YORKTOWN – There’s nothing routine about winning a high school section lacrosse championship in New York. It takes grit, healthy players – a few good bounces – and a committed belief that when a team plays as one, they are unstoppable.
Rye’s 13-9 victory over Somers in Wednesday’s Section 1 Class C championship was all of that and then some.
“This feels absolutely awesome,” said first-year Rye coach Jeremy Guski. “All year long, this group has done the little things that put us in a position to be here right now. Lacrosse is a game of momentum, of ups and downs, and runs. Offense picks up the defense when they need to, defense picks up the offense. We embrace that mindset before every game, and we were ready for it today. These boys have no quit in them ever. Winning this one is an incredible life memory for them.”
Rye pounced on Somers early, setting an all-business tone in the first quarter and rolling to its fifth section title in six years. After eight minutes played, Rye led 4-1, courtesy of goals by juniors Charlie Brady and Henry Gilroy, and two from sophomore Will Niejadlik.
Rye senior captain Jack Levine felt a good Garnet start was key.
“First off, this is an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “Really proud of my teammates right now. A lot of guys on this team, especially the seniors, remembered the Somers game in last year’s section championship (a 12-7 Somers win) and we wanted to erase that one for good.”
After two goals by senior Carson Miller and a couple of Somers counters, Rye led 7-4 at the half. Fans on both sides of the beautiful Yorktown High School field could sense which way this game was trending.
Few have experienced that feeling of inevitability more than Miller, who celebrated his third section championship in as many sports this year (football, basketball, lacrosse), along with fellow senior captain Henry Shoemaker and junior defenseman Luke Denvir.
“We wanted this one badly,” Miller said. “Last year, Somers ended our football and lacrosse seasons. This year, we beat them in both – and picked up section championships in three sports. I don’t know where that ranks historically, but it’s something we’re all deeply proud of.”
In a game-deciding stretch of the third quarter, Shoemaker scored off a sweet dish from junior face-off specialist Wilson Redd. Then, perhaps repaying a debt for the countless alley-oops he received from Miller in basketball, Shoemaker fed Miller to make it 9-4 Rye.
Shoemaker scored again on a no-look assist from Niejadlik, then Shoemaker fed Niejadlik to make it 11-4. At that point, Niejadlik knew if the Garnets could just hold on, they’d be fine.
“This feels amazing right now. There’s a championship culture here at Rye. It’s what we do,” said the sophomore, who helped lead the Rye hockey team to its first state title in the winter. “I’m really happy for the seniors on this team, and we’d love to do what we did in hockey a few months ago, so we are definitely not done.”
Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Somers clawed back with five unanswered goals to make it 11-9. But with 5:38 to play, Gilroy gobbled up the ground ball of the year.
He then swam, dodged, and danced through two Somers defenders to score Rye’s final goal, and seal the Garnets’ victory.
Minutes before his well-earned, ice-cold Gatorade shower, Guski put the win in perspective.
“We’re thrilled as a team to be where we are,” he said, “but you could tell by these boys’ reactions after the final horn that this trophy was definitely one of our goals this season – but not the only one.”
The newly crowned section champs will open the Class C state tournament with a quarterfinal game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Middletown against Section 9 winner Highland.
The grueling schedule Guski’s team played prepared them for this time of the season, facing top teams in Section 1 and venturing out to play several opponents from the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island.
With a victory against Highland, the Garnets would advance to the state semifinals on June 11, when the Long Island challengers start to emerge. The semifinal would also be played in Middletown, against either South Side, from Section 8, or Sayville, the winners of Section 9.
“You could tell by our team’s reaction this afternoon that we’re not done,” Miller said. “We’re going to be ready for the state tournament, and we’ll be playing to win.”
