After losing last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Dominic boys coach Tom Rooney had plenty of questions concerning the potential ceiling of the 2021 squad.
But after adding transfer students Patrick Crawley and Michael Skoros, Rooney realized the additions helped provide the Bayhawks defend the league title they won in 2019.
“Pat and Michael really rounded out our team and made it complete,” Rooney said after St. Dominic’s 13-3 victory over Kennedy Catholic in the CHSAA Class A final on June 9.
Skoros tallied two goals and three assists, while Crawley added two goals.
Casey Johnson led the way for the Bayhawks (11-2) with four goals and three assists, and Michael Micena added three goals and two assists.
St. Dominic took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised home. Leading 5-1 at halftime, the Bayhawks tacked on another eight goals in the second half. Goalkeeper Michael Ippoliti had nine saves.
Rooney said a 14-12 win over St. John the Baptist on May 27 convinced him his team was of championship caliber.
“I kind of thought that we had all the pieces at that point,” Rooney said. We had a strong offense and great defense, and our goalie was phenomenal.”
Nassau A final
No. 2 Farmingdale made it to Tuesday’s Nassau Class A final matchup against No. 1 Syosset after defeating No. 3 Port Washington on Friday, 6-4. Farmingdale (11-2) will look for its first county title since 2011.
Farmingdale is one of only two teams to defeat Syosset this season, 6-5 on June 1.
Coach Mike Hungerford said the message he’ll give his team will center around focus.
“As well as we played in that game, we easily could have lost,” Hungerford said. “The message is going to be that just because we beat them once, we’ve got to prepare. Championship games are different. Guys play harder and there’s less room for error. When two good teams play everything is complicated and you have to earn everything.”
