Kyle Rudd was in the middle of getting bombarded with shots from an insatiable Elmont offense Friday afternoon.
The senior New Hyde Park lacrosse goalkeeper had been able to hold off the Spartan offense as the match spilled into overtime tied at five.
Eventually the Gladiator defense was able to work the ball up to the offensive side of the field and into the stick of junior midfielder Christian Trasolini – unmanned and able to make a bee line for the Elmont net. With less than 2 minutes to play in the extra fram, Trasolini fired a shot that whizzed past the goalie's stick right into the net, barely able to throw up his hands in celebration before being onslaught of his rushing teammates.
“That was a heck of a play,” New Hyde Park head coach Michael Milio said. "He was just in the right place at the right time and hit a great shot for us.”
After taking a 3-2 lead into the half, off the stick of midfielder Matt Dluginski, New Hyde Park extended their lead in the third, scoring twice midway through the quarter off goals from Dluginski – on his way to a game-high three tallies in the match – and Tim Brooks.
The Spartans however would make a run, putting up three to tie it over the remaining half to force the extra frame, including a pair from 6’3” midfielder Ben Odugbesan.
Milio said that the win was a team win and that he was proud of his guys for the way they bounced back. “It got a little tight there when Elmont scored those 3 goals to tie the game,” Milio said. “But our defense helped us out despite the fact that some our regular guys were injured and we had to rely on a few of our bench players."
The Spartans had multiple shots on goal late in the fourth quarter by Odugbesan and Brandon Brown (2 goals) but sailed wide of the net from close range, leaving the teams to fight it out in sudden death before Trasolini hit his shot.
New Hyde Park is now 3-3 in conference and will play Wheatley/Carle Place on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Elmont is 1-4 and will play home against Mepham on Tuesday.
1 2 3 4 OT F New Hyde Park 2 1 2 0 1 6 Elmont 1 1 1 2 0 5 New Hyde Park Scoring Statistics Player Goals Assts Matt Dluginski 3 2 Tim Brooks 2 2 Christian Trasolini 1 0 Chris Podbielski 0 1 New Hyde Park Goalkeeping Saves Kyle Rudd 18 Dan Chiofalo 2Elmont Scoring Statistics Player Goals Assts Brandon Brown 2 0 Ben Odugbesan 2 0 Kyle Johnson 1 0 Elmont Goalkeeping Saves Marvin Sibrian 9
