SYRACUSE, NY -- The playoffs begin on Saturday at the first ever Empire State Cup lacrosse event, at Central Square Stadium outside of Syracuse, New York. Top-seeded Hudson Valley is a perfect 5-0 in round-robin play, today edging New York City in a tightly-contested battle of undefeateds, before defeating Western in an overtime thriller.
Despite the loss, New York City (4-1) earned a bye with wins over Central and Adirondack on Thursday. They will meet the winner of Western (2-3) and Adirondack (0-5) in the semifinals.
Long Island (2-3) and Central (2-3) will play-in with the winner meeting Hudson Valley in the second semifinal.
Full tournament standings, schedules, results from Friday's games and statistics are capsulized below.
STANDINGS W L GF GA
Hudson Valley 5 0 46 30
New York City 4 1 43 30
Western 2 3 44 36
Long Island 2 3 36 40
Central 2 3 39 44
Adirondack 0 5 24 52
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)
9:30 AM - #4 Long Island vs. #5 Central
11:00 AM - #3 Western vs. #6 Adirondack
1:30 PM - #1 Hudson Valley vs. Long Island/Central winner
3:00 PM - #2 New York City vs. Western/Adirondack winner
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5th Place Game
11:00 AM - Bronze Medal Game
12:30 PM - Gold Medal Game
LEADERS
Goals
12 - John Januszkiewicz, Western
11 - Christopher Santangelo, Hudson Valley
11 - Michael Rastivo, New York City
10 - Gale Thorpe, Central
10 - Matthew Heldberg, Long Island
10 - Christian Trasolini, Long Island
9 - Brian Prestreau, Hudson Valley
9 - Connor Fields, Western
8 - Brian Prunty, Hudson Valley
8 - John Uppgren, New York City
8 - Colin Woolford, New York City
Assists
6 - John Januszkiewicz, Western
5 - Alex Corpolongo, Hudson Valley
5 - Patrick O'Brien, Long Island
5 - Michael Rastivo, New York City
5 - John Uppgren, New York City
5 - Connor Fields, Western
3 - Mitchell Rick, Adirondack
3 - Gale Thorpe, Central
3 - Ryan Wright, Central
3 - Eric Gannari, Long Island
3 - Anthony Ramaizel, Long Island
3 - Austin Bishop, Western
3 - Matthew Kaser, Western
Points
18 - John Januszkiewicz, Western
16 - Michael Rastivo, New York City
14 - Connor Fields, Western
13 - Gale Thorpe, Central
13 - John Uppgren, New York City
12 - Christopher Santangelo, Hudson Valley
12 - Matthew Heldberg, Long Island
12 - Patrick O'Brien, Long Island
10 - Brian Prestreau, Hudson Valley
10 - Brian Prunty, Hudson Valley
10 - Christian Trasolini, Long Island
Saves
28 - Brenden Deady, Adirondack
23 - Michael Zingaro, Hudson Valley
23 - Daniel Katzman, New York City
22 - Taylor Ferrino, Western
21 - Dylan Moser, New York City
20 - Kyle Lake, Western
19 - Anthony Delosreyes, Long Island
18 - Zachary Anderson, Adirondack
16 - Jacob Wood, Central
15 - Maximillian Smith, Central
GAME RECAPS
Hudson Valley 12, Adirondack 5
Brian Prunty and Christopher Santangelo each scored three goals and one assist as Hudson Valley raced past Adirondack, 12-5. Hudson Valley jumped out to an early lead, taking a 7-1 advantage at halftime. Brian Prestreau added three goals, while Alex Corpolongo chipped in one goal and one assist. Kevin McDermott and Andrew Landis each scored once. Michael Zingaro (six saves) and James Danaher (two saves) split time in goal for the win. Mitchell Rick paced Adirondack with four of their five goals, while Anthony Zabielski scored once and Bradley Johnston recorded an assist. Brenden Deady made 12 saves in the loss.
New York City 12, Central 6
Michael Rastivo exploded for five goals and two assists as New York City rallied past Central, 12-6. The score was tied 3-3 after the first quarter, but NYC shut out their opposition in the second and kept the scoring steady, leading 6-3 at the half and 9-4 after three quarters. Ross Schnitzer and Colin Woolford each scored twice, while John Uppgren scored one goal and two assists, and Dylan Molloy added one goal and one assist. James Coughlan had a goal and Carter Lewis had an assist to round out the scoring. Daniel Katzman and Dylan Moser each made four saves in the win. Nathaniel Smart scored two goals and one assist to lead Central, with Matthew Moran scoring twice and Gale Thorpe adding one goal and one assist. Kendall Vecchio added one goal, while Connor O'Hara and Colin Stone each chipped in an assist. Jacob Wood made three saves and Maximillian Smith recorded one in the loss.
Western 10, Long Island 6
Western used a balanced attack to top Long Island, 10-6, in a comeback win. John Januszkiewicz and James May each scored two goals and one assist, while Austin Bishop and Matthew Kaser contributed one goal and two assists. Mittan Craig, Connor Fields and Austin Goltz added singles, while Tomothy Wagner recorded two helpers and Tyler Ferrino had one. Kyle Lake (three saves) and Ferrino (two saves) split time in goal. Christian Trasolini paced Long Island with four goals, with Patrick O'Brien (one goal, one assist), Maxwell Chin (one goal), and Matthew Heldberg (one assist) rounding out the scoring. Anthony Delosreyes (six saves) and David Hwang (three saves) split time in goal.
Hudson Valley 6, New York City 5
In a battle of two previously undefeated teams, Hudson Valley edged New York City, 6-5. Both squads were a perfect 3-0 heading into the game. Christopher Santangelo scored three goals to lead Hudson Valley, while Kevin McDermott, Brian Prestreau and Brian Prunty each scored once. Alex Corpolongo chipped in two assists, and Michael Zingaro (four saves) and James Danaher (two saves) split time in goal. John Uppgren (three goals) and Colin Woolford (two goals) scored for NYC; Daniel Katzman and Dylan Moser both played excellent in goal, notching six saves apiece in the loss.
Central 10, Western 9
Gale Thorpe scored five goals to help Central edge Western, 10-9. Matthew Moran (two goals), Marshall Case (one goal, one assist) and Ryan Wright (one goal, one assist) also recorded multiple points, while Ronnie Bertrand (one goal) and Nathaniel Smart (one assist) rounded out the scoring for Central. Maximillian Smith and Jacob Wood each made three saves in the win. John Januszkiewicz (three goals, one assist) and Connor Fields (two goals, three assists) led Western in scoring. Austin Goltz (two goals), James May (one goal), Mitchell Wilson (one goal), Matthew Kaser (one assist) and Daniel LaCrosse (one assist) rounded out the scoring for Western. Tyler Ferrino made 13 saves in the loss.
Long Island 9, Adirondack 7
Patrick O'Brien scored two goals and two assists to help Long Island record their first win of the 2012 Empire State Cup, topping Adirondack, 9-7. Matthew Heldberg and Christian Trasolini each scored twice, while Ryan Henry, Justin Rothstein and Mario Vezza adding singles; Anthony Ramaizel chipped in two assists. Brian Hughes (five saves), Anthony Delosreyes (three saves) and David Hwang (two saves) all saw time in goal for Long Island. Cody Dyer, Bradley Johnston and Troy Miller each contributed one goal and one assist for Adirondack, while Anthony Zabielski scored twice. Brad Nardella (one goal), Chris West (one goal), and Kyle Fragnoli (one assist) rounded out the scoring. Zachary Anderson (five saves) and Brenden Deady (two saves) each saw time in goal for Adirondack.
Hudson Valley 7, Western 6 (OT)
Kevin McDermott scored the game-winner in overtime to lift undefeated Hudson Valley past Western, 7-6. The game was tightly contested throughout, with the score notched 2-2 at halftime and 4-4 after three quarters. Brian Prestreau (two goals, one assist), Brian Prunty (two goals), Alex Corpolongo (two assists), David Rubenstein (one goal), John Yozzo-Scaperrotta (one goal) and McDermott (one goal) rounded out the scoring. James Danaher (six saves) and Michael Zingaro (four saves) split time in goal. John Januszkiewicz (two goals, two assists), Matthew Kaser (one goal, one assist), Austin Bishop (one goal), Connor Fields (one goal), James May (one goal) and Austin Goltz (one assist) were responsible for Western's scoring. Kyle Lake finished with nine saves in goal.
New York City 8, Adirondack 6
Michael Rastivo scored two goals and one assist as New York City battled past Adirondack, 8-6. The game was tied deep into the fourth quarter, 6-6, but NYC was able to take command of the game late to secure the win. Colin Woolford added two goals, while Ross Schnitzer, Dylan Fowler, Dylan Molloy and Gregory Pietroforte added singles. Carter Lewis and John Uppgren each recorded a helper. Daniel Katzman (seven saves) and Dylan Moser (four saves) each saw time in goal. Mitchell Rick (one goal, three assists) and Brad Nardella (one goal, one assist) led Adirondack in scoring; Zachary Cole, Dillon Flood, Troy Miller and Michael Mineau each had one goal. Zachary Anderson and Brenden Deady made two saves apiece in the loss.
Long Island 9, Central 5
Matthew Heldberg scored four goals to lead Long Island past Central, 9-5, to wrap up round-robin robin play. Patrick O'Brien added two goals and one assist, while Anthony Ramaizel, Nicholas Santorelli and Christian Trasolini chipped in singles. Mario Vezza, Joseph DeMarco and Eric Gennari each recorded an assist; Anthony Delosreyes earned the win in goal with four goals. Gale Thorpe led Central with two goals and one assist, while Kevin Lux (two goals) and Connor O'Hara (one goal) rounded out the scoring. Jacob Wood (four saves) and Maximillian Smith (three saves) split time in goal.