By Steven Zaitz The Smithtown East Bulls boys lacrosse team is headed to Stony Brook. In the Class AA semifinal game against East Islip, the Bulls rode a huge third quarter, including three goals in a one-minute span, to a 12-9 win over the visiting Wildcats. Smithtown East used a balanced scoring attack with six different players scoring goals to defeat the two-time defending Suffolk County champion team from East Islip. They started very early, as Bulls midfielder and face-off specialist Jack Reddock scored right off the opening draw, which he won. Reddock picked the ball off the ground, sauntered up the middle of the field, and beat East Islip goalkeeper Luke Rochford to the high, left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead after only 7 seconds.
Smithtown built the lead to 3-0 in less than 4 minutes when Hunter Hughes, who short-hopped a long outlet pass from Bulls goalkeeper C.J. Stein, scored at the 8:32 mark. But the defending champ Wildcats would roar to life. East Islip would score the next three, bridging the first and second quarters, as Rochford made a number of difficult saves to keep Smithtown East off the board during that span. With an extra man, attackman Owen Madden tied it up with 6:54 left in the second period, with the help of a pinpoint pass from Alex Theodoropoulos.
The Bulls, however, would charge back. Brendan Power scored the next two for Smithtown East, both of which were assisted by Hughes. With two minutes remaining in the half, Hughes ripped a shot from 15 yards away to beat Rochford on the long side to re-establish the three-goal lead for Smithtown. With the score 7-4 midway through the third period, Bull attackers Conor Bruckbauer, Cameron James, and Power all scored goals in a 29-second span to give Smithtown East a commanding 10-4 lead. The second and third of these tallies were facilitated by wins in the dot by Reddock.
Stein made four stops in the period, allowing the Bulls to break out of their defensive zone to create opportunities. East Islip would creep closer with a couple of late goals in the third, one of which was with only two seconds remaining by middie Ryan Farrell, and it was 11-6 entering the final quarter. The Bulls played a lot of pitch-and-catch for the final 12 minutes, burning the clock in the process. James scored the capper with under 9 minutes remaining, as the Wildcats pecked away with two late ones, but it wasn’t enough. Hughes and Power both had 3 goals and 2 assists, and James had 2 goals and 2 assists.
Reddock had 2 goals and was 15 for 24 in the faceoff dot. Stein made 7 saves. Smithtown East will play West Islip at Stony Brook on May 30 at 10 a.m. for the Suffolk County Class AA championship. — Photos by Steven Zaitz
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