Luke Solferino & Kieran Paskewitz fight for a loose ball. This past Sunday, the third grade boys' Blue lacrosse team took on the Oyster Bay Rough Riders at St. Paul's. The Rough Riders got off to very fast start, and despite several saves by first half goalie Liam Glynn and tough defense by the GC team, their opponents outstanding passing and powerful shots quickly resulted in a 4-0 deficit. The boys never quit, however, and the game became more evenly matched. Pat Kavan and Connor Clark provided tough defense. Middies Andrew Costigan, Colin Crean, Brian Greene, Matt Desimpliciis, Ryan George and Kyle MacLeod ran relentlessly up and down the field pressuring their opponents on defense and creating opportunities on offense. Attack Nicholas Bambino, Stephen Adams and Nolan Pappas pressured the Rough Rider defense , and much to Garden City's dismay, the Rough Rider came up with quite a few awesome saves. Our boys continued pressing, and middies Kieran Paskewitz, Ian Gallagher and Liam Muldoon fought hard picking up ground balls and feeding the ball to the GC attack.

John McDonald makes a terrific save! As the game continued, the GC boys peppered the Rough Rider goalie, and Kieran Paskewitz's powerful shot put one in and put GC on the board. Brian Greene was next when he released a well placed shot fr the second Garden City goal, and GC was now back in the game. The entire team contributed and continued to play hard while the Rough Riders continued to pass well and make runs into the GC end of the field. Second half goalkeeper John McDonald made several spectacular saves, then feeding the ball to GC middies John Brennan, Brendan Fitzgerald and Jack Tynan who tirelessly pressured the Oyster Bay team. Attack Ryan George received a well placed pass in front of Oyster Bay net, but was flattened by the Rough Rider defense before he could release his shot. Our boys continued to apply pressure to their opponent, and GC put another well-placed shot in the back of the net. The boys from GC were closing in. The Rough Riders continued to press, and despite tremendous efforts by the GC defense, Oyster Bay was able to slip one in. However, yet again, the Garden City Blue Team pressed on. Liam Muldoon scooped up a loose ball near mid field and executing some impressive stick work, fired a powerful shot past the Oyster Bay goalie. Middies Luke Solferino, Kieran Paskewitz, and Matt Desimpliicis continued to run the field and keep the GC team in the game. Colin Crean, Andrew Costigan and Brian Greene contributed with their fine efforts feeding the ball to Nolan Pappas, Brendan Fitzgerald and Jack Tyan on attack. Defensemen Pat Kavan, Connor Clark, Ian Gallagher and John McDonald stepped up their defense efforts, refusing to let their opponents get into their zone. In the closing minutes, Liam Muldoon won a hard fought loose ball, and ran it in to tie the score. The fans went wild! The boys had fought back from a 4-0 deficit, and the game was now tied at 5. As the clocked ticked off the closing minutes of the game, GC again won the ball and put forward another tremendous effort to get the ball into their opponent's net, and Liam Muldoon completed his hat trick with the game winning goal. Final score Garden City 6, Oyster Bay 5.

Matthew Desimpliciis takes off with the ball.

Connor Clark is strong on defense.