Huntington Boys Edged in County Final

The Huntington boys lacrosse team was defeated by Shoreham-Wading River High School in the Suffolk County Class B lacrosse final Wednesday.

Two three-goal bursts from the Wildcats at the start of the second and third quarters helped the Wildcats top the Blue Devils by a 13-8 score at Stony Brook University.

Goals from Trevor Brosco, Tom Rotanz and Mike Malave turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 Shoreham-Wading River lead in the first 3:14 of the second. After taking a 6-3 lead into halftime, the Wildcats got goals from Connor Drost, Peter Gersbeck and Malave in the first 5:58 of the third to boost their lead to 9-3. Huntington answered with two quick goals over the next 32 seconds, but they could not get any closer.

The loss ends a spirited run for the Blue Devils, who made the playoffs for the first time since winning the Long Island championship in 2007. After finishing the regular season in fifth place, they netted road wins over  and top-ranked  en route to the Class B final. They end the season with a record of 14-5.

Heroes: A balanced attack paced the Shoreham-Wading River offense. Tom Rotanz, Malave and Connor Drost scored three goals apiece for the Wildcats, while Tim Rotanz netted one and added four assists.

Leading the way for Huntington in a losing effort was attacker Nick Saputo, who netted three goals and added an assist. Saputo’s effort throughout the playoffs garnered praise from his head coach after the game.

“He’s the guy who got us here,” said coach Paul McDermott. “Lacrosse is a team sport, but Nick Saputo put us on his shoulders and brought us to this championship [game].”

Key Stat: Throughout the post-season, the Blue Devils struggled with outlet passes and ground balls. Those struggles were on display again in Wednesday’s final, and they played a significant part in Huntington’s exit.

Quotable: At the start of the season, coach McDermott said that the team’s goal was to , something his current group of players were previously unable to do. Considering that pre-season goal, the head coach was understandably proud of his team’s effort in 2011.

“At the beginning of the season, if you said that [the county championship] would be the ending, I’d say you’re lying,” he said. “It was great to be here. We played hard until the end. I’m proud of what we’ve done.

Upcoming: Huntington’s season is over, as are the careers of the team’s seniors.

“I’m going to miss this group,” said coach McDermott. “We came in as an underdog this season. We came in with one All-County player and we left with four. This season was a success.”

Box Score:

Team

1

2

3

4

F

Huntington 

1

2

3

2

8

Shoreham-Wading River

1

5

4

3

13

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter

4:31 – SWR goal – Drost (1) – 1-0 SWR

4:53 – HUNT goal – Roselli (1) from Cutrone (1) – 1-1

2nd Quarter

:55 – SWR goal – Brosco (1) from Tim Rotanz (1) – 2-1 SWR

1:55 – SWR goal – Tom Rotanz (1) from Drost (1) – 3-1 SWR

3:14 – SWR goal – Malave (1) – 4-1 SWR

4:42 – HUNT goal – Saputo (1) – 4-2 SWR

7:10 – SWR goal – Tom Rotanz (2) from Tim Rotanz (2) – 5-2 SWR

7:37 – HUNT goal – Castelli (1) from Cutrone (2) – 5-3 SWR

8:12 – SWR goal – Drost (2) – 6-3 SWR

3rd Quarter

:58 – SWR goal – Drost (3) – 7-3 SWR

3:28 – SWR goal – Gersbeck (1) from Tim Rotanz (3) – 8-3 SWR

5:58 – SWR goal – Malave (2) – 9-3 SWR

6:19 – HUNT goal – Saputo (2) – 9-4 SWR

6:30 – HUNT goal – Plant (1) from Saputo (1) – 9-5 SWR

7:34 – SWR goal – Brosco (2) from Tim Rotanz (4) – 10-5 SWR

11:43 – HUNT goal – Cutrone (1) – 10-6 SWR

4th Quarter

1:54 – SWR goal – Tim Rotanz (1) from Malave (1) – 11-6 SWR

3:59 – SWR goal – Tom Rotanz (3) from Curran (1) – 12-6 SWR

6:09 – HUNT goal – Castelli (2) from Coffey (1) – 12-7 SWR

8:13 – SWR goal – Malave (3) from Drost (2) – 13-7 SWR

9:15 – HUNT goal – Saputo (3) – 13-8 SWR

Huntington:

Goals – Saputo 3, Castelli 2, Roselli, Plant, Cutrone.

Assists – Cutrone 2, Saputo, Coffey.

Saves – McGrath 11.

Shoreham-Wading River:

Goals – Drost 3, Tom Rotanz 3, Malave 3, Brosco 2, Gersbeck, Tim Rotanz.

Assists – Tim Rotanz 4, Drost 2, Malave, Curran.

Saves: Lusten 11.

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