WARD MELVILLE 15      COMMACK 1

APRIL 29, 1999

The weather was perfect.   Warm, with a gentle breeze. Perfect for springtime and lacrosse.  The Ward Melville Patriots visited the Commack Cougars for a Division 1 lacrosse game.   Melville may have been looking past Commack to Saturday's showdown with the Sachem Flaming Arrows, because they came out with little hustle or enthusiasm.

The Patriots reverted back to the early season's sloppy play, missed ground balls, dropped passes and lack of energy. The early spark came from the attack.  The team seemed content to feed Matt Monfett and Derrick Preuss who thankfully scored early and often.  The score was tied at 1-1 early, and ended 4-1 after the first quarter. Melville began to take the game a little more seriously through the second quarter and by half-time was leading 7-1.  Melville added 5 more goals in the third quarter for a 12-1 lead. This relative lack of production (based on the matchup) by the starting crews kept the other lines off the field until deep into the third period. Junior middie Will O'Dwyer lead the way in the fourth quarter with 2 goals including a pretty behind-the-back finish at the crease. Sophomore goalie Nick Gentilesco got his first varsity start, stopping 11 of 18 shots and giving up one goal. In fact, maybe the brightest spark of the game was the intensity of Melville's supporting lines. They can play. Pohmer, O'Dwyer, Cleaver, Jungers, Funt, Cartier, Ferraro, Mele, Ben-Eliyahu, and Applegate (and more) all have alot to offer. The ball moves per plan with accuracy and patience. Many of these players will take leading roles as their time comes at the high school. Others will be key players on their respective college teams next year. Keep up the good work and attitude!

Commack is vastly improved over last years team. They seem to have  a more dedicated group of atheletes who have trained harder to represent their school this season. They played with effort throughout the game challenging every loose ball and every possession. It's good for Long Island Lacrosse to have more schools emphasize the sport and help build the competetive levels in our area. It can only help the sport to have more districts spend the time on youth development and secondary school coaching to bring the whole of Long Island Lacrosse to the next level.

But all in all, this was surely the calm before the storm. See you all on Saturday night-and be ready for guaranteed lax action from a rivalry that transcends rankings. Sachem-Melville 99... under the lights! Go Patriots!

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