In a closely contested match at the Stony Brook University Indoor Complex back on December 3 to open the Boys HSWL, the Stangs clinched a narrow victory against the Firebirds, ending the game with a score of 5-3. The Stangs grabbed a 2-1 lead just over midway through the first half and went into halftime scoring 3 goals to the Firebirds’ 1, and maintained their lead throughout the second half, scoring an additional 2 goals.
Key players for the Stangs included the senior attackman Nicholas Carretta the Belmont Abbey commit, who scored 2 goals, and Michigan commit Lucas Laforge, contributing 1 goal and 1 assist. Adelphi bound Brett Oppenheim and Noah Sulpizio the Depauw commit also added a goal each to the Stangs’ tally. Despite seeing a limited number of shots on goal, goalkeeper Matthew Taylor made saves at 66% save rate. The Stangs also saw key contributions both clearing the ball and in the ground ball department from the two poles Demetri Boutis the LIU bound senior and Jimmy Millen.
The Firebirds who were within reach the entirety of the game saw notable performances from Michael Anzelone who’s heading to Navy, and Stephen Kiernan the senior heading to LIU, each scoring a goal. Anzelone also contributed with 2 ground balls and 1 caused turnover, while Kiernan added 3 ground balls and 2 caused turnovers to his stats. Goalkeeper Chris Lamoreaux made 3 saves, recording a 75% save rate while Sean Nelan recorded 3 saves with a percentage of 60%.
