The Center Moriches boy's lacrosse team has won their first ever Suffolk County Class D championship.
The Red Devils beat Babylon 7-6 in a nail-biting game for both squads. Babylon came in as the favorite, being the top overall seed, and defending champions, but were turned away by a Red Devils team that had a history of getting so close but never able to lift that coveted trophy.
Center Moriches lost in the county championships in 2021 and 2022 but now can call themselves the best team in Suffolk County. The program that began in 2010 had to take down the #1 seed, who also were the defending champs, and they had already lost to them during the season 7-5. Overcoming what seemed to be the unbeatable giant just added to the celebration.
The Red Devils were led by a superlative effort from their goalie John Marino. Marino ended the game with 15 total saves, but the amount wasn't as impressive as how clutch his saves were in the late moments of the game.
Marino was helped by some great defense, in particular by Mason Walsh who caused five turnovers in the title game. Offensively the Devils were led by Caden Leslie and William Jordan who each had two goals apiece and Leslie added an assist. Colin Casey had one goal and one assist, while Charlie Dechiaro and Christian Versacci each notched a goal. Dominick Picullo and Gavin Javetski chipped in with one assist each.
Center Moriches will once again play the underdog role as they now move onto the Long Island Championship game at East Islip on Wednesday when they take on another top seed #1 ranked Cold Spring Harbor.