Players That Impressed in the NYS “C” and “D” Semi-Finals

The junior headed to Towson put on a clinic in the state semifinals. When the Phantoms needed to get their offense going, they turned to Curran and he delivered. The crafty lefty played a role in all four of Bayport's first half goals and finished with 1 goal and 4 assists. His goal came off a hard dodge on the wing, when Curran got underneath his defender and sniped a lefty shot on the run. Two of Curran's feeds came on quick looks to the crease where he found his teammate in a tight window for crucial goals. His best highlight came at the end of the first half. Curran was operating against his defender and he threw a perfect behind the back pass to his teammate for the easy finish. With how the defense was playing I'm not sure if an overhand pass would get there, the BTB feed was the right play and Bayport capitalized. When trailing 5-4, Curran got stripped but he immediately goosed the ball toward the endline. Curran picked it up with two defenders chasing him and threw a one hand pass to keep the ball in. This then gave Bayport numbers and they cashed in on an unsettled situation, as Curran collected the hockey assist.

Morris didn't want to go home just yet. The senior headed to the Naval Academy tallied two goals and dished out three assists to help the Phantoms come back and defeat Rye in an epic game. Morris plays midfield for Bayport and even occasionally takes faceoffs. He was all over the field impacting the game anyway he could. But what he does best is shoot the rock. And in the second half, the lefty sniper had two game changing goals in this semi-final battle that were ultimately the difference. When Bayport was trailing 5-4, the Phantoms had an unsettled situation and it was Morris who capitalized. He caught a pass from X and he stepped in from 15 where he unleashed a low laser to tie it up. With 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bayport and Rye were knotted up at 7. Bayport was up two players and Morris scored the go-ahead goal on the EMO. He stepped in from the low lefty shooting spot and had one of the prettiest shots of the day. A low to high rip that went top shelf to put Bayport up by 1 and they would go onto win 9-8.

 Bayport faced a big problem early in this game. Princeton commit Tyler McDermott had three impressive goals for Rye in the first quarter and he looked unstoppable in the opening frame. The Phantoms made an adjustment for the next three quarters. They told junior Ryan Atheran to lock him off and end his production. And for the most part, Atheran did just that. He held McDermott scoreless when teams were even, and the star for Rye only had 1 more goal the entire game and it came on an EMO where Bayport played them straight up. He denied him the ball for almost the whole second quarter which slowed down McDermott's momentum. He kept the ball away from him and he played good man defense when he was needed in a very difficult assignment. He will be on plenty of coaches' radars after this postseason he has put together.

The hero for Cold Spring Harbor had a fantastic performance in the state semi final. He did a little bit of everything but we have to start off with the play people will talk about for years to come. Tied up at 5 with 2:25 to go, McGloin was working up top where he spun back to his left hand. McGloin then changed speeds and went hard down the alley. He was able to run by his defender and hammer a lefty shot into the low corner to give Cold Spring Harbor a 6-5 lead. That play ultimately sent the Seahawks to their third straight state championship game. Besides the game winning play, McGloin had 2 goals and embraced the Cold Spring Harbor brand by doing the little things. The two way midfielder was great defensively. He's very athletic and disciplined on defense. He had a nice crowbar check and was steady in his matchups. On offense, his speed and strength gives him a big advantage. His other goal was when his defender pressed out and got too aggressive, McGloin made him pay by running past him for a shot on the run where he connected. 

The top close defender for the Seahawks was given a tall task. Cold Spring harbor played man defense for the first three quarters and he was assigned to cover Pleasantville's top player, Daniel Picard, committed to Richmond. Pisano thrived in this matchup and held Picart off the scoreboard. He locked him off at times in this game, but when he had to play defense, his positioning and aggressiveness allowed him to control the matchup. Pisano made some key plays down the stretch for the Seahawks. When CSH led 4-3 in the third quarter, Pisano won a battle for a loose ball, as he fought off two players, he batted the ball to the other side of the field. This created a transition opportunity where Cold Spring Harbor cashed in to take a 5-3 lead. When they switched to zone in the fourth quarter, Pisano was the leader on the crease. In a tie game, he knocked down with under 4 minutes left to disrupt Pleasantville's offense. Cold Spring Harbor would go down and score on their next possession for the game winning goal. 

He didn't have the flashiest game on paper, but it was evident that the Michigan commit was the best offensive player on the field. He demands so much attention from the defense, as his explosive dodging is difficult to contain. He has a second gear where he can accelerate past defenders and he made P Ville's defense move constantly. He had two amazing feeds that should've resulted in assists but his teammates couldn't capitalize. Bauer created several chances for this Cold Spring Harbor offense and finished with 1 goal on the day. He scored on the first possession for the Seahawks. He stepped in from just under 15 yards for a right handed cannon that beat the goalie low.