Kellenberg boys lacrosse reaches state CHSAA final
Kellenberg midfielder Jack Geoghan stood at midfield, waiting for the whistle to restart the game late in the fourth quarter as he stared down a double-team of St. Joseph Collegiate defenders.
Suddenly he burst forward, muscling along the sideline before turning toward goal and flipping a pass to teammate Eoin Power who put the chance away.
That assist was Geoghan’s first of the game, but that sheer power and strength saw the senior score four goals earlier to send host Kellenberg boys lacrosse past St. Joseph’s, 14-7, in the Class AA CHSAA state semifinal and Intersectional championship in Uniondale Friday.
“We have a great brotherhood going on here,” Geoghan said. “Everyone gets in early, leaving blood sweat and tears on the field every day. It just feels great to get to the state championship.”
Kellenberg (11-5) returns to the state championship Sunday at noon against host Iona Prep.
Nothing came easy early for Kellenberg, but unforced turnovers and failed clears made life harder than it needed to be. Attackman Haydn Wells scored two goals for St. Joseph’s (9-10-1) inside the final minute of the second quarter as Kellenberg stumbled into halftime with a 4-3 lead.
“We usually come out and be a third-quarter team, which we need to work on,” Geoghan said. “We can’t come out flat on Sunday.”
That led to a 10-goal second half, including a 6-1 advantage in the fourth, for Kellenberg as midfielder Ryan Sarro, Geoghan and attackman Jamison Heneghan scored consecutively to open the final period.
Defenseman Stephen Kiernan looked unbeatable throughout the afternoon and added a goal with 1:11 remaining in the fourth on top of his three caused turnovers.
“I was looking for it all game,” Kiernan said. “It all worked out, got one-on-one with the goalie and [shot it] top right.”
Sarro finished with three goals and one assist, with his highlight being one to remember as a slick behind-the-back finish to give Kellenberg a 9-6 lead just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“It was hype,” Sarro said. “I wasn’t expecting to shoot it, I got it and reacted.”
Attackman Donovan O’Toole added two goals, showcasing serious speed on the first and perfect precision on the second with a laser to the far corner of the cage. FOGO Gavin Antonik was dominant at the faceoff X, winning 17 of 23 faceoffs.
“We’re not just a one-guy team,” Geoghan said. “Everyone’s got four, three, two, one [goals], so everyone’s contributing.”
“Just a complete buy-in from all,” Sarro added.
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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