Sports

Boys Lacrosse: Blue Waves open season with solid win

RIVERHEAD 11, LINDENHURST 5

Riverhead lacrosse is back. It was just a matter of time.

Riverhead opened its league schedule with a 11-5 victory over Lindenhurst at the Pulaski Street Complex Tuesday afternoon. Young and hungry, the Blue Waves seem ready to tangle with the best teams in the division.

When the school budget was voted down twice in 2020 by Riverhead residents, athletics was among the programs to be cut. The move saved the district $960,000. The ripple effect it caused, however, left the program needing to be rebuilt. Many top athletes left the district.

In a December 2020 board meeting, the district said they overlooked some insurance costs and decided unanimously to reinstate the spring season. But by then, the damage was already done: Riverhead lacrosse head coach Vic Guadagnino was left with a very young team — most of them freshmen.

Those freshmen are now juniors. They’ve been through two tough varsity seasons, and now it’s their time to shine. Three of those freshmen, now juniors — Griffin Sumwalt, Zach Timpone and Danny Healy — are now Riverhead’s three captains and boy, did they have themselves a game.

Sumwalt was on a scoring rampage all game as he thundered into the Lindenhurst box time and time again. In the opening minute, he netted Riverhead’s first goal. Later in the first quarter, he scored a second to extend the Blue Waves lead to 2-0.

“Our team was playing really well,” Sumwalt said. “I kept getting those open looks on the backside. We were on the ball today. The chemistry was there.”

Momentum started to shift in the second quarter as the Blue Waves began playing more sloppily and turnovers arrived in bunches. A 4-1 lead was cut to 4-3 as Lindenhurst (0-1 League I, 1-2 overall) nailed a goal with 7 seconds remaining before halftime.

“In the first half, I felt like we got good looks but didn’t finish our shots,” Guadagnino said. “We didn’t communicate well. We were getting ground balls, finishing checks but we just left some goals out there in the first half.”

Riverhead (1-0 League I, 3-0 overall) emerged in the second half in complete control. In the box, Timpone found Sumwalt, who quickly deposited the shot in the back of the net just 10 seconds into the quarter. Then Timpone started getting into the action, scoring three goals of his own to put the game out of reach for Lindenhurst.

“We play like we’re brothers,” Timpone said. “A bunch of guys left us but we fought through it. We put in the hard work. It’s time to go back to the playoffs.”

Timpone and Sumwalt scored a combined 11 points for the Blue Waves.

“I think we’ve been working hard each and every day,” Sumwalt said. “And the results are showing. We all want to win and do everything we can do to so.”

Guadagnino agreed.“There’s a reason these guys are captains,” the coach said. “They set the standard for the program.”

Though the goal-scorers get most of the recognition, the defense has been the X factor early in the season. Skull-crushing blows, quick reactions to loose balls and off-ball communicating has led to Riverhead’s 3-0 record. The defense has only allowed 11 goals in three games and defenseman Healy is without a doubt always right in the center of all the action. He corralled eight ground balls, many of which he dislodged himself with aggressive defense, and proved to be a brick wall for any attackman trying to get inside.

“No goals can come easy,” Healy said. “Nobody should get a clean shot off on our defense. They should always be picking themselves off the ground.”

Things are starting to click for Riverhead. The future is bright.

“Last year we didn’t make the playoffs,” Healy said. “We were young. Obviously we had a lot of kids leave. But we’ve been working so hard. We want to get back to where Riverhead was before. We want to get to the playoffs and get that chip.”

Riverhead returns to action on Friday at home against Half Hollow Hills as they continue to build on their early season momentum.

“We want to go back to where we were the last decade,” Guadagnino said. “We have a chance to do it. We have kids that are committed to doing this and coaches that are committed to doing it and fans that are committed to doing it. So why not? Let’s get Riverhead back.”