With Carsen Kirchner’s six saves, Caden O’Connor five ground balls and nine different offensive weapons getting on the stat sheet, it’s safe to say this Cold Spring Harbor boys lacrosse team is a balanced one.
“Our defense is super disciplined,” O’Connor said. “And Carsen was doing a great job of not only making the saves, but pushing the ball out in transition. Whenever we do that, and we capitalize, I don’t think there are many teams that can compete with us.”
That’s exactly what his Seahawks (12-6) team proved in their 8-2 win over Mattituck/Greenport/Southold for their second straight Long Island Class D championship crown at Stony Brook University’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday.
Kirchner, the James C. Metzger MVP Award-winner who allowed just one goal, made three of his saves in the second quarter, the last coming with 3:41 left in the half to help his team take a 4-0 lead into the break.
“I was dialed in,” the golkeeper said, adding he took extra shots and reps during practice. “I watched a lot of film. I was focused on this.”
The senior said his defense pushing shots to the side and coming up with the wins on 50-50 balls made his job that much easier. O’Connor even made three big checks to keep the Mattituck (7-11) offense at bay. That was while four different players scored over the first 24 minutes for Cold Spring Harbor, including eighth-grader Roy Testa, who finished with two goals, one being a backhanded shot he finished to add fuel to the fire.
“I thought it was the right opportunity. It would’ve been harder to shoot overhand,” Testa said. “I’ve been working on it. It just went in. It was great.”
Senior Hayden Calabretta scored his two goals back to back to help the Seahawks open the fourth quarter with a 7-1 lead. Sophomore Sam Bruno tallied two assists, while Alex Bauer, Matt Donaldson, Brady McKean and Reagan Reilly all scored once and Regan’s brother C.J. Reilly and Ryan McGloin each added an assist. James Grego replaced Kirchner in the fourth quarter and made one stop.
“We knew we didn’t need to be rushed,” Testa said. “We controlled the pace. We were winning our matchups.”
Andrew McKenzie made 14 saves for Mattituck and Lex Horton and Sean Lawson each recorded a goal.
The Seahawks captured their sixth Long Island championship in program history, and will play in the state semifinals on Wednesday as they look to repeat as Class D champions.
“Our communication has been great. We know where the threats are at all times,” Kirchner said. “We’re finally seeing the product of our years of hard work together.”
