Stopped short
-
- June
- 13
It was a day that had the potential to be a historic one for Section 1 boys lax.
The possibility of three teams making the state finals in the same season for the first time was very real as action got under way at Hofstra’s James Shuart Stadium.
Those dreams were quickly dashed though as Yorktown started the day by falling to Syosset 7-6 in the Class A semifinals — allowing five unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes.
Then, in Class B, John Jay fell to Rocky Point 11-10 — the identical score of its groundbreaking state semifinal win over Huntington last year — after leading 9-7 late in the third period.
Rye ended the day with a 7-1 loss to Mount Sinai in Class C.
All three of the Long Island teams that won will each be making their first state title-game appearance tomorrow.
Class A:
Senior attackman Brendan Kurpis following Yorktown’s 7-6 loss to Syosset.
• Story link
Class B:
Harrison Jones and his John Jay teammates walk off the field after falling to Rocky Point 11-10.
• Story link
Class C
Senior Frank Lorono reflects after Rye’s 7-1 setback to Mount Sinai.
• Story link
(Photos by Matthew Brown/The Journal News)
• Semifinals video
This entry was posted
on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 2:36 am by Joe Lombardi.
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You guys may not be in the mood to hear it but congrats on your season Town
not sure this went through So …you guys may not be in the mood to hear it but congrats on your season Town
great to see such great sportmanship from john jay. great season boys.
what a class program.
4 sectional titles in a row, keep it going in 09
Joe –
Question for you. With Town dropping down to B next year, what do you think John Jay will do? I was talking to a few Jay Lax Alum's and they told me that years ago when Jay had no chance of beating Town and they were both in B, Jay actually voluntarily moved up to A. As much as I would like to see a Jay/Town battle for the Section B championship next year, I would much rather root for multiple strong teams in the states next year similar to this year. Thoughts??
Insider – It does seem that Class B will be pretty top heavy if either John Jay or Somers decides not to request to move up to Class A. No decisions have been made yet, but we will follow of course.
I need to say something about the JJ coaches, Why did their defense not adjust at all during the game? This JJ loss is because they got out coached, not out played. The JJ team plays the weirdest defense I have ever seen. the man/backer zone with a floater for the double just doesnt work against fast good teams. It leaves a guy WIDE open on the crease and because the coaches dont let the kids actually play d, these better teams get better looks. It happened yesterday, it happened vs town, it happened in the sectional finals of 04 when JJ lost to town at town, it has happened a lot to say the least. They have been on a great run but I beleive it is due to all the talent they have and not coaching. Im sorry to sy that but its what I feel and its what a lot of people in the jj side of the stands feel. Keep up the good work JJ I beleive your success will keep going but that D needs to change if they want to ever get that state title…Thoughts? Does anyone else wath JJ and think, "What is this defense?
Thanks Joe!
Joe – Is there a cut off date for a team to request to move up? Just trying to get a sense when this would happen if a team decided to go that route.
Congrats to all Section 1 teams for great seasons and playing their guts out yesterday. Particularly to the seniors who gave their schools and fans 4 great yrs. Good luck in the future.
Of course disappointing for Section 1 and partic Town and JJ where the results could easily have gone the other way.
Town's game far more contoversial as calls were going against them yesterday which could have made the difference. But on other side of coin even some Town fans around me said that Town should have but did not capitalize on some scoring opportunities in ladder part of 2nd half which ALSO could have made the positive difference. Among accolades to Town are pretty much controlling Cohen.
I hope that Town and Jay can take solace from the following:
TOWN AND JAY PROVED THEY ARE AT LEAST THE EQUAL of the BEST LI CAN THROW AT THEM. LI knows this now for sure!!
first off in 04 against town the score was 5-4 how can you blame the defense. What about when the defense held Huntington to the lowest scoring in two years and beat them 11-10. What about the defense last year that beat Manhasset 9-8tripple ot. What about the denfense that held Garden City to 7-6 game. The defense also held niskayuna this year to 9 same as yorktown. This was a new entire unit on defense I thing they did a good job. Remember they held brewster offense to two goals. 1 was manup and the other was an open net. Stop complaining about the coaches. I know the coaching staff and know how hard they work. They scout like no other team i know. They work harder then most. and they alway put their kids in position to win the games.
LacrosseInsider,
Def agree. although Town would dominate A I like idea that with Town and Jay in A and B respectively both teams will get into the States vs 1 being eliminated in Sections.
To have a chance of "crowning" national/elite dominance you've got to put yourdeslf in a position to win the States
So I hope that Town appeals the decision and stays in A
Town, Jay & Rye folks,
This will suck for a few weeks, but those players coming back next year need to take a mental and physical break and then get back to making yourselves better during the summer. Though Thursday was hard to swallow, you still made the entire section proud and closed the gap even more on Long Island. In some cases you can't even shine a flashlight between the two regions.
That said, though, the Island still had the uncanny knack for tradition and emergence. You just never know who's coming after you and from where. It can be a usual suspect, or a clone.
Returning players, this is your motivation. Concentrate on Empires, camps and enjoying your summer, but it all begins again real soon.
Good luck to all of you.
hjuy – agreed. Let's not throw blame around here, the reality is that Jay lost by ONE goal to the Long Island B champs and really almost won. This is a great accomplishment, we all wanted that state title but the end result is pretty impressive considering where we were just 2 years ago (i.e., West Islip game)
first off i wanna say harrison jones please never wear that hat to a lacrosse game again. second i think last year jj stopped huntington and in 04 held ytown to 5 because of the payers. If you look at those defenses those 2 years. Bohlander Crossett Schneidman Bocklet Daniello Freidman. 5 of the 6 are playing in college and one is in the MLL and one is at maryland. The concept of this defens is dumb and the JJ alumni defenders are the first to say it. Once they move on to college and learn how to actually play correct D they turn out the way bocklet did.
Yorktown is going to look to try and stay in class A next year, they want to play the best (WG) and re-capture what should have been theirs this year….
You all can breathe again down their in class B…
Yeah i have to agree with sulivan nash. Last year yeah the did beat all those great teams and held them to a small amount of goals, but it was one of the best defense trio's JJ has ever seen. In years past, you had all these great defenders as nash stated. This year was an entirely new D with a sophomore Jameson Pickel starting and this is his first year with a long pole (always played middie). Does the defense have some problems? Yes, but not to go blame the game on it and the coaches.
Congrats to all the Rye kids and particularly the seniors. You guys are not only great atheletes but more importantly great kids who made your parents and fans of the team very proud!
Rye ran into a superb team that was dominant from a size, speed and particularly defensive stand-point, stifling Gordon and preventing much meaningful penetration. Just like Rye you could tell how well coached they were with, as an example, outlet guys always in position in mid-field to transition the ball back into Rye's zone.
Losing Sam Fullmer early in Q1 was a legitimate serious blow for Rye offensively. He's a big very aggressive kid who penetrates well and has a strong shot. WITH FULLMER IN I SAY THAT RYE WOULD HAVE DEFINATELY SCORED MORE GOALS. I'm not saying the result would have been different, only that the score would have been different. JJ might remember that Fullmer (#15) played maybe the most major offensive role in Rye's win.
Rix had another great game.
Finally was sitting near enough to MS fans who were "muttering" and frustrated at how Rye (McCormack with help from wings)was dominating the face-offs.
I want to say that you are allowed to move up for regular season play but not for sectionals. I believe this has been done in basketball over the years with Peekskill but they have alway's gone back to play in their respective class for sectionals. WHen you think about it, if you could request to move up in class for sectionals you could have ALL teams in class be make that suggestion. I think if one team is granted that permission all team would have to be granted the same. As far as next years competition is concerned I would see at least five class B teams wanting to make that move, to have a shot at a sectional final(Jay,Somers,Brewster,Fox Lane,Hen-hud, among others)
It just doesn't seem logical or ethical
KDOG – your post is confusing, if I understand it correctly I believe that you are wrong. You state that "I want to say that you are allowed to move up for regular season play but not for sectionals." I believe that if a team moves up to A, they are in A all season including the sectional championship, and if they win the sectional championship they play A class in states. Why would a team move up to A for the regular season if they would then be moved back down to B for sectionals? That logic makes no sense…
For some reason this got cut off before ….congrats to Rye , Town , Jay. ... you may not want ot hear it rigth now but but when you look back you guys did well. maybe not the goal in mind but none the less, pretty darn good. You have grown in the process … team work , dedication and responsiblities to each other(who says it just sports) , i would say not to shabby …. to the seniors nice run ..to the others remember the feeling work hard to get back …
On another note i have to get this in—Go PUT Valley . See you guys next year …
Great Lacrosse in Section One this Season. A lot of Teams stepped up big time, and kept the season interesting (Byram,Brewster, and LP to mention a few) Thanks to Town, JJ, and Rye for giving the other Schools a benchmark to aim at. Lets keep the summer interesting supporting the Empires Teams, and if your just plain bored and want some evening entertainment, The Sound Shore League(s) will have a Youth Game, followed by a HS Game, followed by a Mens League game at PVHS on Wednesday nights this summer. Go PV, Go Tigers, Go Bayside Tigers, Go Sportsbarn. Go 12rock.
Reason being a team would move up for the competition throughout the course of the season. Generally speaking a team would suggest the move for more competition rather than to duck competition like it would be in this case. The sugestion in the pass has been granted to basketball and soccer teams with the agreement that for sectionals you play in your apropriate class. I would assume it is this way so you do not have teams bouncing all around trying to put themselves in the best situation to win a section title. It would be used to IMPROVE your programs competion rather than beating up teams in your classification all season.
An example of this would be KEIO. For years they were a very small school, I want to say even a D at one point. They would beat teams day in and day out by 5 or more. One season they were bumped up to play in the class above them for the reg season to provide comp day in and day out (better for everyone) At the end of the season they had to play in the proper class to ensure equality.
If a team was able to bump a class for the purpose of having a better chance to play in a section final, shit would hit the fan and everyone would be moving. The section will stay strong on this I assume and Ytown and JJ will both play in B where they belong.
Thanks Syracuse:
For imparting your keen knowledge of lacrosse. I learned alot.
For providing tons of stats and other colorful information on competing Sections.
For being an objective observer and in many instances remaining the "voice of calm" when all hell was breaking out on this blog.
For never getting negatively personal on a particular player or coach.
For recognizing and respecting (just as much as the All Americans) the kids that warm the bench in games but bust their butts every day in practice hoping for their time to show what they can do. The emotional and physical "challenges" they face are in a different way just if not more challenging then what the everyday players and "stars" deal with.
For being a fiercely loyal Town fan and huge supporter of "Section 1" while at the same time being willing to take Town and/or other Section 1 teams to task if you felt it appropriate.
For your willingness to accept different points of view from knowledgeable lacrosse bloggers and admit being wrong.
Have a good summer!
Slay,
You're the man bro. Appreciate it.
KDOG
You don't seem to be making any sense. (then again, it might just be me) ... but
LaCrosse isn't like the other sports. Other sports play in leagues designated by class. Lacrosse operates with a power league set up. Bumping up from B to A for the regular season is nonsensical concept for a sport in which the top A, B and C teams are already playing in leagues together. Furthermore, for the really top teams (Jay and Town traditionally), better competition means scheduling out of section powers.
In Lacrosse, the sectionals are the only time a move "up" in class would be possible.
As for Keio and soccer – their move up in class was because they were a private academy playing in a public school league – and the move was not just for the regular season.
Yeah, it wouldn't make much sense to move up just for the regular season. A team like JJ is already playing teams from all 3 classes. They don't look to play up a class for competition, they look for out of section teams.
Syracuse
I echo Slacrosse' post about you.
I respect what you say & HOW you say it.
If I may, how long ago did you play high school lax?
Also, do you go to many of Towns' games?
It would be awesome to meet you.
That being said, have a great summer.
hjuy – you wrote "the defense also held Niskuyuna this year to 9 same as Yorktown" – if you are referring the game on Wednesday, the score was Yorktown 9 – Nisky 6. not the same, as 'Town held them to 6 – maybe I misunderstand your quote?
Anyway…...Great season 'Town – State semi-finalists
undefeated in section onesome exciting come-backs – so much fun to watch. You played like champions and truly upheld the proud tradition of Yorktown Lacrosse! Best of luck to all of the seniors. (what will LTL do on Tuesdays and Thursday now? :o)You are right in stating lacrosse is different and we already play inter-conference games. I was just using the other sports as examples of how it is supposed to be done. In lacrosse, if you were allowed to move up for sectionals it would be to duck competition in this case. I can't see any section allowing this because everyone would do it. I also don't see what we would be teaching if we were to move up to have a better chance of winning a sectional title. YOu should play where you belong and beat the teams in your classification to provide equality for all conferences. How do you think the class A teams will feel if we allowed JJ, SOmers, ECT up for sectionals.
Now that I have had a few days to ease some of the pain from Towns, loss in the state semi-finals.I just wanted to take a few minutes and congratulate all three teams for an outstanding season and a lot of exciting and fun Lacrosee.
As for Yorktown-Great season men. You played like champions the entire season. You played a top notch schedule which included wins over Chaminade, St.Anthonys, John Jay, Wilton, and Lakeland/Panas. You brought home yet another sectional title.You have nothing to hang your heads about. It is unfortunate that in the state semi-finals it seemed you had to play against the Officials as well. I am sure that most or all of the indivuals who write,and read theese blogs can say at some point we have all had to do the same.And while the sting stays for a while the fun times and great memories of playing in such a quality program will last forever. Congratulations on a great season, I am looking forward to 0/9. Good job you should all be very proud.
As far as John Jay is concerned I can say almost the exact same thing, Wow 4 years of great lacrosee. I honestly thought this was your year. You have an outstanding program. And although you will loose some tallent this year you have some quality players who gained valued playing time to help you for next year. You beat the best team in the Nation last year, and fell just short of going back to the State Title game This year. I applaud you, great job. How great will next year will be if Yorktown stay's in A, or if Jay goes up to A and Yorktown drops to B. I feel better already Section one lacrosee is great and fun to watch. And will be for quite some time Congratulations to John Jay on an outstanding season. And remember as long as you did your best that is all you can control.Weep ,weep, weep ,I'm getting misty.
As for Rye:
While I did not see much of them . (One time against Town) They should be very proud as well. Like Yorktown and Jay they play a very strong schedule, which is great. You should always want to test yourself. And while their season did not end with a state championship to make it to the tournment and the state semis is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations to the player, coaches and fans on Rye Lax.
Peace I'm out.
Atleast for a day or two.
CONGRATULATION TO ALL SECTION ONE LACROSEE TEAMS, COACHES AND FANS. NEXT YEAR STARTS TODAY.
Congratulations to all teams,
Joe- any word on the senior game this monday?
Re-lax
Great post, could not have summed it up any better (well, maybe Syracuse could have, but still great)! What a great season, I guess I will need to hit some local summer games and maybe hit a lizards game this summer to keep it going! Hopefully Syracuse, Slay? and the rest of the regulars will still be checking in here!
I, for one, do not get wrapped up in Empires, so the odds of me hanging around all that much remains to be seen. However, I am intrigued by Emps being in the Section I territories, so I hope to get to some games and then come to talk to you fine people about it.
There will be plenty of news this summer. Joe & Co. will be on top of it. Speaking of them, we should all offer a hearty THANK YOU to the Lohud staff for giving us this fine arena to discuss the game and our programs. Growing up, I had nothing like this. I relied on the newspaper the morning after and for the most part, information outside our section was extremely hard to get and alien.
Now we know everything as it happens. We know scores as far as 350 miles away as they happen. We get previews, breakdowns and the chance to rant. This is how the sport grows. It's not just what you see on Memorial Day weekend with the NCAA D-I Final Four. It's large crowds at high school games, regular season, inter-sectional, state tournament or otherwise.
To the guys on the board—Slacrosse, LacrosseInsider, Lax From Above, Re-Lax, LAX and many others—you guys are the cream of the crop, and not because you largely agree with me, but because you're all knowledgable and fair guys that love the game. It's reflective in what you write. Your passion is palpable. And frankly, my experience on this site would not be the same without any of you and the back and forth we share.
So, that said, let's continue to do this. We'll have our day in the sun some day. And what will make it extra special is the fact that despite we don't all root for the same programs, we understand how important the success of each program is to the betterment of Section I.
With that, I leave you for now. Please do yourself a favor and watch Tiger on Sunday at Torrey Pines. I bet at least he could beat West Genny.