HV advances to Empire State Cup final

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The first annual Empire State Cup is a boys lacrosse tournament based off the old Empire State Games model. Teams from six different regions of New York — Hudson Valley, New York City, Adirondack, Central, Long Island and Western — will battle for the gold up in Syracuse, New York from July 26-29.

Top-seeded Hudson Valley — which received a first-round playoff bye — defeated No. 4-seeded Long Island, 10-4, in the semifinals of the Empire State Cup on Saturday.

Hudson Valley — which improved to 6-0 overall — will square off against No. 2-seeded New York City in tomorrow's gold medal game at 12:30 p.m. New York City downed No. 3-seeded Western, 10-4, in its semifinal matchup.

Hudson Valley scored a narrow 6-5 win over New York City in pool play on Friday.

Against Long Island, Chris Santangelo turned in another impressive effort to lead Hudson Valley. The Rye standout tallied a team-high three goals and now has 14 for the tournament.

Yorktown's Brian Prestreau (2G, 1A), Hen Hud's Kevin McDermott (2G, 1A), Somers' Alex Corpolongo (1G, 1A), Lakeland/Panas' Brian Prunty (1G, 1A), Pelham's Zach Mermelstein (1G) and Yorktown's Luke Palmadesso (1A) rounded out the offensive production.

Lakeland/Panas' Michael Zingaro (7sv) and Don Bosco's (NJ) James Danaher (2sv) preserved the win with stellar goalie play/ Long Island managed just two goals over the final three quarters of play.

LEADERS

Goals
16 – John Januszkiewicz, Western
14 – Christopher Santangelo, Hudson Valley
13 – Michael Rastivo, New York City
12 – Matthew Heldberg, Long Island
12 – Christian Trasolini, Long Island
11 – Brian Prestreau, Hudson Valley
11 – Patrick O’Brien, Long Island
10 – Gale Thorpe, Central
10 – Colin Woolford, New York City
9 – Brian Prunty, Hudson Valley
9 – John Uppgren, New York City
9 – Connor Fields, Western

Assists
8 – Patrick O’Brien, Long Island
8 – John Januszkiewicz, Western
6 – Alex Corpolongo, Hudson Valley
6 – Michael Rastivo, New York City
5 – John Uppgren, New York City
5 – Connor Fields, Western
4 – Matthew Heldberg, Long Island
4 – Gale Thorpe, Central
4 – Anthony Ramaizel, Long Island
3 – Bradley Johnston, Adirondack
3 – Mitchell Rick, Adirondack
3 – Matthew Moran, Central
3 – Ryan Wright, Central
3 – Brian Prunty, Hudson Valley
3 – Eric Gannari, Long Island
3 – Austin Bishop, Western
3 – Austin Goltz, Western
3 – Matthew Kaser, Western
3 – James May, Western
3 – Tomothy Wagner, Western

Points
24 – John Januszkiewicz, Western
19 – Patrick O’Brien, Long Island
19 – Michael Rastivo, New York City
16 – Matthew Heldberg, Long Island
15 – Christopher Santangelo, Hudson Valley
14 – Gale Thorpe, Central
14 – John Uppgren, New York City
14 – Connor Fields, Western
13 – Brian Prestreau, Hudson Valley
13 – Christian Trasolini, Long Island
12 – Brian Prunty, Hudson Valley
10 – Mitchell Rick, Adirondack
10 – Alex Corpolongo, Hudson Valley

Saves
30 – Brenden Deady, Adirondack
30 – Michael Zingaro, Hudson Valley
29 – Taylor Ferrino, Western
27 – Kyle Lake, Western
26 – Daniel Katzman, New York City
25 – Dylan Moser, New York City
21 – Zachary Anderson, Adirondack
21 – Anthony Delosreyes, Long Island
19 – Maximillian Smith, Central
17 – David Hwang, Long Island

OVERALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Thursday
Western 11, Adirondack 3
Hudson Valley 11, Central 6
New York City 8, Long Island 4
Central 12, Adirondack 3
Hudson Valley 10, Long Island 8
New York City 10, Western 8

Friday
Hudson Valley 12, Adirondack 5
New York City 12, Central 6
Western 10, Long Island 6
Hudson Valley 6, New York City 5
Central 10, Western 9
Long Island 9, Adirondack 7
Hudson Valley 7, Western 6
New York City 8, Adirondack 6
Long Island 9, Central 5

Saturday (playoffs)
Long Island 9, Central 6
Western 11, Adirondack 5
Hudson Valley 10, Long Island 4
New York City 10, Western 4

Sunday (playoffs)
9:30 a.m. – No. 5 Central vs. No. 6 Adirondack (5th Place Game)
11 a.m. – No. 3 Western vs. No. 4 Long Island (Bronze Medal Game)
12:30 p.m. – No. 1 Hudson Valley vs. No. 2 New York City (Gold Medal Game)

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