Sports

No. 4 Sports Story of 2012: SWR wins two state lacrosse titles

JOHN ZACHARY FILE PHOTO | The Shoreham-Wading River girls lacrosse team celebrates its 2012 state championship.

One day. Two state championship games.

That was the scenario for the Shoreham-Wading River boys and girls lacrosse teams in early June. Following the same script the teams used in 2007 to become the first Suffolk County school with two lacrosse state champions in the same year, the Wildcats ruled New York once again.

In Cortland, the girls faced off against Honeoye Falls-Lima in the Class C finals. A few hours later in Middletown, the boys began their championship game against Penn Yan.

For the girls, the game was an opportunity to reclaim their spot atop the podium. After winning four straight state titles, the Wildcats fell short in 2011 when they briefly bumped up a classification. With their return to Class C, the Wildcats once again proved their supremacy.

The Wildcats faced their share of adversity in the playoffs. In their state semifinal win, a seven-goal lead in the second half got sliced down to one in the final minutes by Christian Brothers Academy. Shoreham held on to win 14-13 in a thriller.

In the championship game the Wildcats fell behind by four before unleashing a 7-0 run in the second half to seize control. The Wildcats went on to win 11-9 to clinch the program’s fifth state title.

ROBERT O’ROURK FILE PHOTO | The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats celebrate their county championship victory over Bayport-Blue Point Wednesday.

The boys faced some early adversity of their own early in the finals. Trevor Brosco, a senior captain in the midfield, suffered a concussion just moments into the game and couldn’t return. In his absence, the rest of the team, led by Tim Rotanz, stepped up to carry the load. Rotanz torched the Mustangs for five goals and two assists as Shoreham won 10-6.

As the teams arrived back in Shoreham, a police escort guided them back to the high school, where a crowd gathered to celebrate.

Two teams, two state champions.