Paige Garguilo comes up big late to lift Massapequa girls lacrosse to Nassau Class A title

Paige Garguilo saw the ball lying on the ground in front of the net and understood it wouldn’t be there for long. Without much time to think, the Massapequa senior pounced on the rebound and immediately scored with barely more than a minute left to give Massapequa a two-goal lead.

But Garguilo wasn’t done creating game-defining moments just yet.

Less than 20 seconds later, Garguilo caused a turnover at midfield and secured a possession that top-seeded Massapequa never surrendered en route to an 11-9 win over No. 2 Port Washington in the Nassau Class A girls lacrosse final at Adelphi on Tuesday night.

“She’s built for big moments,” coach Brendan Gaghan said. “That’s just who she is. There’s nothing she’s scared of. And when I saw that ball on the ground and her in the area, I knew she was going to pick that ball up. There was no doubt in my mind and at the end of the day, that’s just who she is.”

“I knew I needed to take initiative and that one final goal would solidify the game,” Garguilo said. “When the opportunity came, I knew I had to gain control.”

That goal with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter was Garguilo’s fifth of the contest and secured the program’s fifth straight Nassau Class A title.

Massapequa (12-7) plays the Suffolk Class A champion in the Long Island Class A championship at Adelphi on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Port Washington (9-9) opened a 3-1 lead early in the second quarter before Massapequa rallied to tie the score at 4 at halftime. Massapequa started the second half fast with four goals over the first 3:24 of the third quarter to take an 8-4 advantage.

“We’ve been in these games before,” Gaghan said. “This was nothing new to them. Every game this year, I think at some point we were losing. It’s just the way we are. We like to dig ourselves out of a hole.”

That wouldn’t be Massapequa’s final hurdle as Port Washington rallied to score the final four goals of the third quarter, tying the contest at 8 entering the fourth quarter.

“Lacrosse is the fastest game on two feet, so we knew they were going to get some momentum swings and we’re going to get some momentum swings,” senior midfielder Isabella Grosso said. “It was all about how we respond.”

Grosso, who had three goals, was in the middle of many of the most important plays of the game, including scoring with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter to break a tie at 9. Gaghan called Grosso “one of the best two-way midfielders on Long Island,” and said he felt she played the best game he’s seen her play on Tuesday.

“At Massapequa, we are known for winning and that’s the standard, to win,” Grosso said. “So honestly, the job’s not finished yet and we’re not satisfied. Not until we win that Long Island championship and get even further and get our vengeance at states this year.”

Massapequa is seeking its third straight Long Island championship but still is chasing the program's first state title.

“They want this more than anything,” Gaghan said. “We’ve gone to states two years in a row and they are just itching and itching and itching to get back up there again. Today, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”