As the nation’s longest continuous high school boys lacrosse rivalry, the Woodstick Classic holds a special place in Long Island lacrosse culture.
And, for the third straight year, the plaque will remain in Garden City.
In their 91st annual meeting, the Trojans defeated Manhasset, 14-6, on the road in a Nassau I-A/B crossover matchup on Saturday night. Chase Kraus and Charlie Koester each recorded three goals and an assist.
For Garden City coach Steve Finnell, the matchup is bigger than a game. It’s an opportunity for family, friends and alumni to celebrate the sport.
“I went to Garden City High School, I played in three of these, so there’s a lot of good friends and memories attached to these games,” Finnell said. “It’s a unique opportunity to have these two communities come together for the longest rivalry in the country.”
Garden City (13-2) got off to a quick start, outscoring Manhasset, 5-1, in the first quarter. Two of those early goals came from sophomore Jeff Finnell, Steve’s son. He said the experience is a little more exciting knowing his two older siblings and father have competed in the same matchup.
“It’s really tough to live up to, but I try my best,” Jeff Finnell said. “Knowing he was a part of this and my siblings were a part of this makes it really special. It’s a lot of fun.”
Anthony Asaro put up a well-balanced two goals and two assists, displaying his vision for both the cage and his teammates. Asaro said the environment of any Garden City-Manhasset matchup feels bigger than just a regular game.
“There’s big expectations coming into this game given its history,” Asaro said. “It gets us hyped coming into it and we also know so many of these kids from just a couple towns over, so it doesn’t feel like just any game.”
Faceoff specialist Brayden Robertiello went an outstanding 23-for-24 from the X and dished an assist to Koester, a performance Finnell said makes him one of the best FOGOs on the Island.
Robertiello said the strong win will help the Trojans bring the energy into the postseason, where they will likely meet Manhasset again in the Class B Nassau bracket.
“We’re coming to the end of the regular season and this will really help our momentum going into playoffs,” Robertiello said. “We know we’ll probably see them again in the postseason so I think it’s huge that we got this one.”
Conor Sheerin recorded the 100th point of his career for Manhasset (8-4) midway through the fourth quarter on an assist to Will Mondiello. Sheerin also led his team with four goals on the day and Andrew Limberg made eight saves.
Despite what the scoreboard said, Finnell knows every time these teams meet, it will be a battle. As the playoffs approach, that mindset will be no different.
“The whole idea is to challenge yourself in the regular season, and I think we played very well against a great team,” Finnell said. “They’re a little banged up right now so we know they’ll be gearing up to get some guys back on the field and I’m sure it’ll be a great matchup when we see them again.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday’s high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
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