Rams' Late Rally Finishes Off Malverne-East Rock Lacrosse

Call them clutch.

West Hempstead High School's Danney Sheeler and Dan Njoku broke out in the final minutes of Tuesday's varsity lacrosse match-up against Malverne-East Rockaway to turn a tie game into a victory.

With the score 3-3 midway through the fourth quarter Sheeler was able to put the ball past the Mules goalie for a 4-3 lead. Only a minute later his teammate, sophomore attackman Njoku added another goal to finish off Malverne-East Rock. Both players each finished the game with two goals a piece.

"We had some good shots on goal at the end," said West Hempstead Head CoachDominick Carre. "Overall, I thought our guys played a good game."

The Rams had took started off the game with a quick lead in the first quarter on goals by Sheeler and Jan Carlo Proietti before the Mules staged a comeback.

Mules senior midfielder Lionel Matthews used his speed to get past defenders in the second quarter to score the first goal of the day for his team. Attackman Brendan Cross than muscled his way toward the crease to get the Mules second goal to even the score at 2-2.

When the halftime horn sounded it looked like both teams were locked in for a tight game.

The Rams got on the board first in the second half when Njoku was able to get inside and score his first goal from close range.

The Mules responded on a beautiful feed from senior attackman Matt Fuller to a cutting Brendan Cross to even the score at 3-3.

Both teams then went back and forth at each other before Njoku and Sheeler put the finishing touches on midway through the fourth quarter to claim the 5-3 victory.

"My hat goes off to them. They played well as a team," said Malverne/East Rockaway coach Mike Whalen. "But on our side, we had a few opportunities to win this game but couldn't take advantage. When we have the looks we did we need to be able to capitalize."

The Rams are now 3-4 (1-2 conference.) They will face Wheatley in their next game at Carle Place High School on April 27.

The Mules are 0-6 (0-3) and will play at Elmont on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.