Syosset Lacrosse Wins 3OT Thriller

With a hard heave as if trying to hit a breaking ball, freshman Mac O'Keefe swung his lacrosse stick low and the mighty blow that resulted finally brought MacArthur to its collective knees.  

The young Syosset attackman took a pass from Alex Concannon and buried the ball in the net just 16 seconds into the third overtime, ending an epic boys lacrosse playoff game with a jolt.  

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” O'Keefe said. “It was one of the best feelings ever.”  

Second-seeded Syosset needed very bit of its championship resolve to hold off No. 7 MacArthur, 5-4, in a Nassau Class A quarterfinal Wednesday night at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium, a game that will undoubtedly go down as an instant classic.  

Syosset (12-4) advances to the semifinals and will face Port Washington, an 11-2 winner over Plainview JFK, next Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Hofstra.   

Not only did a freshman score the game-winner, but Braves sophomore Alex Hatzopoulos forced OT with his equalizer with 2:21 left in regulation.  

“This speaks volumes about the future of our program,” Braves Coach John Calabria said. “We have a lot of young guys on this team. The starters are seniors. We’re driven by the seniors. But a lot of the young guys get playing time.”  

MacArthur (10-6) lost to the Braves, 15-6, back in April. The Generals couldn’t have played with any more determination in the rematch.  

Defending Nassau champion Syosset was staggered by an early barrage of goals. The Braves and its all-world goalie trailed 3-0 before anyone could comprehend what happened.  

“We’ve had a couple of one-goal close losses where we felt we were ready to break through to the next level and give the elite teams around the county a run,” MacArthur Coach Chris Bergersen said.  

The Generals took eight shots in the first quarter and then just three over the next 23 minutes until senior attack Jake Murphy netted his second goal of the night. His transition goal gave MacArthur a 4-3 lead with 28 seconds left in the third.  

An upset seemed possible even after Syosset rallied to send the game to overtime. The Generals had their chance: Junior Tom McAndrew hit the pipe on a point-blank turnaround with 1:13 left in the second OT.  

But after surrendering three early goals, John Hopkins signee Ryan Feit made six saves and shut MacArthur down.

“I’d rather have a game like this than a blowout,” Calabria said. “All the credit goes to MacArthur. They played to win this game and they almost did.”    

Nassau Boys Lacrosse Playoffs
Class A Quarterfinal – At Hofstra
Teams…………..……1…..2…..3…..4…..5…..6…..7 – F
MacArthur….....……3…..0…..1…..0…..0…..0…..0 – 4
Syosset…………......0…..1…..2…..1…..0…..0…..1 – 5
Goals – M: Murphy 2, McAndrew, Cunningham; S: Concannon, Keith, Diaz, A. Hatzopoulos, O'Keefe. Saves – M: Purcell 12; S: Feit 6.