ROBERT O’ROURK PHOTO | Tim Rotanz of Shoreham-Wading River is now third all-time in Long Island history for career points. He has 416 heading into the playoffs.
There was little fanfare late last season when Tim Rotanz quietly became Shoreham-Wading River’s all-time leader in career points, blowing past a 10-year-old record with still another year to play.
“He is absolutely clueless,” his father and coach, Tom Rotanz, said last year about the record.
It would be harder, however, for him to remain clueless over his latest accomplishment, a feat that puts him in rare company in the history of Long Island lacrosse.
In an 18-6 win over Rocky Point last Thursday, Rotanz reached the 400-career point plateau, becoming only the fourth player in Long Island history to reach that mark.
The University of Maryland-bound Rotanz has been on an absolute tear down the stretch of the season, tallying 50 points over the last six games. He had 12 points against Rocky Point, split neatly with 6 goals and 6 assists.
Against Garden City Saturday, Rotanz climbed to third all-time in career points by passing Brian Jacovina (404). Nick Galasso of West Islip is the all-time leader with 500, followed by Jim Zaffuto of Elmont with 498.
Rotanz is now third with 416.
In a game that featured two defending state champions, the Wildcats and Trojans played an overtime classic Saturday. Garden City handed Shoreham its first loss of the season, 10-9, despite another big game from Rotanz, who had 2 goals and 6 assists.
The Wildcats led 6-2 early in the third quarter on the road before the Trojans came back with four goals over five minutes to tie the game, setting up a dramatic finish.
Shoreham took an 8-6 lead when Rotanz circled around the cage, drew a double team and fired off a pass to Danny Hughes for a goal.
The Trojans responded with two goals to tie the game. Duke-bound Justin Guterding put the Trojans ahead when he banged a shot into the top-right corner with 13.8 seconds left.
The Wildcats won the ensuing face-off behind Jake Kavanagh, who quickly got the ball out to Rotanz. He raced downfield and fired off the game-tying shot with 1.4 on the clock.
But it was Guterding who had the final say, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to win it 10-9. Hunter Hayes had five goals for Shoreham.
The Wildcats (15-1, 14-0 Division II) bounced back with a 17-5 division win over John Glenn Monday to close out the regular season.
Shoreham will begin the playoffs May 23 as the No. 1 seed against John Glenn. Second-seeded Babylon will play No. 3 Bayport-Blue Point in the other semifinal.
The Wildcats finished the season as the Division II champions for the second straight season.
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