East Islip Freshman Red capped off an unblemished regular season with a dominant 5-0 shutout victory over Longwood Freshman White on Friday night at North, improving to a perfect 17-0 record. Anthony Ford delivered the milestone performance between the pipes, turning away every shot he faced to record his shutout and preserve the Red Devils’ flawless campaign.
The visitors wasted little time establishing control, with Liam Vansteen opening the scoring at 8:52 of the first period on assists from Liam Lazzarino. Jaxon Gerena doubled the advantage just over four minutes later, burying what proved to be the game-winner with help from Rory Straub at 13:13. East Islip’s balanced attack continued in the second period when Alex Walsh extended the lead to 3-0 at 7:23, with Tyler Doherty and Vansteen providing the helpers.
Walsh struck again in the third period with an unassisted tally at 12:56, before Vansteen capped the scoring just one second into the frame with his second goal of the night, assisted by Doherty. The offensive explosion was a welcome sight for East Islip, which had previously defeated Longwood 8-2 back on November 15th. Vansteen finished with two goals and an assist, while Walsh contributed a pair of goals to his team-leading 24 goals on the season.
Despite the lopsided score, both teams combined for nine penalties throughout the contest, with Straub collecting 12 penalty minutes on two infractions in the first period. Malcolm Sherman faced a difficult night in net for Longwood (11-8), allowing five goals as his team was unable to generate sustained pressure against Ford’s stellar goaltending performance.