Sports

Boys Lacrosse: In the end, momentum lands on Tuckers’ side

Mattituck:Greenport:Southold lacrosse player Tyler Siefert 040516

Perhaps no sport is more dependent on momentum than lacrosse.

When you’re on a roll, you can’t afford to give it up.

When you don’t have it, you’re desperate to grab it.

Twice the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold high school boys lacrosse team tipped the momentum in its favor during its 15-9 Suffolk County Division III victory over Port Jefferson Tuesday.

The first instance came in the opening quarter. The Tuckers (1-3, 1-1) kept on giving away the ball on offense. They relied on their defending and the goaltending of Rob Kruzseski to keep them in the game before striking for four successive goals in the final 76 seconds of the period to turn a one-goal deficit into a 4-1 advantage.

Tyler Siefert (two goals), Max Kruzseski (two goals), Tim Schmidt (five goals) and Dylan Marlborough (one goal), after he won a faceoff, scored in that order to turn things around.

Nursing a 5-2 lead late in the second period, Mattituck faced another challenge as back-to-back penalties on Lucas Webb and another on Max Kruzseski forced the Tuckers to defend with a man disadvantage for 1:23 and two men down for another 37 seconds.

Rob Kruzseski produced a key save on the Royals’ Marco Scarda with 2:31 remaining.

After Port Jefferson’s Garret Hiz was assessed a penalty with 2:20 left, Schmidt tallied a man-up goal 12 seconds later to push the tide in Mattituck’s favor at 6-2. Jeff Hauser connected with 39.4 seconds to go to give the Tuckers a 7-2 halftime lead.

Mattituck extended its lead to 13-4 with 8:39 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Royals (1-4, 1-1) staged a late comeback that fell short.

Brian Mark led the Royals with five goals.

Tom Hoeg had two goals for Mattituck.

Photo caption: Tyler Siefert, who scored twice for Mattituck/Greenport/Southold, charges past Port Jefferson’s Bill Govits. (Credit: Garret Meade)