Concannon's Heroics Lead Syosset To Win Over Manhasset

Alex Concannon has been playing Varsity lacrosse since he was an 8th grader. Now, in his 3rd season on the varsity level, Concannon is looked to as a go to scorer for the Braves; things were no different today. Concannon scored his second goal of the game with 7 seconds left in the 4th quarter to give the Braves a thrilling 9-8 win over Manhasset in front of a packed house at Syosset-Woodbury Park. 

Syosset got off to a red hot start in the game, leading at one point 7-3 in the third quarter against one of the best team’s on Long Island. Senior midfielder, Andrew Keith, played a phenomenal game for Syosset. Keith scored a goal and dished out 2 assists, including the one to Concannon, to set up the game winning goal. Keith spoke about Syosset’s quick start after the game. 

“We came out strong and really took it to them,” Keith said. “They went on a little run though so we had to match their energy at the end of the game.” 

Midway through the third quarter something clicked for Manhasset as goals seemed to be coming from anywhere a Manhasset player shot. Manhasset entered the 4th quarter only down 8-5 and within the first 6 minutes of the 4th tied the game up at 8 and appeared to have all the momentum. 

With 4:17 left in the game, Syosset head coach, John Calabria, made one of the best coaching decisions of the day. Calabria elected to use one of his teams timeouts to try to keep the composure of his team with the game in doubt.

Senior midfielder, Jake Canner, spoke about how after the timeout, Syosset’s defense was able to reestablish itself and hold on to get the victory. “When it was tied 8-8 and after the timeout we really locked in on defense,” Canner said. “We got into our zone defense and everyone was focussed and we knew our roles.”

What happened next was very simple to understand - a great player made a great play. With under a minute left in the game Syosset ran down the clock to under a minute to help set up what would turn out to be the games final shot. Keith, dodging multiple Manhasset defenders, made an incredible pass to Concannon who riffled a shot home to give Syosset the lead for good. 

Concannon has been in the spot light before. Last season he scored in the Nassau class “A” county championship to give Syosset their 13th goal in the Braves stunning 13-12 win over Massapequa. Over the summer Concannon was the MVP of the Rising Sophomore Long Island Showcase game and Dave Pietramala, the head coach of Johns Hopkins, offered him a scholarship to play for him at one of the most prestigious lacrosse school’s in the nation. 

Concannon after the game spoke about the victory. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Concannon said. “Everyone stepped up today, it was all about the team. We wanted to win and we did it.” 

One of Concannon’s closet friends on the team, junior attack Anthony Carchietta, proudly spoke about Concannon’s performance. “I love to see him play well,” Carchietta said. “He show’s that you don’t have to be a six foot guy to be successful. Alex is always going 100 percent and I love when he does well.” 

Senior goal tender, Ryan Feit, says Concannon brings a great presence to the team. “He’s like a spark plug for us,” Feit said. “He gets the team going. I know that kid works his butt off and it has clearly paid off.” 

A very proud Calabria after the game spoke about his teams resiliency that they showcased in the game. “Being able to beat a program like Manhasset is phenomenal,” Calabria said. “Our kids really brought it today. We dialed it in and were able to pull it out.” 

On a day where Syosset needed someone to make a big play to win, it was the 5’6’ Concannon that made the biggest play of them all.