After a 9-7 regular season, the Rye High School boys lacrosse team hardly looked like a group headed to their fifth straight Section Title. But the recipe of the past worked once again.
They battled their opponents in close, well-played games and they fought into overtime on three different occasions. Five of their games were one-goal losses. When the postseason started, they were ready.
First up at Nugent Stadium on May 21, was sixth seed Byram Hills. If you arrived a few minutes late for the game, you missed Rye taking an early lead, which it never relinquished on their way to a decisive 17-6 win.
Junior Tyler McDermott had three goals and three assists, senior Tripp Redd had three goals, sophomore Henry Shoemaker had two goals and four assists and junior Tucker Hess added two goals and four assists in the victory.
On May 24, Rye traveled to Tappan Zee to take on the Dutchmen who held a second seed due to their 14-2 regular season record. It was a different day and a different opponent, but a similar result to the playoff opener with a decisive 15-6 Garnet win. This time a few different players led the charge. Sophomore Carson Miller and freshman Garrett Sullivan scored three goals each, while Redd and Hess each contributed a pair.
That set the stage for the Garnets to return to the Section 1 Class C Championship game on May 29 at Yorktown High School, where Rye took on top seeded John Jay Cross River.
The Garnets were down 2-0 early in the first quarter, but they quickly regained their footing to take a 6-3 lead into halftime. Rye kept their lead, stretching it to 10-6 after three quarters and closed with an 11-7 win to seal their fifth straight sectional title.
Shoemaker finished with three goals; two within a 30-second sequence to close the third quarter, and Sullivan added two. Rye simply had more depth than John Jay and as was their trademark throughout the season, multiple players lifted the team during critical moments. Rye lacrosse always seems to find a way to win, and this year’s team has been no different.
Five players — Matt Gianetti, Tucker Hess, Joe Chai, James Lewis, and Ty Ramachandran — earned All Section Honors. Tyler McDermott and Chris Iuliano gained All Section and USA All American status.
“It felt great winning the Section,” Iuliano said. “It’s always exciting and it was a true team victory, but it’s just another step along the way to our ultimate goal.”
The next step was the Class C regional final at Lynch Literacy Academy in Amsterdam where Rye played Queensbury, the Section 2 champion. Rye won handily, 16-3 in a game they led 15-1 at halftime. Eighth grader Will Niejadlik had four goals, freshman Garrett Sullivan had three, and Tucker Hess added two.
This article was updated on June 8 at 2:45 p.m.