Chris Prainito's six goals and four assists drive Harborfields boys lacrosse past Westhampton
Chris Prainito of Harborfields drives downfield during a lacrosse game against Westhampton on Monday in Greenlawn. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Christopher Prainito is putting together a season that’s hard to ignore. The Harborfields senior attackman, still uncommitted, leads Suffolk with 67 points through eight games.
His dominance continued Monday evening. Prainito had six goals and four assists to lead host Harborfields to a 15-5 victory over Westhampton in Suffolk II boys lacrosse.
“This year is a young group. I played as a freshman and I looked up to the seniors,” Prainito said. “Now it’s my turn. There’s a lot of young talent and versatility on this team, and it was a big win today.”
Prainito scored two goals and had one assist in the opening frame. The first tally was a time-and-room shot going top shelf, followed by a dodge from X that turned into a finish in front. Harborfields led 5-1 after the first quarter.
“Chris makes it all go,” Harborfields coach Glenn Lavey said. “For a guy who has the ball a lot, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He knows how to run the offense, and he knows when he has to do Chris things and make a play for us.”
Harborfields continued to apply pressure and dominated the faceoff X. A limping Mason LaRocco went 7-for-9 from the faceoff dot in the first half, giving the Tornadoes control of possession and an 8-1 lead at halftime.
“I’ve been hurting most of this season. It’s always something, but I’ve learned to overcome it,” LaRocco said. “And I would’ve never thought my senior season would be going this well. We’re all working together, and it’s one big family.”
Jake Calloway of Westhampton (6-2) had two goals in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes were limited to their lowest goal output of the season. Harborfields goalie Frank DiPalo had 14 saves.
“It started as a whole team just playing as one,” DiPalo said. “We were playing hard, everyone was talking today, and we stood together.”
The win puts Harborfields at 7-1, matching its best start to a season since 2023, and Prainito being uncommitted is something bound to change.
“They have all been trusting in the process in what we’ve been doing,” Lavey said. “We got humbled in the last game, and they came back with the two best practices of the season. The effort was the best we had all year.”