Sports

Syosset Boys Lax Wins at Oceanside

Freshman Diaz scores winning goal in third quarter.

Syosset's boys lacrosse team should go out of town more often.

The Braves came back from a weekend of exhibition play in Baltimore to beat Oceanside 6-4 Tuesday. Freshman midfielder John Diaz broke a 4-4 tie, scoring with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter.

"When a freshman scores a goal like that in a key situation against a quality team, it's big for him, but I think something like that is just as big for the whole team," said Syosset coach John Calabria, whose squad improved to 2-3 in conference play.

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Ryan Hunter added a goal with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter for a two-goal lead, but complacency was the last thing to be found on the Syosset bench. Thoughts still aren't that far removed from Syosset's April 10 conference opener, when the Braves blew a 9-4 second-half lead to Hicksville and lost 10-9 in double overtime.

Calabria's booming voice was almost drowned out by players urging their teammates to stay focused, and those on the field listened. Senior defender Dylan Gordan made the last big defensive play, scooping up an errant Oceanside pass with 1:45 left to play and running it all the way down the field to kill time.

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Freshman goalkeeper Ryan Feit was solid in the second half after replacing senior Jonathan Cohen in the second quarter.

"Jonathan's still our starter," Calabria said of the decision. "Today just wasn't his day."


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