Mattituck/Southold/Greenport (9-1 League IV, 10-2 overall) made the game of lacrosse look easy in front of a home crowd on Senior Day this afternoon in their final rehearsal for their rematch against Babylon.
Three different Tuckers scored three goals apiece in the 15-5 rout of the Port Jefferson Royals. The score was 12-2 at the half and many of the starters played very few minutes in the second half.
Tim Schmidt, Zach Holmes and Tommy Hoeg all recorded a hat-trick in the blowout. Schmidt’s three added to his team-leading 34 goals. Jack DiGregorio had a game-high four assists.
Before the game Tuckers head coach John Amato stressed that even though it was a day for the seniors, it was just another day and they still had work to do.
“We wanted to come out and execute on all our sets,” Amato said.
After a change from a power ranking system to leagues this year, the Tuckers are playing schools with similar enrollment numbers and finding instant success. The only team that has tripped up the team was Babylon, who beat them 12-8 in mid-april.
“Last time we played Babylon we anticipated having to play more zone so we practiced zone all week,” Amato said. “But then when it came to game time we found out that we can actually match up against them physically so we’re going to play man to man straight up.”
The biggest difference between his team in the beginning of the season to now is the chemistry, Amato said.
“Chemistry and knowing who we are,” Amato said. “I work these guys out so hard and they’re mentally tough and got through it and did that together which brought them together.”
To win the game against Babylon on Friday, Amato said that the Tuckers will have to, “play to win the game.”
“The boys have to realize we’re a great team and we can play with any team,” Amato continued.
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Courtney Blasl.
