The Peter Coleman - Bob Jahelka - John Kufs third-grade lacrosse team opened their season with two quality road games. In the first game, the Rams traveled to Rockville Centre (RVC) to take on a very talented and resilient team. The Rams took a 3-1 half-time lead behind strong goaltending by Danny Flynn and D-Dogs James Raphael, Tommy Martis and Brendan McGovern. RVC roared back to start what would be a very exciting, "seesawing" second half, one that sported four lead changes.

The Rams offense was led by the artful dodging of Steve Jahelka (3G) and supported by Austin Kufs (2G), Shane Thorton (1G) and Tommy O'Brien (1G). Down 8-7 with 20 seconds left in the game, the Rams had one final chance to tie the game, but RVC triple-teamed the ball as time expired. These two evenly matched teams played an exceptionally hard-fought, heavy-hitting game.

The following Sunday the Rams traveled to Lynbrook South Middle School to match skills with the Lynbrook Titans. Face-off specialist Brian Coleman (3G) set the tone early, taking Garden City to a quick 4-1 lead and the Rams never looked back. Goalie Drew McAward allowed only one first-half goal with help from hard-hitting crease defenseman Michael Borges and side mates Brian Noonan and Will Ruddy.

Leading by four goals for almost the entire game, the Rams' offense was mandated to complete three consecutive passes on each of their possessions prior to shooting. Attackmen Evan Heinze (2G), Griffin McQuilling, Joe Horan and Sean Skramko did a great job of spreading out the offense. Midfielder Mathew Clarkson provided several gazelle-like clears and counterparts Ryan Buser (1G) and Michael Decker helped Garden City dominate the all-important battle of the ground balls. Shane Thorton (1G) delivered a textbook, bone crunching, game-stopping body check that punctuated a quality 7-4 Rams road win.

On the opening day of the second-grade baseball season, both young and old were treated to a fantastic day of baseball. For the Phillies, with McGuire-like power, Sean Lohan belted three home runs. In the field, Corey Bogden made Jeter-esque plays, diving right and left to field his positions. Jordan Bernstein, Matt Harrison and Dustin Sheinberg all had some pop in their bats.

Ryan Alpert was the ultimate leadoff man, getting on base in every at bat. Andrew (Mickey) Weiss had the play of the day when he caught a screaming line drive off the bat of Adam Burns, who showed the crowd he is going to have a great season for the Orioles. Also for the Orioles, Steven Watt made Baltimore forget that Cal Ripken retired this past year with both his play in the field and his hot bat. Matthew Damon showed both power on his hitting and his aggressive base running. Roy Nimron and Anmol Nadkami had stellar performances. Overall, it was a great day for both fan and player alike.

The Long Island Rough Riders organization would like to remind fans that ticket proceeds from the Rough Riders home opener versus the New York Freedom on Friday, April 26 will be donated to the 911 New York Soccer Foundation. The 911 New York Soccer Foundation has raised approximately $70,000 to benefit families of the Long Island soccer community tragically affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Chris Galluzzo, chairman of the 911 New York Soccer Foundation, said, "I am extremely grateful for the support and fundraising efforts of the Rough Riders and Lady Riders. At the present time, we have raised $70,000 and awarded funds to 40 families. We welcome the opportunity to raise additional funds for our foundation and we look forward to a great evening of Long Island Soccer on April 26."

The Lady Riders will take on Hofstra University at 5:00 p.m. with the Rough Riders beginning at 8 p.m. at Mitchel Field in Garden City. This will mark the first time in over five years that the Rough Riders and Lady Riders have played a doubleheader.

"It's nice to give the fans a men's and women's soccer doubleheader with the Rough Riders," Lady Riders Chairman Chuck Jacob said. "This should be a very attractive event from a soccer fan's viewpoint."

Tickets for this event are on sale now and can be purchased over the phone by calling 1-888-332-5600 or via the Internet at www.rough-riders.com. Ticket prices for all Long Island Rough Riders games are $9 for adult tickets (open seating) and $7 for children (open seating).

The Long Island Rough Riders are a member of the D3 Pro League of the United Soccer Leagues. The Rough Riders are affiliated with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of the MLS. For more information, call Frank Pokorney at 631-940-3825, ext. 106, via email at fpokorney@rough-riders.com or visit the website at www.rough-riders.com.

The National Invitation Tournament and the Met Basketball Writers Association named senior forward Eddie Williams All-Met Division II men's college basketball player of the year. Williams averaged 13.9 points per game, shot 59.4 percent from the field and led the Panthers with 8.7 rebounds per game.

Joining Williams on the first team is senior forward Kendell Craig. Junior guard Wayne Nelson earned second team honors. Former Adelphi head coach Jim Ferry was selected coach of the year for the third consecutive season. Ferry, 82-11 in three years at Adelphi, led the Panthers to their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Div. II Elite Eight. All members of the All-Met teams and coaches were honored at the 69th annual NIT/MBWA awards dinner April 24 at the Pegasus West, Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The number two ranked Adelphi University men's lacrosse team fell to number one ranked New York Tech 6-9 in a conference match-up at President's Field. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the NYCAC. Adelphi dropped a 7-5 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC). The Panthers fall to 14-17 overall and 11-4 in NYCAC play, good enough for second place. STAC improves to 10-21 overall and 9-10 in the NYCAC. The Adelphi University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with SCSU at Pelz Field on the Southern Connecticut State University campus. Southern led the first game 2-1 before Adelphi exploded for three runs in the top of the seventh, winning 4-2. In the second game, the Panthers trailed 0-2 going into the seventh inning. After a one out double by Cheri Pearce, Kristine McCarthy hit a second double to bring her around. Owls Captain Maureen Hoag then got the next two batters out to end the game, giving SCSU the 2-1 win.