In a wildly entertaining showdown between next-door neighbors, Mamaroneck’s 10-9 win over Rye on a misty Saturday night confirmed what many believed coming into this game: In 2026, the Tigers (10-3) are the best boys lacrosse team on Boston Post Road.
Although the Section 1 Class A leaders scored the first three goals, and led 9-4 in the fourth quarter, Rye, the Section 1 Class C front-runners, didn’t give up without a fight. The Garnets (9-5) put together a furious rally, with three goals in the final 1:11 to make it a one-score game, but came up just short of the tie.
“This is a pretty good Mamaroneck team right here,” said Rye coach Jeremy Guski in the aftermath of his team’s fifth loss of the season. “We needed to be nearly perfect to have a chance against them tonight, and we needed to pay attention to a few more details in that first half. The speed of play against Mamaroneck is obviously different from what we see against any other team in Section 1.”
Mamaroneck’s speed – and strength – were on display from the first face-off. Shortly after fans in the large crowd settled into their Nugent Stadium seats, Mamaroneck jumped to a 3-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Tigers led 5-2 at the end of the quarter, and 7-3 at the half. The tone for this game was set.
Face-offs in lacrosse dictate a great deal about a game’s outcome. And not just who wins the face-off, but who wins the all-important possession after the ball goes through the full Keystone Cops spin cycle in the hair-raising moments after a face-off. On this night, Mamaroneck FOGO Ethan Gross owned the dot, winning 17 face-offs to just four for Rye.
“We had to play a lot of defense tonight,” Guski said. “Against a good team like Mamaroneck, it’s going to catch up with you.”
But in the second half, Rye started to get organized. Trailing 9-3 late in the third quarter, Rye junior attack Will Niejadlik unleashed the cannon from mid-range to make it 9-4. With that bullet deposited in the back of the Tigers’ net, so too was a tiny bit of doubt in the minds of the Mamaroneck faithful. “How ‘bout we just win this thing and get outta here?” they whispered.
Not so fast, dear neighbor.
With less than a minute gone in the fourth, a Carson Miller bouncer made it 9-5. Minutes later, senior Henry Shoemaker fired a laser, and it was 9-6. Miller scored again unassisted with 1:11 to play, and with 24 seconds left, Shoemaker struck again, now 10-8.
Finally, with three seconds remaining, Rye junior defensive middie Sam Scully let fly a Doug Flutie Hail Mary from midfield that somehow got past Tigers goalie Ben Bacalloa.
Are three seconds enough time to win a face-off, shoot, score a game-tying goal, and send this one to OT?
They are not.
With the postseason quickly approaching, Mamaroneck and Rye will focus on more important issues than local bragging rights. Both teams are strong contenders for section titles, and possibly beyond.
Two regular-season games remain for the Garnets, Friday at Pearl River, then May 18 against Tappan Zee.
