Last night we had a boys lacrosse instant classic between Port Washington and Syosset. It was the rematch of the Nassau County Class A title, and Port Washington had an incredible come from behind 8-7 victory over the Braves. After trailing 5-1 at the half, the Vikings battled back and pulled off the win.The game went down to the wire and iit featured so many playmakers on both teams. Checkout my top performers from each team during this contest.
Port Washington
Luke Meyer- The captain stepped up in the second half and led the Vikings to a comeback win. Meyer’s physical style of dodging wore down the opposition. After lowering the shoulder into his defender, Meyer kept his head up where he made good decisions to set up his teammates. He also found the back of the net twice in the third quarter. His speed following his bull dodge was something special as Meyer was a freight train for one of his goals and on the other one, he used his physicality to get good body positioning where he snuck home a well placed shot. He is one of the most exciting players to watch in Nassau County.
Max Eynon- The eighth grader was phenomenal on the big stage under the lights. In the 4th quarter, Syosset had a couple of big chances and Eynon stood tall. The timeliness of his saves were impeccable. Syosset went up 5-1 in this game and there was a chance it would get out of hand. But Eynon had multiple stops on the doorstep to keep his squad in this one. When Port had a 7-6 lead, he made a save on a fast break which led to the Vikings taking an 8-6 lead. It looked like an upperclassman was in net with how athletic and poised he looked in the 2nd half.
John McCarthy- The big midfielder had two key goals for the Vikings. He is able to play anywhere on the field for Port Washington and he was a leader on friday night. He had the eventual game winner in the fourth quarter after getting under his defender and he went to the middle of the field and ripped a laser. He was a good player in between the lines and gave the Syosset defense some issues while dodging.
Cal Gober- One of the unsung heroes for Port Washington. Gober knew his role and he played it perfectly. He was a clearing machine for Port Washington all night long. He ran through double teams easily and he always made the smart pass and earned his team some important offensive possessions. Gober was also stout defensively when he was on the field. In the fourth quarter he stripped a red hot David Disque and went the other way with the ball. Gober ended up blocking the game tying shot attempt which put a cap on his terrific performance
Matthew Hillman- The senior defender was steady throughout the entire game and did a great job applying pressure. Anyone that he guarded felt his stick up in their gloves. Nothing easy came against Hillman and he was a reliable 1v1 defender, especially during the second half. Hillman showed that he was very skilled and picked up several GB’s to help his team out. He formed a terrific duo with Stamati Gargas to hold down this Syosset attack unit and limited their team to just two goals in the second half.
Chase Pastolove- The lefty attackman quietly had a really good game for the Vikings. He stopped the bleeding by scoring the first goal for Port. He was a terrific off ball player, both of his goals came from him knowing where to be and he put himself in a position to succeed. He placed the ball well whenever he shot it and he accompanied Meyer very well on this attack unit. In future games when teams slide hard to Meyer, look for Pastolove to score a lot of goals.
Syosset
Dylan Stadler- The senior midfielder headed to Marist was one of the most explosive players on the field. When the Braves were down by two goals late, he stepped up and delivered an amazing righty speed dodge over the top and scored a big time goal. He was all over the field for Syosset and had a transition goal for the Braves as well. Down the line, he will be an important offensive piece if this team wants to make a run for the Nassau County title
David Disque- The junior midfielder had a monster day scoring three goals for Syosset. His size gave the Vikings defense a lot of issues. He looked like a box player out there, powering his way through defenders but having such great field awareness where he was able to string together some great shots. His strength allowed him to be a dangerous downhill dodger and that's how he was able to score his third goal on a flashy finish. He’s one of the more intriguing prospects in the ‘24 class, he’s got the strength and skill to give the opposition issues.
Zach Finklestien- Another big time performance by the Braves goaltender. Outside shots simply had no chance of getting by him in the first half. He has an experienced presence in the cage and his athleticism guided him to some big saves against some really good shooters. He continued to prove that he is one of the most reliable goalies on the island as no team has scored double digits on him since March.
Aj Zuleta- The anchor for the Syosset defense had another solid game. He had a couple of caused turnovers and ground balls. He was steady for the most part and he had a nice combination of strength and quickness which enabled him to do his job 1 on 1. In the first half he had some great help defense and he led a relentless Braves squad to holding Port to just 1 first half goal
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