West Boys Lacrosse Defeats Ward Melville, Heads to County Championship

West boys’ lacrosse jumped out to an early lead Friday afternoon and withstood a charge from Ward Melville before pulling away with a 15-7 victory in the semifinals of the Suffolk County Class A playoffs.

The victory pushes West into the county championship game Wednesday at Stony Brook. For Ward Melville, a season that started with high expectations ends short of the ultimate goal.

West came out early and took a 2-0 lead when Ryan Joseph scored with 8:53 left in the first. The Bulls scored five more times in the first half, capped by goals from James Pannell and Kyle Keenan in the final minute of the half, and went into halftime up 7-2.

But Ward Melville would not go down without a fight. They came out in the third quarter and scored four unanswered goals to bring them to within a goal.

“We couldn’t play that bad all game, we were going to make a run,” said Ward Melville coach Mike Hoppey. “When we got it to 7-6 we had three possessions to tie it and we got nothing out of it. I think that might have been the turning point of the game, it’s tough to say but if we tied it maybe it’s a different game.”

 With the clock ticking down at the end of the third quarter West’s Matt Schultz picked up a loose ball out of a scramble in front of the Ward Melville net and fired a shot past goalie Connor Ryan with only seven seconds remaining in the period to give the Bulls some breathing room. Schultz led the Bulls with four goals.

“I was nervous but we just needed to possess the ball and we did a good job,” said West coach Sean Keenan.

The Bulls did more than just possess in the fourth quarter. Ward Melville’s Jack Bruckner scored straight off the faceoff to once again make it a one goal game but the Bulls rebounded and went on to score the game’s final seven goals.

Frankie Reda scored three of the seven and Ryan Joseph and Schultz contributed as well.

“Everyone thinks you just have to stop Pannell and Keenan but we have some other weapons,” coach Keenan said. “Reda played great, Ryan Joseph is playing great. We just have some great kids."

Pannell and Keenan both finished with three goals and two assists but it was the clutch goals from Reda, Schultz and Joseph that made the difference.

Ward Melville came into the game 16-1 and looking to get another shot at top-seeded West Islip in the county championship. Instead they go home, watching a team they had beaten eight consecutive times advance.

“The monkey is finally off our backs,” Kyle Keenan said after the game.

Goaltender Ryan Adler made 13 saves on the day for West, many of them in key situations.

“It feels great,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve done it in I don’t know how long and to beat them by that score [is great].”

Hoppey and his squad will look to retool and go on the quest for another state championship in 2012 knowing this class of seniors played great but never were able to get that elusive state championship.

“They had a great career,” he said. “They didn’t reach their ultimate goal but they represented us very well and I’m very proud of them. Great leaders, great work ethic, and I think they’re going to do a great job in college.”