defeated two defending state champions — West Islip and Garden City — and two of Suffolk’s top teams — Smithtown West and Northport. 

“We talked about this four game stretch that we would be matching up against some of the best teams on Long Island,” said Hoppey. “We viewed this as a playoff preview run and we came through it pretty good. Now we have to keep the momentum going.” 

The Ward Melville head coach was also unconvinced he has seen the last of the Lions. “I think West Islip is still the team to beat until someone knocks them off in the playoffs,” he said. 

And if history is any guide, there is a good chance these two teams could meet again in the weeks ahead.   

Ward Melville…..1…..2…..5…..3…..11 
West Islip……….0…..1…..0…..1…..2


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