Riley Maire helps Westhampton boys lacrosse break game open against Miller Place in third quarter
Riley Maire of Westhampton makes his way around the net during a lacrosse game against host Miller Place on Monday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The previous two games hadn’t gone well for Westhampton, and now it was locked in a tie at Miller Place with the third quarter set to get underway. And then suddenly the Hurricanes were racing in the right direction again.
Jake Calloway collected a ground ball off the faceoff. The junior long stick midfielder sped in and delivered the go-ahead goal 11 seconds into the period.
“It was definitely a tone-setter,” Calloway said.
Westhampton scored six goals and yielded none in the quarter and converted the lone goal in the fourth. The Hurricanes emerged Monday with an 11-4 Suffolk II victory.
“We needed it,” coach Drew Peters said after they rose to 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the division. “We needed to get back on track. Obviously, we’re a very capable team and we show it in spurts.”
Riley Maire scored five times. Cayden Peters, Drew’s son, contributed three goals and two assists. And Calloway posted two goals and one assist — all in the third.
“Our defense held them to zero goals the entire second half,” Calloway said. “It was great. And the offense was flowing. We were putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Drew Peters said this young lacrosse team could be vying for the sixth/final spot in the Suffolk B playoffs. The field is determined by power points. The Hurricanes, losers against Harborfields and Smithtown West in those prior two games, are hungry after not reaching the 2025 postseason.
“We are starving,” Calloway said.
And if they make it?
“We can definitely beat some teams,” Maire said.
Miller Place, which was paced by Dylan LaGala’s two goals and one assist, fell to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the division. Coach Nick Belvedere said the Panthers are “trying to fight for that last spot” in the five-team C tournament.
“In our mind, today was a playoff game,” Belvedere said. “We showed up in the first half, but the second half we fell asleep.”
After Calloway’s long run resulted in a 5-4 lead, Bronson Mansfield scored from up top and Calloway delivered a nice feed to Maire at the left doorstep for an easy goal.
Thirty-three seconds later, Calloway scored after closing from the right side. Cayden Peters followed with a goal, then spun free and scored again — 10-4.
“We got outworked at ground balls and just lost momentum,” Belvedere said. “ . . . Hopefully, we use it as a learning experience and move forward.”
