Rye will reign another year after beating John Jay in Class C boys lacrosse championship
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS – This run has legs.
Rye has more hardware to hang after posting an 11-7 win over John Jay in the Section 1 Class C championship on Wednesday at Yorktown High School.
That makes five titles in a row.
Class B: Yorktown adds to legacy with a win over Greeley in Section 1 championship
“It feels great to win sectionals,” Garnets defender Chris Iuliano said. “Every time it feels great, but it’s a steppingstone to where we want to be.”
There was heartfelt enthusiasm when the buzzer sounded, but not a single piece of equipment was launched. It was lined up neatly on the field ahead of the postgame medal presentation.
“We definitely love winning,” Rye midfielder Tyler McDermott said. “We’ve won this for the last couple of years, but we don’t underestimate the importance or undermine the appreciation you need to have for this game. It’s part of our culture now. We know we have a job to do and it’s on to the next. It’s a blessing to play another day with the boys.”
Luca Duva had the Wolves up in the opening minutes, scoring off a deflected clearing pass from the goalie and skipping in another goal off a set-up from Andrew Kiefer.
That’s how the first quarter ended, 2-0, but the Garnets understand how to assembly comebacks.
“We put ourselves through the wringer with our schedule, playing some tough opponents,” McDermott added. “We’ve been down to quite a few teams, but we’ve figured out our identity. We’re a gritty team that knows how to battle back. We trust each other. We play for each other.”
Rye came back with a decisive run and was up 7-3 in the opening minutes of the second half.
The Garnets helped a second-half comeback along with untimely penalties. Jake Bueti made it 7-6, but McDermott played the starring role to perfection, spinning inside the defense for a short-handed goal. Henry Shoemaker added to the lead with a pair of goals before the quarter ended.
“Rye has a lot of depth and it showed in the second half,” Wolves coach Mike Bocklet said. “It went back and forth a little but we started to wind down and get tired. They kept a good tempo the whole game and were able to play a lot of guys.”
What it means
Rye has a chance to go back to the NYSPHSAA final four. The Garnets play a 5:30 p.m. state regional final game against Section 2 champion Queensbury on Saturday at Lynch Literacy Academy in Amsterdam.
Player of the game
Ty Ramachandran was timely between the pipes for Rye, making 13 saves.
Box score
No. 3 Rye (12-7): Henry Shoemaker 3G; Garrett Sullivan 2G; Tucker Hess 1G, 1A; Tyler McDermott 1G; Carson Miller 1G; Henry Gilroy 1G; Wilson Redd 1G; Chris Iuliano 1G; Will Niejadlik 1A.
No. 1 John Jay (14-5): Andrew Kiefer 3G, 1A; Luca Duva 2G; Luke Bueti 1G; Justin Shapiro 1A; Blake O’Callaghan 11S; Dom Savastano 1G, 17/22 FO.
They said it
“It’s great when that happens,” Iuliano said of the diversified offensive approach. “The whole team has energy when everyone is getting involved. It’s good when things are clicking. Today was one of those days.”
“We struggled to find the back of the net early, but I felt like our offense was really buzzing, so even though we didn’t score in the first quarter we had faith it was going to fall,” McDermott said.
“I’m going to remember the leadership,” Bocklet said. “Luca and Andrew were incredible players, but the whole senior class, setting the right tone in practice, doing the right things on and off the field, that leadership was really, really special.”
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud boys lacrosse Rye beats John Jay in Section 1 championship
