Outside of a game where a championship trophy is hoisted after its conclusion, there is nothing bigger in the sport of lacrosse on Long Island than the Wood Stick Classic.
The longest uninterrupted high school lacrosse rivalry in the nation will be renewed Saturday at 7 p.m. when Manhasset hosts Garden City in the 123rd edition of the Wood Stick Classic.
The rivalry was born in 1935, with the Indians pulling off a 9-0 victory. While Manhasset leads the all-time series 65-27, Garden City has won three straight games and 14 of the last 17 contests. The Trojans captured last year’s encounter, 9-3, at home.
Steve Finnell is intimately aware of the importance of the Wood Stick Classic. He’s not coached Garden City in the game for seven years, but he also played in it five times when he was on the Trojans from 1989-1991.
“You have two towns that are very similar, many of the kids are friends, their families know each other,” Finnell said. “The approach for the game starts at a pretty young level and its ingrained into the kids head how important playing Manhasset or Garden City at a young age. It’s a rivalry, but there’s a great deal of respect between the two programs.”
Garden City is the defending state Class B champions, having won three consecutive Long Island titles and seven straight Nassau crowns. The Trojans are led by Duke-bound attack Justin Guterding, who amassed 52 goals and 40 assists as a junior a year ago. The lefty already has 22 goals and 10 assists this year.
While Guterding anchors a young offensive attack, the Garden City defense is again steady, led by the duo of Ed Blatz and Scott D’Antonio, while sophomore James Sullivan has been a faceoff maestro. He can be instrumental in what is expected to be a low-scoring affair.
Garden City, which takes on Bellmore-JFK Wednesday before facing Manhasset, has endured its share of growing pains this season after an undefeated year. The Trojans are 6-2 following a 7-3 loss at Ward Melville.
“We’re playing very well defensively and still tying to figure out everything on offense,” Finnell said. “We’re trying to figure out what the best combination of attackmen and middies are right now.”
Coached by Bill Cherry, who is in his seventh year, Manhasset (5-3) is led by versatile senior Michael Fahey, who can play up front or in the midfield. Fahey, who will play at Williams College next year, has 14 goals and five assists.
Fairfield-bound Tommy Lavelle has 12 goals and four assists this year, while the defense is anchored by three-sport captain Nick Zenobio, who also plays football and wrestles.
While the two neighborhoods are very similar, the same is true of the teams this year. Both are tough to score on and both have struggled to score this year. There promises to be plenty of intensity, even if the goals are at a premium.
“I think we’re kind of mirror images right now, both playing pretty good defense and both struggling on the offensive end,” Finnell said. “We’re just trying to concentrate on ourselves right now.”
