South Fork Boys Lacrosse Tops Lindenhurst, Hopes Win Can Propel Team Going Forward

Through three quarters, the South Fork boys lacrosse team looked more or less dominant against visiting Lindenhurst at East Hampton High School on Saturday, taking a 16-6 lead into the fourth quarter. But lacrosse can be, at times, a war of attrition, and that showed in the final frame.

The Islanders, missing about a third of its team due to myriad reasons, still went on to win the game despite giving up seven unanswered goals in the fourth to the Bulldogs, creating the final score, 16-13. The fourth quarter put a little bit of a damper on what was overall a well played game by South Fork, and head coach Matt Babb attributed the fourth quarter issues to simply having a lack of depth and his players basically being run ragged.

Babb said he was missing about eight players, some of whom were on a school trip, others enjoying the spring break vacation.

“Our depth came into play … with some guys being away this week, and it showed in the fourth quarter. There’s only so much a guy can do — 28 minutes is a long time,” he said. “It was a physical game and that played a toll. So that with our lack of depth, it all came into play.”

South Fork (3-2 in Division I, 4-3 overall, 97.73 power points) led, 6-2, after the first quarter, and when Lindenhurst scored the first two goals of the second, South Fork responded by rattling off six straight goals to open up the game a bit at 12-4. The Islanders continued to pour things on in the third, outscoring the Bulldogs, 6-1, to take that commanding 16-6 lead into the fourth.

The Bulldogs scored their first of seven in the fourth with 10:39 left in the game, and after their fifth of the frame to make it 16-12, Babb called a timeout to regroup. The Bulldogs then scored again less than a minute later, but the Islanders earned possession afterward and ran out the clock.

While Babb was giving his players the benefit of the doubt after the game, stating depth was an issue, and it was certainly was, they took responsibility for what happened.

“Fourth quarter, we just got too comfortable,” East Hampton junior co-captain Jack Cooper, who scored a pair of goals in the win, said after the game. “Way too comfortable, flat on our feet. I feel like we were down, but that’s no excuse for how slow we played. We made sloppy turnovers and it led to goals for the other team.”

Hampton Bays junior Isaiah Lattanzio, who scored four goals and assisted on another, agreed with Cooper but said that the first three quarters were something to be proud of and East Hampton senior goalie Cooper Ceva (10 saves) played well in goal.

“It’s not Cooper’s fault at all. We just got too comfortable going into the fourth,” he reiterated.

East Hampton junior co-captain Charlie Corwin, who scored three goals and also had three assists on Saturday, said the lack of depth was certainly true. Down as many players as they were, he even had to grab a long pole and help out the midfield.

“We basically had three defensemen and they can’t come out, so they were probably gassed, too,” he said.

South Fork got some outstanding play from a pair of freshmen, Luca Lattanzio of Hampton Bays and East Hampton’s James Corwin. Lattanzio, Isaiah’s younger brother, scored a goal, but assisted on six others, and Corwin, Charlie’s younger brother, scored five goals and had an assist in what was just his second varsity game.

“Very good performance. Proud of our first three quarters, but we still need to learn to finish,” Babb said. “Too many turnovers in the fourth quarter, and that’s not just on the offense. We need some other guys to step up and seize their opportunity. When they get out there they need to capitalize on their shot.

“I think we have one of the best midfield lines in the county when we have J.P. Amaden here playing with Charlie [Corwin]. When they lead us in our attack, it’s excellent,” he continued. “So I think we can play with anyone, it’s getting the guys in on defense and getting that extra midfield depth to help take pressure off Jack and Charlie and the defense to balance it out.”

Babb and his players after the game both said they’re looking forward to getting most of the team back this week, barring those who may be nursing some lingering injuries. With away games this week against Brentwood and Copiague, both very winnable games, Babb said he’ll be easing the returning players into the lineup slowly in the lead up to next week’s games, when the team starts to get into the meat of its schedule, starting with a game at Smithtown East this upcoming Tuesday, April 25, at 5 p.m.

“We have some crucial games to win later in the season, like Pat-Med, Middle Country, William Floyd,” Cooper said. “We’ll have a hard stretch with Northport and Ward Melville, but we just have to keep our heads up and battle.

“I think it’ll be good going into next week with a couple of wins and the week after as well,” Corwin added. “We just have to keep it going.”