If you missed this game, you missed a very exciting back and forth game between two great teams in Nassau County. These two teams came out at full force in their first regular season game of the 2019 season. These two teams left all it on the field, and it was a very tough physical dog fight and emotions were running high as there were 10 penalties in the game.
The first quarter was a defensive battle, but South Side threw the first punch as Senior attackmen, Brian Albersten scored the first goal of the game. South Side’s defense led by stud Nick LiCalzi was rock solid in the first quarter and the entire game and Goalie Dylan Harloff stepped up big time. Syosset would answer back though as Jack Monfort would start his tremendous day with a jaw dropping behind the back goal that had the crowd in an awe. Christian Lyons made his presence known as he scored the go ahead goal in the second quarter to make it 2-1 Syosset. South Side Sophomore attackman, TJ Sheehan came up big in the second quarter as he scored the game tying goal to make it 2-2 at half time.
Syosset came flying right out the gate in the second half as Joe Bueti would score his first goal of the game to give the Braves a 3-2 led. Bueti had a huge day as he scored 2 goals and dished out 1 assist. William Pickett went off in this game and put the team on his back. Pickett went on a tear in the second half as he scored the game tying goal to make it 3-3. There was a time in this game where it looked like the Braves would run away with it as they scored two straight goals by Tommy Dolciotto and Kent Sato to make it 5-3. The Cyclones would not go down without a fight, and they kept their heads up and they responded in a big way. The combination of Bradley West and William Pickett gave Syosset’s defense a fit as West scored two straight goals to tie the game at 5. William Pickett followed Wests lead as he scored two straight goals of his own to make it 7-5. Joe Bueti came up big again as he cut down the Cyclones lead to 7-6. After Bueti’s goal, the Jack Monfort show began. Head Coach John Calabria does something very unique with Monfort. On man down, Coach Calabria gives Monfort a pole and Monfort did not let Coach Calabria down. Syosset was on man down with less than 3 minutes left and Monfort scooped up a ground ball and went coast to coast and scored the game tying goal with a pole! The Jack Monfort show didn’t end there. Monfort started out at the midfield line and Syosset ran Monfort on an iso, and he blew by his defender off a dodge and scored the game winning goal .Monfort wasn’t done yet. On South Side’s final possession of the game, Monfort came up big again as he scooped up the game clinching ground ball.
Syosset Takeaways
Syosset started their 2019 campaign with a bang. Monfort will be the man for the Braves this season, and there’s nothing he can’t do when he’s on the lacrosse field. He’s effective with a pole in his hands and he’s their biggest offensive threat. Monfort wasn’t the only key component for the Braves in this game. AJ Alexander (3 Assists) had a big unselfish day. Christian Lyons (1 Goal) didn’t dominate the stat sheet, but if you watched this game, he was a big part of the Braves victory. Joe Buetti (2 Goals & 1 Assist), really stepped up for the Braves in this game, and people may not know who Buetti is, but he was sensational in this game. It’s great start for the Braves, and they should continue to be a powerhouse in Nassau County Conference A.
South Side Takeaways
South Side didn’t come out on top in this game, but they have nothing to be ashamed about. Their attack unit, William Pickett (3 Goals), Brian Albersten (1 Goal & 1 Assist), and TJ Sheehan (1 Goal & 1 Assist), really stepped up as they scored 7 out of South Sides’s 8 goals. The combination of Aidan Kelly and Richie Petrone on the faceoff X was very crucial to South Sides performance as they beat Syosset at the faceoff X going 10 for 17. On defense, Goalie Dylan Harloff was very strong in the net in the first half as he came up with 5 saves, and a lot of them were on man down. Also on defense, Nick LiCalzi and TJ McNicholas each came up big as both of them scooped up 3 GBs each. South Side is a tough and gritty team, and they will give every team they play a fight.
