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Anthony Raio, Half Hollow Hills dominate for Suffolk Class A championship

Published 1 week ago3 minute read

Unmatched and unbeaten, dominant and deadly. There’s no shortage of words to describe Half Hollow Hills boys lacrosse and yet describing its county title defense Saturday makes one feel speechless.

Half Hollow Hills scored eight consecutive goals to open the game and went on to win 18-9 over No. 2 Northport in the Suffolk Class A championship. Anthony Raio (three goals, three assists) set the tone early, not just with his points but with two caused turnovers, the first of which leading directly to a Luke Bradley goal.

Hills led 11-4 at halftime as Northport struggled against Hills’ ride, failing to clear the ball nine times.

“Those extra possessions are important,” Raio said. “You watch the [collegiate] national championships, those games are won based on the riding and clearing. It was definitely an emphasis on our entire attack line.”

There’s no doubt in the best attack lineup on Long Island, residing in Half Hollow Hills with Raio, Zach Marco (four goals, two assists) and James Bruno (four goals). But when paired with a dominant day at the faceoff X by senior Nico Ghicas — who won 20 of 29 faceoffs — Hills looks as close to unbeatable as any team has this spring.

Coach Connor Hagans walked up to Ghicas in the third quarter and slapped him on the chest, embracing his faceoff star.

“He was telling me how he believed in me, how much he loves me and how tight we are,” Ghicas said.

Add in a speedy Bradley (two goals, two assists) and an incredibly impressive Jake Casamento (two caused turnovers) as a pole, and Hills never looked in danger Saturday afternoon.

“We’re always playing for each other,” Raio said. “These are my best friends for my life and that’s just what makes it so good, because we have that chemistry and we love each other.”

It was a different day than the tight 16-14 win Hills enjoyed over Northport (16-3) in the regular season, which remains the tightest win this undefeated team has seen this spring. That game saw Ryan Chung dominate, with the senior adding another two goals and an assist Saturday to his season total.

Saturday’s championship saw his younger brother Daniel Chung provide key minutes on both defense and the attack.

“He’s my role model,” Daniel Chung said, with emotion creeping in. “Everything I do, he just teaches me everything.”

Hills (19-0) will continue its season and take on the winner of Massapequa and Port Washington in Wednesday’s Long Island championship game.

“The feeling is amazing,” Daniel Chung said. “You can’t experience anything else like this. All the work we put it in just leads to this.”

Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.

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