By: RJ Kaminski
Last year’s 7 p.m. time slot during Long Island’s Shootout for Soldiers brought together a group of Plainedge friends, neighbors and classmates for more than just an hour of lacrosse. The game served as chance to honor a fallen hero from Nassau County, in New York Police Officer, Brian Moore. Moore was struck twice after a gunman fired into he and his partner’s vehicle in Queens, New York. Moore passed away from his injuries two days later.
“Since the funeral, this [was] the first time we’ve all come together,” said Daniel Toscano after playing last year.
Those in the Plainedge community are set to honor their late friend once again at this year’s Shootout for Soldiers Long Island.
Toscano saw SFS Long Island as a special way to honor his childhood classmate who meant a tremendous amount to the community who raised him. “He was a great kid,” Toscano said. “A really likable person.”
“After he died, we wanted to do something special for him,” Toscano continued. “So, old coaches that we had thought we could get a together a Plainedge alumni game to support Brian and to support the police officers.”
Players dropped to their knees as a pre-game ceremony in Moore’s name preceded the 7 p.m. reunion last year. Attendees can expect a similar moment of silence in Moore’s name this time around.
“I saw a lot of coaches and a lot of old kids I played with,” Toscano said. “They were all there. It was really nice to see everyone in Plainedge come together as one.”
Since last year’s SFS Long Island, Moore’s legacy permanently became a part of the community. The Plainedge neighborhood will come together again to honor Moore at 7 p.m. July 21st at the Field of Dreams in Massapequa, New York. For updates on SFS Long Island, check in HERE.
