The LILJ HSWL Playoffs started with a bang on Thursday evening as Wantagh faced off against Massapequa in the 7 vs 10 matchup with the Warriors as the 7th seed and Massapequa as the 10th seed. It was the first overtime matchup in both the boys and girls league and this one was won in double overtime by Wantagh 7-6 on the game winning goal by Dylan Martini.
It was the Warriors who had the momentum in the early stages of the first half, scoring the first three goals of the game to jump out to a 3-0 lead. However Massapequa responded with consecutive goals of their own to trim the deficit to a 3-2 game going into halftime, setting the stage for a dramatic second half.
Massapequa after trailing throughout the game, managed to capture their first lead at 5-4 on a goal from Joe Fazio assisted by Joey Diesso. After Wantagh responded to tie the game at 5-5, Jack Dankenbrink snuck one through off the bottom of the cross bar with 2:30 remaining to put Wantagh back in front 6-5. With Massapequa still trailing by one with less than 30 seconds remaining, Joe Fazio came up with the scoop and score after the initial save made by Kyle Conklin which tied the game to force overtime.
In the opening overtime period, neither team was able to claim the victory in the four minute frame, taking this one to a second overtime where with 1:45 remaining Jack Dankenbrink dished to a wide open Dylan Martini right in front of the cage where he delivered a series of fakes and finished to give Wantagh the victory.
Martini the Albany commit led the Warriors with three goals, while Army bound Jake Martini scored twice, and Adelphi commit Will Greaves and Jack Dankenbrink each added one goal. At the face-off X Greaves finished a strong 12/16, and freshman Patrick Forthofer added a ground ball and a caused turnover each. Once again it was a strong game in the net for Kyle Conklin who tallied eight saves with a 57% save percentage.
Massapequa was led by Joey Diesso in scoring with three goals along with one assist, while Joe Fazio was a ground ball machine with four in total. The Chiefs were backed by an unbelievable game in the net from the 2025 uncommitted Michael Jannotte who blocked 15 shots and had a 68% save percentage.
As Wantagh advances to the next round they will square off against the Friars 2025 team on January 7th at 7:00pm. Massapequa is now in the consolation bracket where they will face Smithtown West on January 11th at 5:00pm.
