It’s time.
Time for “Showdown Saturday,” one of the most eagerly anticipated early season slate of games in the history of Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut lacrosse.
By the time the day — and night — is over, we will have a clear indication as to who could be the teams to beat in Section 1’s two largest classes, in Suffolk Class A, in Nassau Class B and the CHSAA as well.
Today’s showdowns also have national implications. Just check the latest Under Armour/Inside Lacrosse High School National Power Rankings, which were released on Thursday.
Ready to get started?
Before we do, here’s a quick rundown of what’s on tap, when and where.
* Chaminade at West Islip, 1 p.m.: Chaminade is ranked No. 10 in the nation. West Islip, which had been No. 1 in last week’s rankings, slipped to No. 12 after starting the season with a 13-12 overtime loss to Sachem North.
* John Jay at Yorktown, 1 p.m.: John Jay, No. 20 in the preseason, has climbed to No. 17. Yorktown could earn a Top 25 ranking with a win in what is now regarded as the regular season game of the year in Section 1.
* Somers at St. Anthony’s, 2 p.m.: Somers, fresh off unseating four-time champion John Jay in last year’s sectional title game, could pick up what would arguably be its biggest regular-season win since defeating Yorktown for the first time back in 2002. St. Anthony’s, the defending CHSAA champs, is the No. 2-ranked team from sea to shining sea.
* Garden City at Smithtown West, 6 p.m.: The defending Nassau Class B champion Trojans have climbed to No. 3 nationally. Smithtown West, one of the most balanced teams offensively in the region, has not received much preseason buzz, yet is ranked 13th in the nation.
That’s not all.
Sachem North, fresh off its huge win over West Islip, visits Syosset at 7:30 p.m.
Among other games in Nassau today, Wantagh visits Farmingdale at 10:30 a.m., Bethpage hosts Hicksville and Half Hollow Hills West visits Baldwin at 1 p.m.
The ninth annual Louis Acampora Preseason Jamboree will be played at Northport. The event honors the late Louis Acampora, 14, who died in 2000 when a ball hit him in the chest in 2000.
Also in Suffolk, Floyd visits West Hampton at 10 a.m., Huntington hosts Freeport at 10:30 a.m. and Connetquot visits Oceanside at 1 p.m.
In Section 1, 2009 Class A finalist Lakeland/Panas visits Class B semfinalist Horace Greeley at 1 p.m. North Salem hosts Ardsley at 11 a.m. and Mahopac hosts East Islip at 1 p.m.
Fans in Fairfield County eager for the regular season to start in Connecticut may want to check out a 10 a.m. scrimmage between Fairfield Prep and Wilton at Wilton’s Fujitani Field.
One final note, gang. As we told you here on Monday, all proceeds of the John Jay-Yorktown game will once again support the battle against breast cancer.
Parents (led by Yorktown team captains parents Lisa Lieberman, Robyn Mabus, Lisa Porcelli and Jeanne Interlicchio) will be asking for a donation of any amount at the entrance to Charlie Murphy Field. They will also be having a 50/50 raffle to raise money for Support Connection, which is a Yorktown-based group that assists women with breast and ovarian cancer.
Enjoy the games.
As always, be sure to post your thoughts on these matchups as well as any info on the scores and game details.
MSGVarsity.com coverage
* Westchester/Hudson Valley/CT/NJ preview
* John Jay powers past Yorktown
Lacrosse for Dummies
* Order a copy of the newly released 330-page brand-new edition of the book by Joe Lombardi here.
* Click here to get a $5 rebate
Connect with us
Become a Fan of LaxLessons on Facebook now by clicking here.
LaxLessons.com recruiting coverage
Posted In: Scoreboard Central
Joe,
Good source tells me that Nyack plays Glen Ridge, NJ at West point today right after the Colgate vs. Army game. Might want to confirm for spectators.
Go get em Somers. Bring a BIG win back to Section 1.
JJ ~vs~ Town 1pm … a great matchup of next years Hopkin’s freshman recruits, Pickel covering Interlicchio….. should be worth the price of admission.
Should be a barnburner at the Point…Nyack lost to Ballston by one on opening day and got hammered by Ossining in a scrimmage a few days before…
Greeley vs. L/P is #3 vs #8 on Laxpower, but Greeley has played only one game and L/P 3 so far. Should be a good one. What kind of field surface do they have at Greeley?
Somers opening day not at 100%, but throw out St. Anthony’s win over Kellenberg, who have not had a winning season since 2005. Can Somers offense maintain possession and shorten the game? That’s a big ‘if’.
Yorktown #1 vs JJ #2 on laxpower. Who will JJ commit to stopping on defense, Leiberman or Interlicchio? Or will they play one-on-one on both and take their chances? Who does JJ run their offense through, Daniello down low or topside with Walter, Merlino, O’Donnell, Weil, etc.? Who makes the most meaningful adjustments at halftime?
Have a great day everyone!
Just in time too for the Hopkins recruits because Hop needs help all around!
your right justin Time,watching hopkins vs unc on espn u right now.The scores 2-2 with 6 min left in the 1st
Ranagan just hit the pipe,the ball went all they way over the midfield line,Bitter picked it up and beat everyone to the cage for a easy goal.
West Islip and Chaminade are tied 2-2 midway through the first quarter, Chris Kieser reports.
John Jay and Yorktown are tied 1-1 midway through the first.
Can i get a score update on the town vs jj game?
JJ, Yorktown tied 1-1 after one.
West Islip, Chaminade still tied 2-2 now late first.
Yorktown has jumped out to a 4-1 lead. We are at the midway point of the second quarter.
Greeley losing 5-0
Kevin Interlicchio’s first goal gives Yorktown a 5-1 lead late in the second quarter. Timeout John Jay.
West Islip and Chaminade are tied 2-2 midway through the second.
Yorktown leads 5-2 at the half.
West Islip leads 4-3 late in the third.
This is what happens when you pit the two best teams in the section in Game 2 of the season. Both teams sloppy and it looks like game played at half speed. Town patient on offense and appears to be better on defense. Jay did a lot of standing around in half field offense. Jay makes little run to get it to 5-4 with 9 minutes to play in 3rd
WI, Chaminade are tied 4-4 at the half.
WI 4 Cham 4 at half
Forrest Walter’s man-up goal ties it at 5-5 for JJ. We’re midway thru the third.
Eric McLee scores his second goal. Yorktown now leads 6-5 late (hird.
Ardsley beats North Salem 10-9 in double overtime.
Ytown leads 6-5 after three.
if yorktown stayed out of the box this game would be over. But as it is john jay has a great shot. This interlicchio isolation stuff is old and busted. Both teams have no clue what cutters are. Town up 6-5 with 11 to go in 4th
McLee’s third goal gives Ytown a 7-5 lead early in the fourth.
McLee is for real. Hat trick. 7-5 town
Galasso scores second straight WI goal. Lions lead 6-4 early in the fourth.
Ytown leads 7-5 in fourth.
Chaminade rallies to tie WI 6-6.
Walter from Daniello. JJ ties it at 7.
Both games mid fourth.
Yorktown defense not bad considering everyone they lost. Koelsch left out to dry on a few goals. Passing and catching optional today. Daniello just shoots and shoots and shoots. Interlicchio looks a step slow. 8-7 jay with 4:32 left. Give jay tons of credit for capitalizing and plenty of yorktown mistakes
O’Donnell scores off a FB feed from Waldman. JJ leads 8-7 with 4:32 left in regulation.
Cham totally dominated 3rd but still only tied 6 6
Syracuse back in the house!
Keep the updates coming, fellas, truly appreciated. D
JJ holds on for an 8-7 win.
Chaminade ties it at 7-7 after Galasso had given WI a 7-6 lead.
WI takes an 8-7 lead with time winding down.
St. A’s leads Somers 6-4 in the third.
9 7 WI 4 30 left WI ball
any word on east islip vs mahopac?
Burke going out with a hand injury in the third might have cost them the game, thought yorktown was the better team with him in the game. turnovers and penalties hurt but burke was shutting down daniello for most of the game until the injury.
WI leads 9-7 with time winding down.
Fairfield Prep outgunned Wilton today in their scrimmage. Don’t have a score, but Prep was the much better team. Wilton is very weak at attack and Prep has some very good poles – that’s what it basically came down to. If Wilton wants to contend this year, they may have to slide some midfielders down to attack.
Somers pulls within 7-6 late in the third.
WI wins 10-7.
Final, 9-7 Jay…game was sloppy in parts, Y-town let’s J back in the game with two man up’s early in the second half..Y-town goalie looked very good, J on the break is a much different team than when settled..I thought both Hopkins attack recruits forced the action too much, KI was way off shooting the ball…J closes out the game with a 4 minute plus possession…help by a penalty, but c’mon Y-town guys don’t you think you need to be attacking doubling there?
check that 8 7
East Islip scored with 4 seconds left to beat Pac 14-13.
Somers ties it at 7-7 late third.
St. A’s leads 8-7 after three.
Final St. A’s 10-7
Kudoos to Timmy and John Jay’s defense …. had a great plan and coverage to shut down Interlicchio …. who is # 27 ?
Ardsley outlast North Salem 10-9 in double OT!
number 27 is Senior Greg Smyth.
considering jj’s last 2 of 3 goals were on transition, I do not think Burke’s injury could have lost ytown the game. He wouldn’t have been able to help those goals.
Joe you called it. No way WI was gonna lose two straight games at home to start the season. Way to show that West Islip pride today boys!
Jay/Town both played equally and kinda sloppy in all facets of the game. Daniello and KI both took a few too many iso shots when covered too well.
Goal tending was a big difference, particularly in the 1st half! One big negative for J in 1st half was their goalie who IMO let in at least 2-3 soft goals. He looked shaky and sure enough was replaced in the 2nd half. On the other hand was really impressed with Town’s goalie who made some great saves early on.
In last few minutes of the game Town could not get back possession and closer to the end, I could not understand why they weren’t aggressively double-teaming Jay to get the ball?
Impressed with Town’s goalie who made a few great saves early in the game. Also # 14 fro Town showed some real offensive ability.
Sure both J and Town will play better as the season goes on. Today’s general quality won’t cut it against the elite teams they play.
Hey, good effort by Somers in its 10-7 loss to SA (trailing by only 1 goal end of 3!). I think that is a sign of somer’s ability, potentialthis season.
Were there any key kids that were out with injury for Somers?
Good to hear from you again Cuse.
Dont be a stranger to us!!
Town got off to a good start despite the drastic difference in face offs. Town looked like the better team when Burke was in the game- hopefully he’ll be OK. Burke held Daniello off, and he went loose on fast breaks due to some crucial turnovers by Town.
Town posed a different look, putting Schuldt on attack along the KI and Lieberman. Was an interesting approach, thought Town could have used some of Gately’s distributing ability. Putting Schuldt up top does make the Town defense appear more daunting- physically and on paper, but Town needed Schuldt’s help in the midfield. McLee stepped up today with 3 goals but there just wasn’t enough help.
Yorktown played a much more patient offense, and was overall the better team (until Burke got hurt). Koelsch looked great in net, especially after being out for that long. He saved some big time shots, and proved he is the real deal. However, the defense had a couple breakdowns that left him left to dry. His distributing game was flawless, splitting defenders from 50 yds away. He will be integral down the stretch.
This game didn’t really reveal anything from my point of view. Town competed with the upper hand for the most part of the game, unfortunately a Burke injury and a couple of bad turnovers gave John Jay the momentum. The game was sloppy (as expected) but none the less was an enjoyable matchup to watch. JJ certainly didn’t look like the #17 team in the nation, but I give them credit for going home with the victory. From this game we can tell that both will have successful seasons… but Somers and Lakeland are in their rear view mirrors.
Thanks slacrosse. This has to be a big confidence builder. Honestly we didn’t even play our best – too many second chances for St. A’s.
Somer D was very solid and as for goalie Chris Longo, he re-defined his name the “WALL” this kid snagged a 6 yard rip top left throwing his hands across his body and snagging it. Let alone he had numerous 1v1 stuffers…St. A’s players couldnt dip nore dunk against the wall because he was there to get it
Some final thoughts on Jay-Town:
Jay will be exceptional by June. There’s no denying that fact. Daniello, Morris, Walter are excellent players. Defensively, no one stood out all that much, but that had more to do with Yorktown’s inability to spot cutters or, for that matter, cut at all through crease.
The Jay fast break is something to behold. As I said earlier Koelsch played a nice game in net for Town, but was left naked far too many times in the second half. The light went on in Jay land and the Indians showed why they are the better team right now.
Daniello was the flashiest player on the field. He has all the tools to be the best player overall in all of Section 1. I wish he’s pass the ball more, only because when Yorktown doubled him he didn’t find the open man when guys were basically left all alone in front. Still, no denying how good he is.
Yorktown lost a key pole in Burke??? I believe to injury in the third and was a different team after. I don’t know much about Burke, if that’s his name, but they were more cohesive with him on the field than off.
Obviously Interlicchio’s very good, but I just don’t understand how the kid thinks getting bigger was a smarter decision than getting quicker. He spends a lot of his time on the wings and Yorktown’s offense seemed more like an isolation first outfit. When they let Mabus and Schuldt do their things, they were far better offensively compared to when they tried to drive from X. Granted, if they drove from X and found guys cross crease, things might have been different.
Timmy Schurr is a very good coach, needless to say and today’s win was important for him beyond the fact that he led Jay over mighty Yorktown. His team showed real resolve in battling back from 5-1 down and then clamping down. I say with Jay parents and they said they were happy to have such a classy coach in charge of their kids. It was refreshing to hear because we in Townland know all too well just how important Schurr has been to the program and all of Section 1 lax over the years.
From where I’m sitting, Jay and Somers will be a war no matter how many times they play. Up-tempo lax at its finest for our area.
Yorktown is a work in progress, but I have to admit, with all my dealings away from lacrosse with work I didn’t know much about them heading into this game besides the names we all already know. But sitting there from the middle of the first quarter until midway through the third I wondered what all the hype was about Jay. Yorktown, to me, was the better team, but then I saw the differences. Jay has more skill, more depth and more athleticism.
The kid McLee for Town is legit. He barely touched the ball, but when he did it went in the net. Hat trick. Definitely is someone to watch, No. 17 in your scorebook.
Jay will navigate this ridiculous schedule they have and will be primed to challenge Long Island in June. Yorktown, as I said, is a work in progress but did acquit themselves fairly well today for it being just their second game. As usual, next weekend’s Ward Melville game will be a good barometer, but they also play Garden City, Darien, Ridgefield, Wilton, St. Anthony’s and Chaminade. If they lose 5 or 6 games this season don’t freak out. I expect they’ll still be plenty good enough to get to Long Island and face West Islip or whomever.
That’s all I got. Congrats to Jay and Coach Schurr. You appear to be back.
Looks like ‘Cuse is back with a vengeance!
Couple of noteworthy stats from St. A’s- Somers. We’ve talked about how Somers goalie Chris Longo comes up big in big games. Today he made 20 saves. Senior middie Matt Deiana, meanwhile, had 13 ground balls for the Tuskers. Erik Pfiffner had two goals. Greg Petre had 1-2. Colin Tullgren, Kieran Donohue, Anthony Lombardo and Brett Emmanuel also scored goals.
Be sure to catch News12 tonight for John Jay-Yorktown, Somers-St. Anthony’s and Chaminade-West Islip highlights. The highlights you will see, of course, depend what region you live in.
Thanks Joe. Good to see you.
I’ll be going to Arlington-JFK next Saturday for a look at the Sav era and the Connolly era. Have a good one folks.
Burke is the best defender that Yorktown has, but as someone above mentioned – I don’t think that it made a difference in the score – based on the way Jay scored. Koelsch was very solid, no surprise. No soft goals for Jay.
I know that Jay was using 4 attackman and 6 offensive middies, I wonder if their depth wore down Yorktown a bit in the 2nd half. I don’t think Yorktown goes that deep at middie especially with Schuldt up on atack. Yorktown was definitely the better team at the half (5-2 Town), Jay was defintely the better team in the 2nd half (6-2 Jay). Yorktown did not seem have that extra gear in the 4th quarter – both offensively and defensively.
Last couple of points – John Jay is very happy that we have Timmy Schurr on our sidelines, and I’m sure Yorktown will be a better team in May than they are now.
Slow ‘n sloppy at Ytown today. Both teams will be better in a few weeks. lol.
Too much one on one offense by Ytown and too much deference to Interlicchio. Match ups worked in the first half, but second half they were shut down, so start cutting and keep the ball moving toward the goal. They were statues all second half and scored 2.
Starting JJ goalie struggled, but Franklin settled things down in the second half and the transition game took off. Why doesn’t he start?
I saw a JJ player, who will remain nameless try to trip a Ytown middie up top in the fourth. He stuck his leg right out their and can’t imagine how the refs missed it. Saw another JJ long pole butt end a Ytown attack in the groin in the first half. Shameful. Clean it up because that kind of punk behavior is beneath you or at least it should be and I do not believe Coach Schurr would approve.
A Yorktown kid gave a bad shot to a JJ player in the third, but he got caught and shown the sideline. Other than that it was not as chippy as it could have been.
I’m on record somewhere on this blog that Somers would compete well. Kudos for me. lol.
Hey Joe, Cuse Long time.
I did not get to see the Town JJ game today, However I did get updates. How did Town blow a 5 goal lead and a 2 goal lead in 4th qtr.? Fro what I heard K was solid in goal and D was good.? I did hear Town did not win many faceoffs, and took to man untimely penalty’s?. Congrats Tim S and JJ for comming back and winning this game. Let’s hope Town learned from this game, and finds a way to build on this loss as they have a MONSTER sched comming up. Hey Cuse did you hear anything about Somers today?.
Peace I’m out.
A quick comment on the Mahopac East Islip game, Mahopac defensemen #23 and #24 are two hardworking players. You felt for them getting pounded giving up fast break goal after fast break goal. I believe something like 9 of 15 East Islip tallies were fast breaks. Indian defensemen were taking the ball away from there defensemen all day. This team needs to find a way to play six on six and they will start winning games
Anyone know the final score for Greeley
is jj #18 in the nation? no… is yorktown better than jj? no…
both teams played sloppy.. jj did not look like a top 20 caliber team but when they got rolling I think they were the better team out there.
Mahopac #24 is Vinny Parillo. Plays long pole and shorty…a Westrock guy.
John Jay Yorktown Game Results
The result of the first real Jay and Section 1 test is in and John Jay posted a somewhat sloppy, but often brilliant 8-7 win over archrival and nemesis Yorktown today on Towns Charlie Murphy Field. When the end came, it was easy to say all is as it should be! Early on however, one had to wonder, when was Jay going to show up?
Town scored first on an unassisted goal by Justin Mabus (#25) on the first Town shot, after a host of poor shots, into the stick of the Town Goalie by Jay. Jay answered a few minutes later to tie the contest when Jimmy Morris (#20) put one in unassisted. The 1st ended at 1-1. From that point on nd through the 2nd it was all Town, scoring 4 unanswered, unassisted goals by, Ty Schult (#24), Mabus, Erik McLee (#17) and Kevin Interlicchio (#22) who finally made his presence felt near the end of the quarter. After Town went down a man for an unnecessary roughness call, near the end of the 2nd, Jays Mike Daniello (#1) scored, assisted by Morris to make it 5-2 in favor of Town at the Half.
It seems like Coach Schurr must have told Jay to play together, because after a pipe shot by Daniello, William ODonnell (15) scored on a beautiful feed by Forrest Walter (#6). Shortly after that, ODonnell fed Morris, for the next goal and Walter scored unassisted (while Jay was man up after a Town 30 sec technical for Pushing). That brought it to all even. Town then went up one, on an unassisted goal by McLee to end the third 6-5, Town.
The 4th started with an unassisted goal by McLee, his third for the day to make it 7-5 Town. This score came after the Jay Goalie (for the second half), Fletcher Franklin, #11 (For the first half Robert Maher, #7 had the goaltending duties), thru the ball away, on a poor clear. That was to be the last big mistake for Jay (at least the last one that hurt them)! About midway through the quarter, ODonnell connected with Daniello and shortly after the faceoff, Walter scored on a feed from Daniello to tie the game again at 7. What happened next seemed to take all the wind out of Towns sails. Town was Man up on a push by Jay. Jays Zack Waldman, a LSM/D guy picked up a loose ball, shortly after a great save by Franklin, and raced down the field toward the Town goal. After a beautiful feed, from Waldman, ODonnell scored the go ahead goal (man down) for Jay. This was the first time they were ahead. There was about 4:30 to play. After gaining control of the FO, Jay basically took a couple of more strategic shots, maintained possession and ran out the clock for the 8-7 win and bragging rights to the Section.
Since this, except for Sectional Finals (IMO) is the most important game for the year in Section 1, I will try, if I get more time today, to give you a few more comments and unofficial statistics about the game.
Congratulations to Jay and Town for an interesting and entertaining game as always; particularly to Jay for coming back as they did. Honestly in the past they never would have overcome a 4 goal deficit to Town! I may be biased, but seeing them for the first time this year, when they play unselfishly and dish the ball around they are pretty to watch. IMO, playing too much 1 on 1 is a waste of their real talents, as they did at the beginning of the game.
Benlaxman
10-5 LP. greeley’s offense just wasn’t on it
Lot’s of back-slapping going on for Mahopac. Would be nice if they won a game before they started giving out accolades.
I drove up from Rye to see the game at Yorktown today. Great weather, and a great matchup. Sloppy play today on both sides, but I have to say a very impressive performance by Yorktown. Despite everything they lost, they not only looked good, but actually looked better than JJ in many aspects, and for most of the game. A key injury to a long pole, and some bad turnovers left them reeling on D a bit in the fourth, but this team has talent and will certainly be around come June. It just amazes me how they reload every year.Credit goes to JJ for the win, but top 20 in the country? The Yorktown kids have no reason to hang their heads. Would love to see these two play 6 or 7 weeks from now.
Somers had 7 penalties to Saint Anthony’s 1…
You heard it here first Yorktown will not lose another game in Section 1 this year. And I am J fan. Lots of comments about leaning on KI to much but I felt there offense was patient and solid with great play by their top 3 middies who can all run and shoot.
Jay can play D, great man down, and can score in transition at light speed. They need some help on their set offense and I am sure Coach Schurr will solve that as the season moves along. I also heard that Mike Bocklet may be seen on the sidelines soon. Nice to see a number of JJ alum on the sidelines of Varsity and JV. JJ JV also won one goal game vs. Y-Town today.
Benlaxman back, Syracuse in the house, multiple posts by Joe. This blog just went into turbo gear.
Chris Kieser, who is double-dipping today (he also provided updates on West Islip-Chaminade) reports that Smithtown West has a surprising 4-1 halftime lead over Garden City, the nation’s third-ranked team.
Brett Madaraz has two goals for West. Rob Savage has GC’s goal.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing potential upset.
Route 35 – We’ve definitely kicked it up a notch now that the season is upon us. BTW – Benlaxman, excellent insights. Keep ’em coming!
For more, including photos, on John Jay’s 8-7 win over Yorktown, be sure to check the Hudson Valley/Westchester/Connecticut page at MSGVarsity.com:
http://msgvarsity.com/connecticut-westchester?p=
A video of the entire game will be up on MSGVarsity.com and On-Demand Channel 614 sometime next week, so look for that.
GC has pulled within 4-2 early in the third on a goal by Hopkins-bound Tom Gordon off a feed from Devin Dwyer.
Excellent picks Joe. You said JJ-Town would be a 9-8 type game and could go either way…WI would definitely bounce back and beat Chaminade…Somers would play St. Anthony’s closer than most people were thinking and had a shot to win.
Garden City-Smithtown West is playing out a bit like the John Jay-Yorktown game.
GC has rallied to tie it at 4-4 after three. Dwyer has just scored back-to-back goals for the Trojans.
Eugene Berkery scores with 5:31 left in the fourth to snap the tie and give GC its first lead, 5-4.
Smithtown West’s James Pannell scores around GC’s Stephen Jahelka and it’s tied at 5-5 with 4:23 left in the game.
Has this been a great day of games or what?
Let’s all throw out using “national rankings” for now, OK? It’s ridiculous to think that Jay, or Town, or anyone for that matter is the #17 team in the nation after 1 or two (or zero!) games. Both teams are going to be works in progress, Town because of who they lost, and Jay with young kids having to step in, and a month or two under a new coach. Sounds like a sloppy (to be expected) but exciting game (is there any other type of Town-J game?), but how great would it have been to have this game in May?
Don’t sleep on Somer’s, they’re going to be there in the end as well. Thanks again for the updates fellas. D
Tom Gordon scores with 23 seconds remaining to give Garden City a dramatic 6-5 win at Smithtown West. GC got possession after a turnover by Smithtown West with 45 seconds remaining. After clearing the ball, Trojans coach Steve Finnell called timeout to set up the play that led to Gordon’s winning goal.
I am looking forward to what Chris has to say about all the games today. Don’t think SW is a surprise though. They can play and GC is good but a little over rated.
ooops….
Nice job by Garden City to come back and win. Smithtown West is a strong team but Garden City made the big plays when we needed them. Great game.
Brando for Pac was brillianf in a heartbreaking loss to E Islip.5 goals and at least 2 assisits.Looks bigger and faster than last year.Pac has to get more aggressive defensively .Bernabo was also strong with three nice goals but the O has to O will get better as they are just getting used to each other.Congrats to Town and Jay on wht must have been a great game
Cuse – great to have you back…your insight is always well thought out and spot on! Welcome back my friend!
One last point on Yorktown-Jay:
I did like the patience both teams showed on offense. Jay I think will be able to be just as dangerous on 6-on-6 as they are in transition. Yorktown’s had basically no transition game today, which is a credit to Jay for limiting turnovers up high and busting it back after saves.
Yorktown, however, has to figure out a way to generate better scoring opportunities against the elite teams on their schedule. They have to push the play in transition and be more than an Interlicchio iso in settled situations.
I agree. Throw the rankings out because both teams have os much work to do before June where they sit now really means little.
And to the powers that be, please, do us all a favor in future years and do everything in your power to make sure Jay-Town is played in the second half of the season. Matching them up in Game 2 does a disservice to both teams and lacrosse fans everywhere.
Happy Easter.
Syracuse-Your last point about when this game was played is right on the money. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to see these two teams play but it would be so much better to see them play in May.
It’s just like MLB wasting Yankee-Red Sox games so early in the year. Don’t get me wrong, I will be excited about Sunday night, just like I was excited about Jay-Town today but the schedule people have to get on the stick next year in both sports.
You’re rolling Cuse!!
If town pushes it, can their defense hold up I guess would be the question. I thought good game, but sloppy and slow. Good luck to both. Would like to see a rematch later for sure.
deerfield academy #1 rated by inside lacrosse 6- westminter school 4 today. Great game with Derek Katchis (greeley and HV Empire 2008) vs Westminster {Don Keough & Rob Santangelo {Rye and HV 2008 HV empire team}. Exciting game right down to the wire
No doubt
micromanagement 101…it doesn’t matter when they play as long as they get to play…maybe we should also say they shouldn’t play if it’s cloudy so it doesn’t take away from the game. There appears to be a lot of teams on Long Island that aren’t missing a beat and if you aspire to play championship lacrosse on a national level you should be able to play your best game at anytime in the season.
Let’s just say that all the good teams can’t play any games until their coaches deem them perfect. Or why don’t we just say that we’ll give them until next year to practice to play this year’s games. Section One is scheduling 47 teams, so you’re either good enough to win on a given day or you’re not. Today Yorktown was not. Next games start on Monday. Move on.
Here are the Statistics (unofficial) promised for the Jay – Town game today. It has been 2 years since I’ve don this so it took a little longer to make sure that the numbers I recorded add up. First the box Scores by Quarters:
Jay 1 0 4 3 | 8
Town 1 4 1 2 | 7
I keep track of Face Offs (FO), Goals (G) {and Assists (A)}, Total Shots (TS), Shots on Goal (SOG) Missed Shots (MS), Pipes by the offense (P) Shots blocked by the defense (B) and Goalie Saves (SV). This is further divided into “Offense” and “defense” as follows:
{Offense} |{Defense}
Team FO G A TS SOG MS P | B SV
Please note that the following relationships must hold:
F0 Total = No Q’s + No Goals except for sudden death = Q’s + SD’s +goals -1 (Not applicable here)
TS = (G + MS + P ) Offense |+( B + SV) Other Defense
SOG= (G + P ) Offense | + (SV) Other Defense
I am also adding the data for man up (MU) and Conversions
MU (Man up) And Man up Goals (LOL that is when one team MUG’s another!)
These statistics give relative “figures of merit” between the performance of each team and thus a means of comparative evaluation of the results (based on the numbers). The only other important data that is not recorded is ground balls and successful clears. It is believed that these lead directly to the other statistics recorded (and there is only one of me watching the game!)
{Offense} |{Defense}
Team FO G A TS SOG MS P | B SV
Jay 12 8 6 26 13 13 1 | 1 4, 2 (Maher, Franklin)
Town 7 7 0 24 13 11 0 | 0 4
Man Up Conversions
Jay 3 0
Town 3 1
Of course none of this is official and could be “tainted” by my eyesight (which is getting old). I try as much as possible to get the numbers “straight.” I apologize in advance for any “errors.” As it may, to me the most significant data here, besides the final score is the number of assists by Jay, showing much greater team play after they settled down in the second half. Except for face offs, everything else was relatively equal. This lead directly to Jay’s abilitybto come back. Hey… See what you might be able to read out of this! Finally, I have no idea if I will be able to do this for any and all the games I get to see this year… LOL… I’m not sure any one else has any need for this… let alone me! In any event, It is good to be back watching and enjoying Section 1 Lax!
Benlaxman.
Thanx Benlaxman
Joe ~
You were at the JJ-Town game, what would be your analysis of both teams? Strengths? Weakness’s? suprises ? and expectations on both teams?
Yes…. its a bit early, but I think both teams showed a lot of character yesterday.
I agree with Schoolhouse. Jay beating Yorktown is indeed a real treat. (although they did beat them in 2004’s regular season) It’s as follows: 99(reg) 2004(reg win, lost in Sec finals) 2006 (Reg win and Sec Final win) 2007 (reg) and 2010 (reg) Six times since 1983. I was there yesterday too. Jay has never been on the end of that kind of victory against a program like Yorktown. If you are down 5-1 to Yorktown it’s generally over. I think Jay has much work to do in terms of their settled offense. At times they stood flat footed and without emotion. Yorktown was overachieving in the first half and shot very well. Town’s coaches are excellent but I was surprised that they let Jay possess the ball for the last four minutes like that. I think they were shocked to find themselves down a goal after dominating the first half.
Somers starting attack-man Cole Partenza was injured for somers yesterday against St. Anthonys. St. Anthonys did not look like the #2 team in the nation at all. I think somers had a great chance to come up with that game. penalties killed them. somers D looked solid but the offense looked sloppy. and chris longo “THE WALL!” look amazing out there stuffing many of St. Anthonys one on one opportunities he is going to have a great season this year.
Atta boy, Schoolhouse, revisionist history. I find your correlation humorous. The only people that history matters to today are those who cannot assimilate yesterday’s result of the game of the century.
As of today, the history between JJ and Yorktown goes back approximately 24 hours and JJ is K-O-T-H.
John Jay is a better team and WI and Chaminade are both better than Yorktown and JJ.
I’m watching WI/Chaminade and am amazed at the amount of headhunting.
Can someone please explain to me why lax players insist on hitting each other in the head? This is a serious question. Why do lacrosse players have such a difficult time keeping their hands and sticks below their opponents neck?
New team in Long Island…
The Chaminade Ballwatchers
Set over JJ next wknd
So who do we think is better now JJ or Somers????
Also I read Somers had 7 penalties to St. A’s 1. Is this bc of the LI refs (be honest) or bc Somers is more aggressive and physical or a combo of both?
Town Laxer –
I thought all of the big games we previewed yesterday played out the way I thought, with one exception. I thought Garden City would beat Smithtown West by 4-5 goals instead of just one.
As for John Jay-Yorktown, I agree, both teams can build from this game. Considering all the major changes the two teams have had since last year (John Jay in terms of coaching and Yorktown more in terms of personnel), this was a great litmus test right off the bat to see what they need to work on.
The main positives for each team I would point to are these.
Yorktown’s defense and new starting goalie Derek Koelsch looked solid to say the least. I thought had Koelsch not come up with some big saves early in the game, John Jay may have pulled away — and stayed away — right then and there.
John Jay, meanwhile, also got some strong defensive efforts in really containing Yorktown’s entire attack, and I thought the Indians had good offensive balance. John Jay’s offense is now more freewheeling than it’s been in the past when the Indians primarily relied on set plays. With the advantage in athleticism JJ appeared to have over Yorktown, I thought that was also a plus. That time of offense though will only be successful long term if players find the open man and move the ball crisply and cleanly — without turnovers.
Hopefully, Somers gained some respect from all the haters out there after their tough loss to St A’s. Other than some sloppy passing and miscommunications on offense Somers was in the game till the end.
The Defense played great and “The Wall” stood tall.
Keep it up boys and JJ will have a hard time regaining the title.
Looking foward to Saturday night’s showdown between some solid WestRock teammates….
Somers @ Mahopac
It’s the two best goalies in the section. Longo vs McGuigan. I feel that people don’t give Guigs enough credit for all that he’s done during his 2+ years in cage for Pac. He hasn’t been surrounded by guys like Pickel, Schurr, Fennessey and yet continues to put up unreal number in cage. He had 25 saves last year against Put
Valley including some filthy point blank saves. The show starts at the 4:00 mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT7mjYJst1A
He’s a legit candidate for AA, and just keeps getting better and better
Chaminade at West Islip
Very impressed with Chaminade’s defense, Ehrhardt and Urbank lived up to the hype and defended Galasso and Federico well in the 6 on 6 situations. Galasso still got his points, and was clearly on another level compared to anyone else out there, but a lot of them were in transition (especially off a great WI ride). WI defense definitely stepped it up from Wednesday, but a lot had to do with Chaminade’s offense not being aggressive enough, and when they were, it was usually Himler turning it over. Turri stepped up big and made some nice saves, especially in the third quarter when Chaminade had the ball for probably six minutes and could not score. I think that this shows the Sachem North game was somewhat of a fluke, WI will continue to be the team to beat in D1.
Garden City at Smithtown West
This was just a great game. It was great to watch the matchups of Keenan/Pannell vs. Jahelka/Fischer every time West had the ball. Keenan would hold the ball for a minute trying to find a way to beat one of them and then eventually get frustrated and try to make something happen on his own. He had one very nice goal in the first minute of the game on an inside roll, and a few nice assists on Madaraz goals, while Pannell only scored once on an inversion where he beat Jahelka from up top to tie the game at five. When GC had the ball, they struggled as well against a very underrated West defense, especially Jordan Stevens (Cornell), who was all over the place deflecting passes, making great checks and great clears. He effectively shut out Dwyer while he was on him, and Gordon while he was on him. GC managed to climb back into game game after being down 4-1 with methodical offense, long possessions followed by good shot selection. After West tied it with 2 minutes left, Jahelka stripped the ball from Keenan, GC cleared and set up Gordon’s goal from the left 10 yards out with 23 seconds left to win.
Joe,
I watched the yorktown john jay game yesterday. Great game to say the least. But I read earlier that Mike Daniello, the best player in the section. I might have to agree with that. He is fast strong, both hands, and has a lazer of a shot. But I also watched number 4 on yorktown, Burke. He really impressed me. He had the speed to stay with daniello, great checks, and awesome stick skills. Also he had descent size. I dont remember him from last year, assuming that he did not play for one reason or another. But this kid is the real deal. Do you think hel have a shot at all american. He held daniello to one fast break goal in the first three qaurters until he was injured. Other than that he completely shut him down. Do you know much about him?
All I can say is it was great that LI has Foot Locker employees on call when real refs cannot make it. Here is an example. Somers scores, foot locker employee #1 says goal foot locker employee #2 says no goal, Somers in the crease. Lew yells player pushed, FL employee #2 says ok player pushed no goal Somers possession. St.A’s yells no possession FL employee #1 ok no possession FL employee #2 says pull out the rule book player pushed after goal made, goal for Somers good. End of third quarter (Somers tied score) St. A’s takes faceoff has possession, St. A’s coach calls timeout, ref blows whistle St. A’s coach blows steam because he sd he asked for time out with 21 sec on clock. Foot Locker employee says ok put the time back on the clock. St. A’s player takes a shot, lands at Longo’s feet in the crease – no penalty, no loss of possession. Yes, Somers had penalties, but so did St. A’s. Foot Locker employees did not realize you could not lay on the ball during faceoffs till your teammates get their or that you cannot cover the ball during a loose ball battle. St. A’s is a very very good team but home field refs is truly an advantage. Both teams play hard and physical. Somers said St. A’s was nothing but complimentary after the game. It was a great first game, shows Somers potential, depth and the talented younger players really showed what can be.
Here’s a revisionist take on the Jay/’Town rivalry:
John Jay has beaten Yorktown 6 times in the past 12 (’99-’10) seasons, including the sweep in 2006 regular season and Class A Sectional Finals, the only season in Section 1 history that had Mahopac, Lakeland/Panas, Yorktown and John Jay all in Class A.
This rivalry is real. John Jay has to win a State Championship to prove themselves to be on the same level as Yorktown.
Whatever with the history lessons.
Sounds like bald guys with beer guts reliving and revising their glory days.
This week JJ has L/P, Manhasset and Rye all on the road. Any trap games there? All three of them are, especially L/P after the big day at Yorktown. Now is the time to forget that game and focus.
Eastchester 2-0 at Pelham and surprise TZee.
Nanuet home for TZee.
Ardsley fresh off their surprise at NSalem hosts White Plains
Ossining at Wappingers 0-3 on Thursday with a chance to build on their road win at Fox Lane. Wappingers after a brutal schedule last week has three more this week; O’Neill (upstate), Croton and Ossining. They have the chance to be 0-6 before other teams have played 2 or 3 games.
Yorktown hosts Hen Hud on Tuesday as they look forward to traveling to Ward Melville 2-0 on Saturday. Do they put the pedal to the metal against the Sailors, or do they do the bare minimum to get out with a win and head to L.I.?
Rye has a definite trap game against North Shore (0-4) home on Friday, as they keep an eye on hosting JJ next Tuesday.
Somers touches off their “hell week” with games Thursday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday against Ridgefield, Mahopac, Greeley, JJ, Iona.
A very determined Mahopac 0-2 has Greeley and Somers on Thursday and Saturday respectively. Someone above mentioned the Westrock connection between them and it should be good.
Mamaroneck, Briarcliff, Fox Lane, NSalem, New Rochelle, Brewester, Nyack, Wappingers, Mahopac, Ctown South and Hstings, all with at least one loss look to break into the win column.
All of these teams are currently ranked higher than Yorktown on laxpower:
John Jay, Eastchester, Nanuet, Ardsley, Ossining and Tappan Zee.
Man, Yorktown must really stink…LOL.
Everybody have a great week!
Ending the Huntington dynasty isn’t good enough for you?
scooter-
No, it is not, considering they lost to a Jamesville Dewitt (not sure on spelling) team that they should have beaten by 5+ goals for the state championship (where it really counts).
Scooter,
Lets get our stories straight amongst the Mahopac fans. The defense is great, the goalie is great, Brandofino is great….and you are 0-2 and have given up 21 goals in 2 losses. There many good stopers in section 1 , Weiner, Linehan, Franklin, Koelsch, Fraylich, Longo, Kaiser, etc.
Beat Greeley and Somers – and then bring your stuff to the blog…
jj will clober lakeland mark it down now 13-5
JJ is settling old scores…Yorktown, check. lasts years OT loss – to L/P – to be avenged. April 15th in their cross hairs.
What does Lakeland have this year? What are the key matchups?
You will see that the Yorktown win was not that big of a deal. yorktown will lose to 3 or 4 section 1 teams this year. JJ will also lose at least 3 section 1 games. JJ will also lose to 2 or 3 non region games. I still think Somers will beat jj when it counts.
Rudy, JJ vs. Somers is TBD – two very strong teams. Yorktown and John Jay losing 6 to 7 Section 1 games – not happening. They both may/will lose non-section games as they both try to schedule the toughest games possible.
Pac REALLY needs and should get a win over Greeley, given their pre-season hype by some (inc. me). Somers is another case, being IMO the strongest team in Section 1. A win over them would be a big upset.
LP/Jay is gonna be a war. LP has already played 4 full games losing 1 close one to a good Mercer Island (WA) team.
P&G
I’m talking goalies here. Mcguigan and Longo are 1 and 2 in my book. I’ll bring my stuff here win or lose, and if you can’t handle it then oh well.
Yeah, I think Rudy is just having fun by pushing buttons. lol.
I don’t see Yorktown or JJ losing that many against section one teams. Maybe one or two along the way, but for most schools in the section lacrosse is not a priority and they just don’t have the players.
John Jay and Yorktown are dedicated to the game and have deep-rooted programs. Anyone agree with me here?
Somers is good now, but we’ll see what their youth program produces in the next few years. Same with Mahopac and L/P, but I put them in with everybody else who are just local programs and not on the same level.
That doesn’t mean they don”t produce premiere level players though, they do, but those guys get overlooked because Yorktown and JJ dominate the attention of college coaches. Who can blame them though? Those two teams play on a state and national level.
Scooter, I’m talking goalies here too.
Weiner (Mamaroneck) – going to Union
Linehan (Rye) – going to Marist
Franklin (Jay) – going to Kenyon
Fraylich (Pleasantville) – going to Fairfield
Koelsch (Yorktown) – going to Trinity
etc., etc.
I can handle it all – just bring some facts….not emotion.
I am bringing facts, why came off as emotions? He hasn’t been surrounded by legit defensemen, he’s getting better and better. It’s all true, and Longo just had 20 saves against St.A’s
I mean Ytown could lose to Somers and possibly LP but there not gonna lose to ne one else in the section Rudy so I think you were just trying to get a reaction with that statement. People are too smart on this blog for those kinda games lol.
number one goalie in the section…. compare scooters highlight of mcguigan to this one of “The Wall”… first meeting of JJ v Somers in 2009 Longo set the school record for something like 25 saves you wanna know how to stop a shot as a young goaltender watch this clinic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9iYcr4Z9o
Scooter
To your point about Huntington game, of course that elevated the program stoping I think 61 a game winning streak. But if they want to be on the level of Yorktown History wise they will have to do much more than that. Here is why, Huntington win big, Towns win againts West Genny much bigger stoped 93 game win streak, if Genny wins that game they break the National Boys Record, and that win was for the State Championship. And by the way that is SECTION 1 first Lacrosse Championship!!! Pretty big you think? Yorktown has had 30 50 bigger wins in their History that any Sec 1 team has ever had. Yorktown the Team does not need to be convinced how good teams like Jay, Somers, LP, Mahopac, Brewster have been and are now it’s a bunch of fans. But the facts are the facts, 12 State Finals 6 State Championships, more players from one High School in the Final Four than any, more player at one point in the MLL than any other, I could add so much more but I think that’s enough..
stoped a much bigger streak
Wow. You make it seem that I think longo isn’t good even though I called him the 2nd best goalie in the section. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking too it
Longo isnt the number 2 goalie he’s number 1 u can say it all u want that thats your opinion but u obviously havent seen enough somers games to understand why that is come thursday night in ridgefield if u want to the number one goalie in the state shut it down
Mcguigan is not even close to All American status .Cant clear and cant shut down opposing offenses.Longo has proven against tough competition that he can.
P and G
What does Brando have to do with giving up allthose goals.The kid is the real deal with 6 goals and 4 assists in two games against two good teams.Get your story straight
Thanks Benlaxman great update as always (though it has been a while). Missed the game. Would love any opinions on the JJ and Ytown defenses. I know it is early days but how were the slides, communication, any standouts or any color would be appreciated. Just from the look of things so far, April 27th (Somers vs Town) May 4th and May 11th (JJ vs Somers) should be absolutely great games. I hope they move some of them to the evening so it can give some of us working stiffs a chance to go.
Old Rugger
Hey on naming great upcoming games you must have meant to mention , but forgot, the Rye/Jay game next week.
Hey just kidding. Jay will be a solid favorite but I’m confident that at game end Jay will know they’re played a well coached, solid team!
Numbers of goals were given up by both Jay and Town in transition play. #27 of Jay did a real solid job on KI and Burke for Town was tough on Daniello before going out.
Assuming Jay will go with goalie that came in for the second half although he wasn’t really tested.
Hope you dont have to miss too many future games.
woah_slow_down,
You’re in some kind of time warp. Please, there must be a button to push to get yourself back to the last 5 yrs!
The retorts to your questions are so obvious but would be too voluminous to list so I just re-listed your points to see if you’d have second thoughts if you looked at them again? Maybe you used to live in Section 1 but moved to Ca a number of yrs ago?
“for most schools in the section lacrosse is not a priority and they just dont have the players”
“John Jay and Yorktown are dedicated to the game and have deep-rooted programs” (implying other programs are not!)
“Somers is good now, but well see what their youth program produces in the next few years. Same with Mahopac and L/P, but I put them in with everybody else who are just local programs and not on the same level”.
“……those guys get overlooked because Yorktown and JJ dominate the attention of college coaches. Who can blame them though? ”
Please!
Thanks slacrosse. Did not mean to dis Rye as the Dooleys do a great job there and I believe welcome to Class B. Rye is not to be overlooked always good athletes and well coached. Fletcher Franklin Sr. (Kenyon) is 2nd half goalie, I’m sure Rye will test him.
Old Rugger
Thanx and sorry. Didn’t think your comment was any kind of “dis” at all. That’s why i said “just kidding”. But thanks for the thought anyway.
Got to compete in Class C first this season which is a challenge particularly with PV and Bronxville. So for now I’ll only say to your comment about Rye in B next season that I personally welcome the move.
Best of luck to your team.
Rye in many ways is like John Jay was 5 years ago from a lacrosse perspective. Affluent community that goes crazy for a sport they care about. Many great athletes that chose lacrosse at an early age. The Rye youth program is gearing which will benefit the HS program in years to come.
Right now they might be a half step behind Yorktown and John Jay (based on school size, youth involvement, and they invariably lose some kids to Prep Schools). But if you mix top notch coaching (like the Dooley’s) and athletes you will be a legitimate lacrosse program like Rye is.
P&G
Couldn’t have said it better. As you said the real key is continuing to get kids into youth lacrosse as early as possible and combine that with great coaching as has been done by the traditional top Section 1 programs for many, many years.
I’m a Rye fan first of course in any game but I’m a real Section 1 fan as well and I hope that as many teams as possible take this path.
Some fans tend to get caught up in the heat of loyalty, competition, looking only at the success of their particular team. Other developing teams don’t matter. But the broader and deeper lacrosse quality gets in Section 1, as it now is on LI, the more regional and national prestige and attention will accrue to the Section and elevate even more for already nationally known and respected teams like Town, Jay and a few others.
It is absurd to dismiss Somers as just a local program. Since 2000, Somers has been to the Sectional finals 8 x, won their Section 6 x, been to the state semis 5 x, and been to the state finals once. Which, incidentally, is the same amount of times that Yorktown and Jay have been to states since 2000, with Yorktown being the only team to win it all. Yorktown has the best history and stats in section 1. When your stats are better than you can claim superiority. Too many teams are self proclaimed elite!
Slacrosse… I found your personal attacks to be both mundane and immature. No, I neither live in a time warp, nor in Ca. What exactly is it that you did not understand in my post? It must be everything because your lack of a coherent response leads me to believe you are void of valid retort, nor are capable of making a cogent agreement.
Perhaps a course in critical thinking would do you well. I’m sorry, was that personal?
Thank goodness for all of us that you are here to regurgitate what I say so that the rest of the common people here can understand what is being said.
Name one other program in section one that has a collection of talent as deep as John Jay and Yorktown, who play on a national level. It is a simple point to understand, so maybe you’d like to go back and reconsider your lack of a response.
I’m going to have to disagree with slacrosse and P&G. I think a better parallel to equate with Rye is John Jay’s late 90s (closer to 15 years ago) B champion teams, or the Somers C champion squads of 5-10 years ago. Key victories in the “Power League” every year, consistently above the middle of the pack, taking on a bigger and bigger OOC schedule, couple of section titles under their belt and advancing far in the State Tournament. Not to mention all of the reasons you said involving a rising youth program (just like Somers has had in the past 5+ years).
Rye is a great team, and have emerged as a strong program in Section 1. The Dooley Coalition is a terrific coaching staff, taking the program in the right direction for sure.
I think the Rye kids have bought into the Dooley’s program, and the Rye youth program has really taken off. Rye has always had great athletes but now they are starting lacrosse at a young age like the Y-Town and Jay youth programs.
Europe 72 is correct. JJ was dominating Section one by 2005. They had already begun their run. WIth exception of losing to Town in OT, Jay beat all other section one opponents. ( Hammering Somers by 10.) Defeating Hen Hud in Sec finals 13-6. They returned a great deal the next year and beat Yorktown twice Garden City, and Darien. Rye is not quite there yet but may very well get there in a few years.
woah_slow_down
Come on, wasn’t really a personal barb, more funny/sarcastic. Pretty calm after you pretty much denigrated (by implication) every team in Section 1 lacrosse except Jay and Town.
Seriously, your comments are so out of touch, I just didn’t know where to begin, so I didn’t. I dont want to take the time as IMO the truth will be so obvious to others. I dont have to explain what’s obvious.
Anyway at least “somlax” has provided one of the many correct responses to your comments. Guess he doesn’t “understand” either (will admit that I think Somers has taken on national powers later then Jay and Town).
Indian J, Europe ’72
Good perspectives.
As I posted earlier, self proclaimed elite programs! Jay fans always seem to consider themselves superior. Somers entire starting squad are committed D1 and D3 athletes. 3 chose a year of PG. Jay can’t seem to get over their losses last year. Everyone should welcome the increase and quality of play in Section 1. Section 1 provides some of the best competition in the nation and that is why Connecticut, Jersey and Long Island are scheduling games with us and colleges regularly recruit.
It is a shame that people feel they need to “hammer” a point. Except it is not 2005 anymore and many section 1 programs and players are gaining strength and recognition. Rye has come so far in their program, Putnam Valley is one of the younger programs and look at their success. You don’t see Yorktown trashing L/P or any of the teams in their league. Yes, they believe they can win but they are not degrading teams or players. As Somlax said better competition only makes Section 1 more attractive to quality teams and quality colleges, unless they are reading some of the comments on these blogs.
ballerstatus, Yes Longo is a great goalie and very good one on one but he is having 15-20 save games because the shots taken are about 20 yards out. When people are shooting 10 to 15 yards at a good velocity he wont be making as many saves.
Benlaxman- it was no defender that scooped up the ball, Franklin ran up the field with the ball after his save, and cleared it to Waldman around the 40 yd line. Franklin’s athleticism is part of what sets him apart from other goalies. glad to see he is being mentioned in the list of good sec. 1 goalies.
somlax, laxforfun,
Hey I’m OK with Indian J and Europe 72 who used FACTS (you may disagree with them) to base their opinion on which era/period of Jay lacrosse Rye matched at this point.
No it’s “woah_slow_down” #126 above that set me off as it was GLOBALLY condescending with no FACTS to back up his comments (as you somlax mentioned in your #143 above).
Ok here it is….
PLEASE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THIS!!: I am a neutral HUGE section 1 lax fan and after week one of sec 1 lax I must say this:
The Section still belongs to the Yorktown Huskers…They should have beaten a VERY good JJ team (15th team in the country according to I/L ) by atleast 4 or 5 if they played smarter…For a team who is very young and supposely not very experienced, that sure did look pretty solid on Sat afternoon….
If you know Yorktown like I have come to know Yorktown, we both know that they play their best lacrosse in May and the Huskers will certainly be a force AGAIN come playoffs…Gonna be a great year for sec 1 lax!!
No, sorry all of you guys, you’ve got to go back and read the original post and be honest with yourselves. Stop spinning the point and man up to the point which is clearly made.
I clearly stated that Yorktown and John Jay do not have a monopoly on talent, but their programs are on a different level. Numbers don’t lie. It’s indisputable to a reasonable mind and should be even to homers like you.
Go to laxpower.
Since 2005, John Jay has ranked nationally; 343, 24, 10, 12 & 38.
Yorktown is 16, 25, 157, 157 & 29
Rye is 530, 65, 262, 198 & 318. It is great. It is outstanding. It is exemplary and it is not even close to John Jay and Yorktown.
Somers is 137, 148, 135, 227 & 186. Excellent! And once again not even close to JJ or Town. The point made about Somers is valid. They have not been able to break the Top 100 and with the graduation of Jo Jo last year and their crop of seniors this year, we will see if the program is able to build with youth in the years to come. Why is that so hard to understand? For all we know they’ll win the national championship this year, but that has nothing to do to the point being made.
The point made was that there are no programs in the section who compare to those two venerable programs. There it is, look at the numbers and be honest with yourselves before you start the “yeah, but” montage.
And to the original point, which was an answer to Rudy (post 122) that claimed Yorktown would lose 3 or 4 against section one opponents and Jay would lose 3, I just don’t see it, but that’s why we play the games.
If they do give the credit to Rudy because he is way out on a limb and that is the point that was simply, succinctly and coherently answered by me.
sec1fann88, what are you talking about?
By virtue of what should Yorktown have won that game by at least four or five? They should have played smarter? THEY DIDN’T! They had every chance to do so and failed. They were outplayed in the second half and and were beaten. This was an ugly, brutal loss for them and begs a lot of questions going forward.
And for a team that’s so young, they sure had a lot of seniors and juniors on the field from where I was sitting.
Finally, they better not wait until May to play their best because if they do they’ll be a footnote in 2010!
Just watched the JJ-Yorktown game on msgvarsity.com and Fletcher did not make alot of saves but had a huge stop on KI in the last couple of minutes before the game winning goal. I mean I think he’s OK but I don’t think JJ will win or lose any games based on goaltending. Somers definately has and probably will though.
Slacrosse,
I absolutely do not disagree with the facts, it is the constant condescending and derogatory remarks Indian J makes towards Somers and the players every chance he gets. It is like it is a personal vendetta and it is enough. “( Hammering Somers by 10.) Defeating Hen Hud in Sec finals 13-6.” He could have used destroyed or demolished Hen Hud (would not be classy either but would have been the same level of trash). What about Brewster, Foxlane, Or how about the HAMMERING JJ took from Garden City. Stating Somers players are “smash mouth” – NO CLASS. That is the issue.
Lax power rankings obviously do not reflect reality, since last year Jay was ranked above Somers and they lost to Somers during the season and in the sectional finals.
They also have Eastchester ranked in the top 100 this year.
I guess any justification will do when you don’t actually WIN!
woah_slow_down,
(1) Prove with detailed FACTS that for most schools in the section lacrosse is not a priority………”
(2) Prove with detailed FACTS that OTHER programs are NOT “dedicated to the game” as you say John Jay and Yorktown are.
(3) Prove with detailed FACTS that those guys get overlooked because Yorktown and JJ dominate the attention of college coaches……….”
I agree, don’t try to discredit Jay’s accomplishments by saying who “should have won.” I watched the game and it was very close but Yorktown was outplayed for 3/4 quarters. In the end, the Jay seniors stepped up and the game was decided by a brilliant play assisted by Zack Waldman, finished by Will O’Donnell but all started by Fletcher Franklin.
Jay for the most part looked like the quicker, more athletic team. Walter was excellent on the faceoffs and the transition game of Jay was outstanding. Overall the defense was solid, as can be expected by a team coached by Tim Schurr, and Kevin Interlicchio was well contained by Greg Smyth. They do need to work on their set offense, however. Also of note, a couple of freshmen (Tom Beck and Jack Lambert) each received a lot of playing time for Jay, even in the crucial minutes. It must be tough adjusting to this level so quickly but they impressed me.
Mike Daniello was the best player on the field in my eyes (McLee from Yorktown was up there though – he’s super fast!). He’s just the total package – strength, quickness, skill… he’s something special and can wow you in a number of ways. Kevin Interlicchio was well contained by the Jay defense, but he didn’t impress me very much and didn’t seem to be the best player on his team. He’s a big kid, and perhaps added a few pounds since last year, but he’s not very fast. Of course it’s just one game though, I regard Kevin as one of the best attackmen in the country. Just my two cents.
Laxman ~
Nice commentary on JJ seniors stepping it up in the Yorktown game…
Tim Schurr is very high on senior Gregory Smyth on the defensive side So with Zack Waldman, Will ODonnell, Fletcher Franklin. and Jameson Pickel; having been more than steady and very consistant so far this season there is a core of upperclassmen on this extremely talented team.
The leagues and formulas for who plays who within each league is so bizzare this season!
A shame that J and Town don’t get another chance to play.
The above vs J, somers, rye, others who get home and away games against each other in their league (why this arrangement I don’t have a clue?).
I am from upstate and heard all the talk about Longo last year searched and found highlight video on you tube. He can stop them 10-15 yds or inches
Laxman,
Yeah was really impressed with how (Smyth?) did on KI. Didn’t recall hearing his name mentioned too much pre-season?
Wow. Some real passion this early in the season, but nothing wrong with that. Actually, a lot right with that. A decade ago, I wondered if anyone was going to be able to break through and approach Town. Now I think the playing field is much more level. A few comments:
* I didn’t see the Jay goalies play, but I would hope that Schurr doesn’t make a goalie decision based on the first week of play. There’s a reason he’s playing both of them, eventually he has to make a decision, but get a few games under their belts before deciding, it’s a long season.
* Town is the elite team of Section 1 historically, that we all agree on.
* I think that when comparing programs, there are several factors. There are obviously results on the field in any given year, but when assessing programs over a period of time, consistency comes into play, as does quality wins vs. elite competition, players contributing at a college level, titles, playoff results, etc.
* As to recently, Jay has been Town’s equal over the past 5-10 years, and more consistent than the other Sec 1 programs. Nobody will ever dominate like Town did back in the day. Jay is just starting to produce at the elite DI level (Bocklet’s, Daniello, Drew, Carazzo, Stockel,Douglas, etc). They also have had a lot of players play DI and DIII, although they may not have been stars (Schneidman, Collucini, Sweeney, Buckhout, etc). Somers has entered the discussion with JoJo at Cuse, Novasel at Dartmouth, and the Schurr boys commitments. Even and with JoJo gone, Somer seems to have staying power. As someone mentioned, they’ve got a state final appearance as well, and don’t forget about Mahopac, who has the only other Sec 1 lax title, and Lakeland, who had an appearance back in the 90’s. Rye has started to show some consistency as well.
But it’s all good. Love to hear the passion, I don’t get enough of it down here (except when they’re talking about Cowboys football).
slacrosse, you are just embarrassing yourself now.
What exactly would be a “detailed fact” that is acceptable to you?
How many schools have a large number of their best athletes playing the game from a young age AS A PRIORITY in their sports lives? How many schools have local programs to keep the stick in their young player’s hands throughout the year? How many schools have coaches and AD’s who make it a priority to keep their lax players active in the offseason? Not many.
Sleepy Hollow has a 17 man varsity team this year, but their football team is maxed out. They didn;t play winter ball. They had one guy who played with Irvington.
Peekskill has more guys try out for basketball than they do for football, yet they never field a winter lax team or summer travel team. Is that a priority for the AD and the kids there? Try to keep up.
Ossining plays football on a state level, but this year their Varsity and JV lax program has under a total of 40 players combined. Last year they graduated a state wrestling champ and state sprint champ. Lots of football players moved on to play in college. None of those guys played lax. Maybe it wasn’t a priority. Hang with me now because I know you must be starting to cramp up.
How many elite athletes in Roosevelt HS play lacrosse? They only win track championships don’t they?
How many elite basketball players from Peekskill play lax as well? Oh right, they only send guys to the NBA.
How may elite athletes from Mount Vernon play? Oh right, they only go to the NBA, NFL, MLB and the Olympics.
How many teams in section one did not have winter ball teams this winter past? John Jay had five. Yorktown had three…and that was just at the high school and modified level. How many youth teams did they field?
Peekskill, Sleepy Hollow, Horace Greeley, Fox Lane, Pearl River, Hendrick Hudson, North Salem, New Rochelle, Croton, Edgemont, Ardsley, Scarsdale, Harrison, Hackley…I’m just pulling names out the hat here…all of them had none. They weren’t at Brewster, they weren’t at Mt. Vernon and so, I think it’s safe to say that lax is not a real priority at those schools. Ya think?
Now the whole debate here revolves around Rudy statinig that Yorktown will lose 3/4 games against Sec1 opponents this year and JJ will lose 3. My retort was, ‘I think he’s just playing around here because I don”t see it happening.’ That’s a paraphrase.
My intent, which has obviously, horribly escaped you was that I still see them as the kings of the hill and even if they were to drop one or two against the section they remain the flagship programs around here because there are no other programs that have come close to matching their success.
Now, for the last time, tell me what team in Section 1 has the kind of national recognition that JJ and Yorktown have? This is your last chance to be engaging on topic, or I will have to drop this nonsense. Go!
slacrosse –
I fet the same after watching him cover KI on Saturday. Wondered who he was?
A lot of the parents on the Yorktown team knew him for years, he played many years on Carc’s No-Limit Baller team with a number of them.
TownLaxer
I’d make the same type of positive comment on the great showing of Town’s #14 (McKee?). Also had not heard much about him pre-season?
Yorktown is Section 1’s best TEAM….They have a lot of guys that can contribute as well as Interlicchio who is one of the best attackmen in the country, Tim Schurr did a great job really doubling KI after he took a few steps..
I agree, Yorktown SHOULD have won that game but bc of some stupid, silly penalties Town committed they handed the game to Jay…Would love to see these 2 great teams play again in May.
I will tell you a lot has to do with the preseason scrimmages JJ played Darien, Delbarton, West Islip, ST A, etc. Yorktown played Don Bosco, PV, WP There is your difference
woah_slow_down,
Firstly and most importantly from my stand-point is that I do appreciate your obvious passion on this subject and your detailed efforts to respond to my comments. Apologize for deciding that in this case I decided not to spend the time/energy responding to your numerous and far-reaching comments of why Town/Jay are and will be in the future, flagship programs of Section 1. You asked what I meant by “detailed facts”. Forget “detail”. I just wanted you to put in ANY “facts” which you must admit were not there but have now supplied to some of your comments which again I appreciate.
Sometimes the Jay/Town bashing/boasting/”we’re superior in all aspects to everyone else comments get old. You responded to Rudy on one point by putting in a whole list of negative observations on Section 1. Why the need to go there?
I agree that right now Town and Jay are better known nationally then Somers but Somers is close and the “right” wins this season for Somers, LP or Pac will get them national recognition, quickly. History is nice and should be respected but it’s “what did you do for me this season” that matters?
Please look at Joe’s list of college commitments by Section 1 players. I think it flies totally in the face of your “coaches dont pay any attention to anyone other then Jay/Town” (paraphrase). This list of Section I recruits goes way back as well. Dont think the list includes red-shirted kids like Lofrink of Byrum Hills playing for Gtown and Cavalieri at Cuse.
It’s one thing to be wrong on the facts of recruitment. Just look. But what really made/makes me angry and is a true sign of your condescending attitude is when you tagged on the words, “can you blame them” .
TALK ABOUT A “DIS” TO ALL THE NON JAY/TOWN RECRUITED KIDS in the past and in the future!! This alone is almost worth an apology from you to all these kids!
I’m done with you on this and thank you again for your effort/time in replying.
Good luck to your team this season.
Laxman
Beck & Lambert have high Lax IQs and speed and strength. They will be names you will see for a few years to come at JJ. They play summer (PT). fall (Moonlight), winter (Box). Now that they are playing with the big boys they will only get better. Having watched them since 3rd grade their drive and determination have been a constant, glade to see them getting PT.
woah_slow_down — as a blooger on here . my opinion is you are a little over the top , relax it’s ok . You have your opinions .. Slacrosse has his …in this case i have slacroose’s back . It seems you are not going to change his mind (or mine) so let it be you tried to make a point , he responded . It’s one thing to make points but when it gets personal , it’s to much.
lovelax4566–& sec1fann88- bottom line JJ won, no should of.. would of .. could of , thats why we play the game .
Somers— yeah they are for real no matter .. their players are more then just smash. these guys have skills big time > Longo will stop them 30 ft – 1ft , does not matter. The whole team is loaded to many to name . lets all be honest .instead of hating.
Rye and sclacrosse always class and produces a few very good players every year . . Cole top fo/go in state .
Putnam Valley – One of the youngest yet consistant programs … last years Jimmy Vander (AA) out ran and outplayed some of last year bests longpoles on many teams . This year possible AA Ryan Fitz.
Bronxville —- Big guns will scores lots – this is a program thats making it’s move and may be around awhile
have seen Arlington — very fast and hard hitting a little short on stick work…will get there
the past is the past … lets play the games and enjoy! stop the hating
Would love to see a Ytown JJ scrimmage prior to sectionals. Since they can’t play a game (16 only) and the game they played was early in season why not scrimmage so you can work out kinks with a strong opponent prior to a playoff run? McLee & Smyth excellent game. Just when everyone talks of Ytowns demise out comes a player like McLee, reload. Let the games begin. Until proven otherwise
1 Somers (Section Champ)
2. JJ only because they beat # 3
3 Ytown (Sect Champ)
Cheap cross-check by JJ on ‘Town’s goalie, how did ref miss it?????
woah_slow_down — put me down as another guy that does not get you …and agree with Slacrosse. Slacrosse is on this blog and others and stays on the positive … so why the attacks on him .
the past is past play the games and enjoy the rest of the season
and yeah could of would of should of … the town JJ game is over and score is posted .. On that day the better team won . Not saying one is better then the other but on that day .
Old Rugger,
Luckily for Town (absolutely brutal) and Jay (brutal) (and Somers-brutal) their “absolutely brutal”/”brutal” in season schedules are so tough they’ll all be ready by play-off time.
Doid,
Thanx.
dee-up
totally agree
dee-up, you obviously haven’t read the whole thread because you’re all over the place and agred with me.
very well put slacrosse and not a word of it has to do with the original post which was, I disagree with Rudy and don’t see yorktown or JJ losing 3 or 4 games this year in section.
If I come off as condescending so be it. Your inability to talk on subject is most bewildering and lacks focus.
Later.
woah slow down-
The problem with your argument against Somers was that you based your facts on laxpower, which anyone who follows lacrosse closely, knows is a joke. Somlax already pointed that out, but I can bring up another ranking they made that was absurd. The year Somers went to the State finals in 03, they ended the season ranked something like 150 on laxpower. Meanwhile, Manhasset, the team they beat to get there (without Somers’ best player and 2x AA Jordan Rabidou, who writes for this blog), ended up ranked something like 20th on laxpower. Now I can understand Manhasset being ranked a little higher as they were probably a slightly better team and Manhasset had beaten Somers earlier that year, but 130 spots? That’s just insane.
Also, you pointed out that only John Jay and Town have players playing at D1 programs. Well let’s go back since 2000, when Somers first won a Sectional title and jumped on the scene. Somers has only had a program since 1994 so it’s not even 20 years old (keep that in mind). They graduated Tom Werney who went on to be a captain at Fairfield. Another Somers grad from the class of 05 went on to be a captain at Fairfield after being an AA his senior year, Matt Petre. The Rabidous (class of 03) went on to play at Loyola. Rob Smith (class of 02) went on to star at Georgetown. Drew Werney (03) went to play at Stony Brook. Jon D’Ascoli and Drew Maceranka (03) both went on to Quinnipiac. Greg Lewis (02) went to play at Manhattan. Mike Novosel was already mentioned, but Dartmouth goalie and former AA. Tim Lewis (07) is now the #1 defenseman at Sacred Heart after having been a short stick in high school. Matt Marasco (07) is currently playing at West Point. Chris Coppolecchia (08) is playing at Quinnipiac. And of course everyone knows about Jojo. Current members of the Somers lax team going to D1 schools include Pfiffner (Colgate), Petre (West Point), Bello (St. Johns), Schurr (Hopkins). This is all just off the top of my head.
You’re right to say that Jay and Town both ave more history and are more well established than Somers, especially Town, but that’s simply because Somers only started their program in 1994. To say Somers is only on a local level anymore is just wrong. Their first game of the year was at St. Anthony’s (the #2 team in the country) and the game could have gone either way. The final score of 10 – 7 is not a good indication of how the game really went. Somers started off really slow as they seemed tentative (the #2 in the country can do that to you) and ended the first quarter down 4 – 0. By the 2nd, they realized they could play with them and ended up tying the score at 7 in the 3rd. Had they strung together a full 4 quarters, Somers very well could have won that game. Also, the 7 penalties to 1 for St. Anthony’s didn’t help. The officiating was pretty poor as they actually had to pull the rule book out to determine if a Somers shot where the player was pushed into the crease was actually a goal or not. They put time back on the clock because the St. Anthony’s coach complained about when he made the call for a timeout. They threw a flag because a player yelled for an offsides. I could go on for a while. As an official for Section 1, I was pretty dumbfounded by the quality. In the end, Somers lost 10 – 7, which is pretty damn good to the #2 in the country, especially if they’re just a “local team”.
somers alum— well God D*M you just put some heavy fact on the table nice job well done
well put somers alum i agree 100%
somers alum,
Well said.
Somers Alum
Well said and good luck (except when you play JJ lol). Your boys are for real and can play with anyone. They are probably the most physical team in Sect 1 but have the skills as well.
Thanks guys, appreciate it.
Somers alum-
if your statement, or the straight blue-collar performance last Saturday doesn’t put them on the map, i dont know what will.
Oh wait…yes i do….
How about winning our 2nd straight Section Title
And for all you JJ lovers just wait till your AA gets shut down by the viscious Somers D next week! Maybe then all you haters can show us some respect
Looks like Somers-JJ will be a coin flip in all three meetings. See I’m already counting on sectional finals!