Half Hollow Hills boys lacrosse's Nick Haugen scores three goals in quarterfinal victory over Lindenhurst
Nick Haugen of Half Hollow Hills takes a shot on net in the first quarter of a Suffolk Class A quarterfinal matchup against Lindenhurst on Friday, May 22, 2026, in Dix Hills. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
When Jake Casamento was asked what he wanted people to know about this year’s Half Hollow Hills boys lacrosse team — a group following up Hills’ 2025 undefeated state championship squad — he responded bluntly.
“We’re not the same team from the start of the season,” Casamento said.
What does that mean?
“At the start of the season, we were playing for ourselves more than each other,” Casamento continued. ”We took a look back at last year. It doesn’t matter if you score or someone else scores, you’re just as excited as if you scored.”
Hills started the season with three straight losses, with the last coming at home to Lindenhurst. When Lindenhurst returned Friday for a playoff game, Casamento’s words were put to the test, and he couldn’t have been more right.
No. 4 Half Hollow Hills stormed to a 16-8 home win over No. 5 Lindenhurst in the Suffolk Class A quarterfinals. Hills trailed 3-2 with 5:16 left in the first quarter and scored 10 consecutive goals to take a 12-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
Hills will travel to top-seeded Northport at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday for a semifinal in a rematch of last year’s county final.
Highlights from Hills v Lindenhurst:
— Michael Sicoli (@Michael__Sicoli) May 23, 2026
Excellent save by LH’s Brandon Ramirez — one of 13 saves.
HHH’s Nick Haugen hustles his way to score.
HHH’s Mikey Labovitz makes a point-blank saves, then forces the turnover.
HHH’s Jake Casamento has a pole goal, showcasing that power. pic.twitter.com/0HNewL6X7H
A defense led by Casamento — who had six caused turnovers — fellow captain Sal Caiazzo, Christopher Nolan and Pierce Malaby did an excellent job in forcing tight angles and shot clock violations. Paired with Casamento’s ability to clear the ball and Mikey Labovitz’s 10 saves, Hills (12-5) never looked out of control after the first quarter.
“I think we have one of the best defenses in the county,” Hills coach Connor Hagans said. “We have great players from top to bottom, and they bought in. We challenged them after giving up [14] goals the first time [against Lindenhurst] to keep it low, and they took care of business.”
Senior Nick Haugen starred with three goals and one assist. Yet the new contributors to this Hills team are also why the RedColts are thriving. Sophomores Aidan Ozsvath, Jeffrey Kleinman and Lucas Rodriguez combined for 16 points.
“It meant everything,” said Ozsvath, who had two goals and five assists. “I just didn’t want to let the seniors down. They’ve done a lot for us, even last year.”
Lindenhurst (11-6) enjoyed its most successful regular season in 13 years. Joe Scavone IV will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in goals (175) and points (281), and Delvani Valdivia has been a mainstay at the faceoff X with 1,184 career faceoff attempts, going 15-of-27 against Hills’ Colton Raio (9-for-23) and Lucas Chung (3-for-4).
For Hills, the season isn’t over just yet.
“The more time we have together, the better we’ve gotten,” Hagans said.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
