It was an-on-the-edge-of-your-seat contest on May 1 at MacArthur High School as the Hicksville Comets pulled through in a grueling 12-11 affair against the Generals. The boys escaped with a win and improved their conference record to 7-2. This win not only boosted their overall record to 10-4, but solidified a playoff spot under coach Mike Skudin’s inaugural season.
“The season has been awesome,” said Skudin. “We have a great group of guys and a great staff that are working hard to get to the top.”
The first quarter was in favor of the Comets. Despite giving up the early lead, the Comets went on to blitz the Generals for six straight goals. Two of those goals came from attacker Mike Osmundsen. Hicksville controlled the play by applying pressure on the opposing goalie and also took advantage of several turnovers and mistakes from the Generals. The Generals added a late goal, ending the first quarter down by four.
Osmundsen would go on to add two more goals in the second quarter, finishing the evening with four goals and an assist. He would open the quarter with his third goal giving the Comets a commanding 7-2 lead. The Generals would fight back in the second with four unanswered goals. The Comets lost a little bit of their composure, suffering a couple of defensive mishaps, taking a few penalties and couldn’t move the ball down the field. What appeared to be a blowout would turn into a 8-7 game going into the half.
The game went down to the wire with both sides scoring four goals each. Both defenses tightened up as there were more scoring opportunities on both ends.
Midfielder Brian Lang came up big for the Comets. After both sides scored a goal, Lang would score what eventually stood out as the game winner at 5:19. After the Generals tied the game at 11, Lang won a crucial faceoff, brought the ball down the field and fired a nice shot giving the Comets the lead. He finished the night with a hat trick and two assists. Osmundsen and Lang lead the team in points with 71 and 58 for the season respectively.
Goaltender Isiah Pizan made 12 saves on 23 shots. The one that made the difference was in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter where he made a save that left Skudin and the bench speechless.
“That was a crazy save!” said Skudin. “I don’t really have any words because he stepped up when he had to and he was unbelievable.”
Finally, the Comets held on to a nail-biting 12-11 victory. This game was one of their most hard fought victories of the year. It all came down to getting contributions from everyone. Skudin hopes that this trend continues in their next matchup against Port Washington at Paul Schreiber High School Thursday May 7.
At the end of the day, the Hicksville High School boys varsity lacrosse team were excited about the win and Skudin couldn’t have asked for a better group to do it with.
“This game was what it’s all about,” said Skudin. “The excitement from the guys on the sideline and on the field was unmeasurable.”
