They’re the top two teams in the final Under Armour Inside Lacrosse National Rankings.
They both have won back-to-back state titles.
Manhasset ended the year 20-0. West Islip ended it with 21 straight wins after suffering a season-opening overtime loss to Sachem North.
But the teams did not play this season, which begins the question: What would have happened if they did?
Or, to put it another way: Who do you think is the best team in the nation?
Be sure to weigh in with your thoughts either here or on the “West Islip, Manhasset draw top two spots in final rankings” thread.
Here’s a sampling of some comments:
From “LI Lax”:
“Losing one game on March 26th is extremely irrelevant. If WI played Sachem North now, they would win by 10. They are a deserving #1, and would beat Manhasset 8 or 9 out of 10 times if they played.”
From “T54”:
“WI SOS was far more challenging than Manhasset .especially in the playoffs
Looking at common opponents although not the best indicator .that too favors WI
The loss to SN, the first game of the season and in OT no less, was an anomially .something that WI wiped clean thereafter .the Lions appeared to get even better as the season wore on .by the end .they where dismantling the top teams in Class A .
And lets discuss the Lion Offense .they have five guys that can score and two that can assist from anywhere on the field ..may have been one of the best ever in Long Island Lax history .the only one that I have seen that rivals it (probably even a bit better) was the Huntington teams a few years back .”
From “Laxified”:
“20-0 is 20-0. One loss doesnt go away because they looked so good late as lax novice said. You are what your record what your record said you are. Please, please stop with the WI would win by 5, WI would win 8 or 9 out of 10?, cmon LI Lax, expect more out of you. Set is 20-0. They WIN. Dont discount the will to win, especially when nobody beat them and certainly nobody in the allmighty Suffolk A would have either. Enough with that crap. Overrated. Please go outside your conference and prove it. Undefeated state champs. Enough said.”
And don’t forget to exercise your right to vote by making your choice in our latest poll.
For some background info, here are both teams’ starting lineups:
West Islip
Attack
Nicky Galasso
Matt Gebhardt
Drew Federico
Midfield
Andrew Hodgson
Rob Moore
Mike Sagl
Defense
Kyle Carrick
Kyle Kerrigan
Ed Ryan
Goaltender
Kyle Turri
Manhasset
Attack
Quinn Moroney
Chris Cook
Matt Tompkins
Midfield
Drew Belinsky
Ricky Buhr
Pat Moroney
Defense
Bobby Duvnjak
Kevin Coleman
Ryan Lawler
Goalie
Frank Morelli
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Posted In: Long Island lacrosse, You make the call
Saw them both this yr. ‘Set is a deeper and more well-rounded team. Their soph def would shut down Galasso. I’d take Set 8-6
Tough call but i’d take Manhasset. yes I’m a fan of theirs but I’ve watched both teams play a lot this year. All the people picking WI, how about giving us an analysis?
Manhasset would win probably 75% of the face offs for starters. Most everyone can acknowledge WI is terrible on face offs and Manhasset had a player taking draws who was HMAA and will be playing at Syracuse next year. Besides, the FO domination Manhasset has arguably the best close D in the country, they play great midfield defense and they know how to work the ball on offense. No one can stop WI’s offense, but this would limit the goals WI scores, and Manhasset has their own great ride and transition offense. Manhasset probably wins by 2 or 3
kids in manhasset just live and breathe lax, therefore, they would win
Manhasset is a great team, but aside from Duvniak, and Buhr as a FOGO I’m not sure if anyone else on that team would even start for West Islip.I know Belinsky is a great player and I’m sure Coach Craig would find a spot for him, but it would involve some tinkering.
This West Islip team has six offensive pieces that fit very well together and are hard to replicate.NG, best player in the country lefty attackman, Andrew Hodgson lefty middie top 10 player in the country, Rob Moore Rt Mid, 6ft2 200lb FAST, tough,excellent dodger/shooter/passer, Mike Sagl Rt Mid, the best crease middie I’ve ever seen,Drew Federico left Att, (DB maybe a better all around player, but I’m not sure if he’d be a better attackman) Matt Gebhart righty attackman (again DB is probably a better player, but is he a better righty attackman).
Defense two all County Dmen Ed Ryan and Kyle Carrick along with an all county goalie Kyle Turri.All 6 offensive starters will play D1 lacrosse, on Defense 1 D1, 2 D3s and the Goalie is going to go big time D1.
Manhasset just does not have the horses to match up with this WI team, one of the best offensive teams I’ve ever seen at the HS level
That’s funny. Not only would Buhr control X but Set D is the best around. Coleman could play anywhere but doesn’t want D1 and watch where Lawler ends up after a PG year. Set would control the ball for 70 percent of the game, would never wholesale sub after winning the FO like every other stupid team WI played this year did and Galasso would end up picking his nose for most of the game. Set knows how to win and has the will and brains to get it done. Who is Galasso going to feed ? Lawler and Coleman eat the other attack who are a product of Nicky and Kucarchyk might be the best defensive middie on LI
Not only are the 6 WI offensive players going to play D1, but my understanding is that they are all getting pretty substantial Athletic Scholarships……..I’ve been a WI fan for a long time, this years offense is as close to unstoppable as any I’ve ever seen….. I like this year Manhasset squad, but WI would handle them
Duvnjak and Buhr would be the only two starters and Craig would somehow figure out how to get Belinsky involved? That is pure arrogance.
– Cook would start over Federico
– Belinsky would start of Sagl
– Kucharczyk probably doesn’t start over Moore, but when you factor in defense he might
– all three Manhasset poles would start over their counterparts on WI
– Morelli starts over Turri
basically there’s 6 starters from Manhasset not including Buhr who is a specialist
lets see Lion Town is “not sure” if 8 of Sets players would start on WI…..but you know tha all 3 poles, the goalie, an att, and middie would start over their WI counterparts…..and he’s the arrogant one?…….that’s why everyone loves Manhasset Lacrosse…….congrats on being #2 in the country
My apologies to Harry for the spelling. Not easy in traffic. I’m a big WI fan but just feel Set has been underrated all year. Its always “yeah but”. How about “yeah but” they are good ?
I still stand by my comments about WI beating Manhasset a fair majority of the time.
Attack- WI
Mid- WI big
Close D- Set
Goalie- Slight WI
LSM- even
FO- Set big
Buhr would have to be the x factor, but I think that the WI combination of faceoff men could have neutralized him enough so that the WI middies could just take over the game. Never mind their attack. They can move Nicky all over the field making it difficult to always have Duvnjak on him, and even if Duvnjak was on him, I don’t really think he would be ‘contained.’
you know I love you LI Lax but WI middies big ???
i love it…you lions lose a game, but then its…”eh, doesn’t matter, ignore it”…puhlease
Yep, I really think so. Belinsky is a similar type player to Hodgson but not as explosive and has a less accurate shot (though he might be faster in the open field), Moroney is a more accurate shooter than Moore but Moore is more athletic than anyone on Set and has a cannon which often catches goalies off guard. Sagl is one of the better crease finishers on midfields anywhere. Set’s midfield is very good, but I would take WI’s over anyone
I’m a big Moore fan and I have to admit I don’t know WI second line but Matthews is very good albeit hurt I know I would love to see the game
Close D is an advantage to Manhasset
Middies are about even
Offense is an advantage to WI, maybe big edge
Goalies about even, slight edge to Manhasset
FO big edge to Manhasset.
how would two guys from WI neutralize Buhr? they going to double team him? you should make your recommendation to Craig so he doesn’t have to deal with losing 80% of the draws to WM next time he’s in that situation
Duvnjak could not neutralize Galasso. no one can. If WI had a face off guy who could win draws then the odds tilt in their direction, but they don’t. Manhasset would win draws, hog the ball on offense and run a tight D from the middies on down to the goalie. That’s how they limit the rampage Galasso/Hodgson and company would go on.
The arguments for this started off with the main point for Set backers that they were unbeaten. That’s great but does it really matter when WI went 21-1? Of course not. Someone even said an unbeaten team is better than any other team with one loss or more. How silly. We all know that’s not even close to being true and I’m amazed someone on a blog with readers as knowledgeable as those here would ever even say such a dumb thing. I mean even if the two teams played identical schedules that would be idiotic to say.
But since then the Set backers have come on strong with good points, noting Buhr on FOs and Duvnjak on D.
As a neutral observer I think it would be a real good game. WI has more depth and two star offensive players as good as any anywhere.
For me the difference is strength of schedules. Being a Class A team allows for that. Would WI “only” beat CSH by the 2 goals Manhasset did? Hmmm?
Both teams played Chaminade. Set won by one in OT. WI won by three goals. That tells me it would be a pretty even matchup. But I give WI an edge.
WI 9, Set 7
I think it would be a good
What I said was that a record of 20-0 is better than a record of 21-1, and my first criteria for being the #1 team is to be undefeated. That is not to say that WI or any other team that lost a game this season wouldn’t be capable of defeating those teams; but it does mean they did not have a good a record as the comparably skilled teams that went undefeated. The fact that no one in WI is willing to admit that only shows why China and India are kicking our ass in Math. What I also said was that before we decide to anoint a one-loss team the best in the country over a number of unbeaten teams, we should consider if any of the unbeatens come from a hotbed region with a nationally competitive schedule with significant wins over non-conference opponents and domination on the way toward their ultimate goal of a State Championship. To determine who was the #1 team this past season, it DOESN’T MATTER what people think of a hypothetical, never-to-be-played game, because everyone is right and everyone is wrong.
I think kr’s analysis in post #7 is the best I’ve read based upon what might actually occur, but just like everyone else it’s only an opinion.
WI 11, Set 4
KR post #7. I think you are letting your love for Manhasset Lacrosse and it’s players cloud your judgement. I was not being arrogant just stating an HONEST evaluation of talent and how that talent would mesh on the field.
BTW based on how each team played their one common opponent shouldn’t JD be ranked higher than Manhasset also? They destroyed GC without their best player. Manhasset squeaked by them and IMO were outplayed the whole game (as they were vs Nade for that matter)
Anyway best of luck to Set and all of the seniors who are moving on to College and Preps..
Lion Town – it’s an honest evaluation to say of the 10 starters Manhasset would only have one? and i’m the one letting my judgment cloud my opinion?
the fact you’re telling me Gebhardt and Federico would start over Cook dispells any notion of you being unbiased. They might not start over Moroney/Tompkins either to be frank. the fact you guess Craig would figure out a way to get an AA (Belinsky) on the field, rather than his starting over a couple of your other middies just emphasizes your bias. how would you respond to someone telling you Hodgson wouldn’t start on Manhasset but Cherry would find a way to use him?…exactly.
yes Manhasset was outplayed for 3 quarters by Chaminade, i have no problem admitting that. But they gutted it out and won…which WI did not do against an inferior team than Chaminade when they had their struggle. If you’re telling me they were outplayed but GC then you weren’t at the game. It was a well contested and evenly played game and the team that knows how to win pulled it out. it’s a shame Ward Melville wasn’t capable of giving WI a contest this year, they were never close to the level of play of WI…the fact that game was even close at the half is purely because WI couldn’t win a draw. That statement is both a testament to WI’s ability as an elite team as well as WM being overrated…they were sloppy in their passing and ball-watching on defense.
I think you missed my point regarding Belinsky, Do I think he is a better all around player than Sagl, yes, Is he a better crease middie than Sagl, no. His most likely spot would be on attack in place of Fed (lefty). Cook vs Gebhardt is IMO a wash talent wise, but you don’t come back to West Islip for your Sr year and start over anybody (that’s just the way it works)
I do think Belinsky and Duvniak are GREAT players and I like your Goalie, I just like Turri better because of his clearing skills. I expect that he will be attending a top 5 D1 school when he is done at WI.
i agree Turri is excellent. It’s probably a good battle between him and Morelli, who is also top notch…i’m partial to Morelli who I saw make great saves under pressure. I don’t think Turri was in that position except for his first game which is unfair to judge him by, he got better throughout the season.
Cook is definitely better than both Federico and Gebhardt. I think you’re focusing too much on offense when you talk about the middies – yeah Belinsky could also play up front but he’s tremendous defensively, running transition and on clears. Same for a guy like Kucharczyk who is not the finisher Sagl is on the crease but he’s excellent in that role, plus he’s great defensively and in transition. I’m not sure you can say that about Sagl.
Stylistically WI was built around great offense, ride, transition, yet they can also play excellent D. Manhasset was built around great defense, ride and transition, yet can play excellent offense. If you view a combined team only through an offensive lens I think you’ll lean towards picking the WI players, and if you lean towards more complete play I think you’ll lean towards Set. But to me they’re pretty even
Set by 2
I follow Chaminade and saw both teams play. West Islip is a much better team; no question.
I follow St. A’s and saw no teams play. I am much better than you; no question
WI 9, Set 7
Would’ve been a good game but WI was playing so well and everyone was contributing at the end of the season… WI 10, Set 7