There’s a lot of different ways to describe Wantagh midfielder Joe Nicholson. Not only does he bring physical and punishing defense, but the junior will be just as threatening when winding up a shot.

Coach James Polo settled on “classic, two-way midfielder.” And while that certainly fits Nicholson, there’s another adjective that fits just as well — clutch.

Nicholson powered Wantagh boys lacrosse to a 9-7 win in a Nassau Conference I game at Farmingdale on Tuesday, scoring two fourth-quarter goals to keep his side ahead.

“I just knew I had to take the game over,” Nicholson said. “It was getting close — it was back-and-forth all game — and I just did what I could.”

He gave Wantagh a three-goal advantage with 4:26 remaining, causing a turnover before scooping the ground ball and going the distance to score. Nicholson also had two assists, with all but one of his five points coming in the second half after Farmingdale goalie Matt Hughes made 10 impressive first-half saves.

“We stuck together and battled adversity,” Nicholson said. “The goalie was really good, but we kept shooting on him.”

It’s only the fourth time this season Wantagh (10-4) allowed fewer than eight goals. Goalie Gianni Passaro made 14 saves.

Wantagh’s Luke Martini and Dylan Martini continue to score, netting three and two goals, respectively. But both brothers also made an impact on defense, with the latter forcing three turnovers and the former providing tight defense behind the cage.

“They realized they both have to be complete players,” Polo said. “When they buy into the defense, that makes our defense a lot tougher. When they buy into the team offense, they can do what they want to do.”

Sean Schumeyer scored three goals for Farmingdale (8-7), with two coming off assists from Dean Kott. Hughes finished with 16 saves. Lucas Galvez gave the Dalers a chance to come back by answering Nicholson’s score with one of his own, but a flagged push and a costly offsides call impeded Farmingdale’s chances.

Wantagh will get the chance to lock up its seeding in Nassau Class C against Bethpage on Friday. Polo said his team has learned a new lesson with each game, and there was no exception Tuesday.

“Today was to work hard, out-tough them and pick up the ground balls,” Polo said. “It was all about being a good group defensively and pulling it all together for the playoff run with a good, solid team game. And I feel like we did that today.”