Albert Paniccia knew that it would be a while before the gravity of the moment would completely sink in.
But there was one thing he knew immediately. This was a memory that would last a lifetime.
Paniccia netted the game-winning goal in double-overtime as Friends completed a late fourth-quarter rally to defeat Port Jefferson, 15-14, in the Long Island Class D boys lacrosse championship at East Islip Middle School on Saturday.
Following a faceoff, Paniccia raced down the left side, tumbled down and bounced a shot into the back of the net that secured Friends the Long Island crown for the first time in program history.
“It’s such a blur,” said the senior midfielder, who had five goals and one assist. “But it’s just happiness. It’s definitely something I’ll remember for a lifetime. It’s going to be good to come back to Friends and see that banner hanging up.
“It’s just amazing. It hasn’t hit me yet but I’m sure it will in the next couple of days.”
Trailing 14-10 with a little less than five minutes remaining in regulation, it appeared that Friends’ hopes had all but vanished.
The Royals (9-7) had completely seized momentum after overcoming an early 8-2 deficit and took their first lead of the day at 11-10 with five minutes to go in the third.
But the Quakers (11-1) came storming back down the stretch, thanks to two goals from Ben Lee, one from Michael Walrath and the tying goal from Thomas Robin — all seniors — with 46.5 seconds left.
“That just says so much about this team,” Friends coach Bill Garry said. “They didn’t think they were out of it. We talked about how they scored four goals on us in three minutes and we could do the same thing. It was a scrappy game and we held it together.”
Walrath had three goals and one assist, and Thanasi Pappas had seven saves in the win.
After Paniccia’s fourth goal of the first half extended Friends’ advantage to 8-2 with 9:44 left in the second, Port Jefferson began to find its stride. The Royals scored five of the final six goals entering the locker room, as Daniel Koban and Brady Dewitt capped off the run with goals in the final two minutes, cutting the Friends’ lead to 9-7 at halftime.
“It felt like we won the first half, but after that, our spirits got low,” Walrath said. “The coaches brought us together and told us we had to dig deep. And we did, and now we’re champs.”
Lee, a senior who netted four goals, said: “I have probably never been this happy before. This is everything we’ve dreamed about since our freshman year.”
