It was not a good sign when Alex Lewis arrived in Hyde Park Wednesday, May 29 for the Section 9, Class C boys’ lacrosse final against Red Hook.

Lewis had 48 goals for the Panthers this season leading up to the final, and he was their face-off guy who helped win many possessions. But Lewis, a senior captain, was not in uniform with a left leg wrapped in plastic after his foot was fractured in the 15-14 semifinal over Rondout.

And his absence showed against Red Hook, which brought its speed to pressure the Panthers. The Panthers reacted with ball control issues by turning the ball over 41 times before falling 7-4.

“I think the game is different with Alex out there,” said Alex Danon, Wallkill’s coach. “He is such a dominant force on the face-offs and trying to replace his 48 goals proved to be too much.”

Their regular season meeting was a close contest, and Wallkill won 4-3. In the final, Red Hook led 2-1 at the end of the first quarter 2-1, and the score held until the half with a goal by Wallkill’s David Goll.

It stayed a one-goal game through the third quarter, Red Hook leading 4-3 as Wallkill picked up goals from Ty Crowley and Trent Hillman.

Wallkill’s Marc Gagliardi tied the game with 11:51 remaining in the fourth quarter before Red Hook put it away with three goals in about 90 seconds.

“Red Hook has a very good defense and without Alex we moved guys around to create better matchups, which actually worked really well,” said Danon. “We just weren’t able to capitalize on our opportunities and tried to force things a bit too much.”