New York: Five repeat as champions in lacrosse

Well, believe this: It’s indisputable that West Islip now has the state’s most successful boys lacrosse program following the 13-5 victory over Fairport. The Lions went on a 7-0 run in the third quarter at SUNY Stony Brook, capping the recovery from the 13-12 loss in overtime to Sachem North way back on March 31 to earn their fourth championship in five seasons.

Craig reflected back on how far the Lions had to come following last season’s championship in Rochester. West Islip began the season by plugging in an entirely new first defense and a junior goalkeeper battling through a broken thumb.

"And we found ourselves up against an opponent that worked very hard and came in very prepared to play," Craig said of the opening loss.

The solution was two-headed: Work the newcomers hard every day in practice and maintain faith in the guys at the other end of the field, beginning with all-everything senior Nick Galasso.

Galasso collected a goal and six assists in the final to give him a Long Island-record 500 points for his career. He tied Elmont 's Jim Zaffuto (498 points from 1974-77) with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter, broke the mark with an assist just more than a minute later and then hit 500 on a feed to Mike Sagl 33 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"I knew where I was (on the list)," the North Carolina recruit told Newsday. "I wasn't planning on getting the record. I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to win another championship."

The Lions, who outscored their previous three opponents by a 20-4 margin in the third quarter, broke away from Fairport with the 7-0 run in the third quarter to put away the Red Raiders at SUNY Stony Brook.

"At halftime, I told them, 'It's 5-5, we've got 'em where we want 'em' " Craig said.

Sagl finished with four goals for the winners.

More boys NYSPHSAA lacrosse championships

In Class B, Jamestown-DeWitt finished a 22-0 season with an 11-5 triumph against Garden City on the strength of three goals and two assists by Eric DeJohn. Garden City led 2-1 midway through the first quarter when DeJohn charged hard to the goal against two defenders and fired home the tying goal.

The Red Rams built leads of 7-3 by halftime and 10-3 entering the fourth quarter against a squad that had held 10 of its last 11 opponents to six goals or less.

Cam Stone added two goals and two assists for J-D, which was without No. 2 goal scorer Jake Bratek, who was out with a collarbone injury.

The Class C final was decided relatively early – back on May 1 to be exact. That was the day Manhasset set the table for its 19-6 triumph over Corning East in the NYSPHSAA final by beating Garden City 7-6. The Garden City game was the last of the Indians’ six contests against large-school teams – five of whom finished 11-6 or better. It was a rugged training regimen for Manhasset but a necessary one in light of heavy graduation losses from the 2009 team that won its final 16 games to earn a state championship.

"We graduated 21 seniors and most of the starters," coach Bill Cherry said. "We knew we had talent coming in but we didn’t know how quickly it would jell. Thanks to the senior leadership, they put it together. We got on a roll and never stopped."

Having also dispatched heavy hitters like John Jay (Cross River), Chaminade (Mineola), Darien (Conn.) and Cold Spring Harbor, the Indians carried a 35-game win streak into the final and then rolled as some of that senior leadership shined. Pat Moroney, Chris Cook and Penn recruit Drew Belinsky all scored three goals (as did junior Matt Tompkins), and Syracuse-bound faceoff specialist Ricky Buhr won 18 of 23 draws at the X.

The 2011 rebuilding will be relative child’s play for Cherry since "only" 15 seniors will be exiting this month. He’ll give a fresh rendition of the preseason speech that started his Indians to their fourth NYSPHSAA championship since 1995.

"Don’t worry about how many wins you have, the streak or any of that stuff," he said. "Just play one game at a time and that’s what we’ll do again next year."

It was Corning East’s 11th straight loss in the title game since its 13-7 win over Yorktown in the 1990 Class B final. The Trojans will be merged next season with Corning West as part of a district consolidation of athletic programs.

Girls lacrosse: NYSPHSAA finals

Long Island’s trio of defending champions reaffirmed their dominance in Cortland over the weekend.

* Farmingdale defended its Class A championship with a 6-5 victory vs. Lakeland/Panas, surviving its lowest offensive output since the 2007 state final. Maegan Meritz connected twice, Melanie Raso scored on a low shot with 21:39 to go and again with 18:22 left to make the score 4-4, and Jamie Leone gave Farmingdale its first lead of the day midway through the second half.

The loss capped a difficult few days for the Lakeland/Panas players, who were dealing with the suicide of a 2009 teammate on the eve of the tournament. After the game, Farmingdale players presented their counterparts with flowers.

* In Class B, Garden City made it five straight championships and 11 in 16 years by routing Fox Lane 20-10 as Caroline Tarzian found the net seven times. The Trojans went on an 11-2 run in the second half to break open a close game against a Fox Lane squad with just four seniors.

Fox Lane junior Lindsay Toppe scored four goals to finish with a NYSPHSAA-record 132 for the season and had a pair to help build a 6-1 lead, but Garden City regrouped and Tarzian scored at the halftime buzzer for a 9-8 advantage.

* Shoreham-Wading River ran its streak of Class C crowns to four with a 10-9 win over Carthage. The drive for five will have to commence under a new coach, as Bob Vlahas announced his retirement following the game.

Jen Devito and Kait Brosco scored hat tricks and combined for nine points for S-WR. "They're two of my veteran leaders," Vlahas said. "They're going to stay cool and calm under pressure." A Chelsey Newman goal for a 10-8 lead with 2:56 left proved to be the winner for S-WR.