RHS vs. RCDS Boys’ Lacrosse
Sizzling Garnets Hoist Mayor’s Cup With Win Over Wildcats

The streaking Garnets were too hot to handle for Rye Country Day May 2, at Nugent Stadium in the annual battle for the Mayor’s Cup, as Rye High won their ninth consecutive game with a 12-5 victory against the cross-town Wildcats.
“It’s always good to beat the other team in Rye,” said RHS senior Francis Santangelo. “It feels nice to come out with the win here at home. We’re really on a roll and putting up some points. Now, we just have to keep moving and pushing forward.”
The Garnets improved to 10-2 with the victory and were awarded the titular cup by Rye Mayor Steve Otis. Senior middie Frank Lorono was named the Garnets’ Offensive MVP, and senior defender Brian Whiston took the Defensive MVP. Junior attacker J.P. Garry and sophomore goaltender Chandler Grinnell took the respective offensive and defensive awards for the Wildcats.
“This game is a very nice tradition that started almost a decade ago,” said Mayor Otis. “A lot of these kids grew up playing together and know each other. The most important thing is that it has really elevated the visibility of lacrosse here in the community. It’s a great game.”
In the first quarter, Rye High played exactly as their record indicated, exploding out of the gate to the tune of a 6-0 lead. The Garnets were incredibly sharp and relentless from the get go, making it 3-0 with not even 2:30 gone by. Senior captain Kevin Gordon assisted fellow senior captain Alex Prostano just a minute into the contest, and junior Robert Santangelo scored the next two goals, the first of which came on an assist from junior Patrick O’Callaghan.
Cole McCormack – the lone sophomore on the Garnets – was dominant in the face-off circle, leading to three more first quarter goals for Rye. Prostano made it 4-0 with 6:51 left in the quarter, and Lorono and senior captain Sam Fulmer added two more later in the session. The Garnets’ defense was just as stout as their breakneck offense. Goaltender Matt Rix, a senior captain, looked to have an impenetrable fortress protecting him. Whiston, O’Callaghan, seniors Daniel Marchesani (also a captain), Dylan Kindler, and junior Donald Keough did an incredible job of keeping the Wildcats’ talented offense from getting good looks at Rix.
It appeared as if the Garnets had delivered the knockout punch heading into the second quarter, but Rye Country Day was able to get up off the mat and keep fighting. The Wildcats outscored Rye 4-2 over the next 21:40, before junior Andrew Wood dished it to Francis Santangelo for a back-breaking goal that made it 9-4 with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
“They have some good players like J.P. Garry and Cody Levine,” said Francis Santangelo. “We knew they would fight back against us.”
“I was definitely impressed with the fight they showed after going down early, but I was not surprised that we did not give up,” said Wildcats’ head coach Matt Rosolen. “We showed this type of perseverance a couple of times previously this season, and it is something that the coaches stress a lot throughout the season. I hope that my guys realize how important it is to being ready to go from the opening whistle. Also, the little things are so vital to being successful, which Rye did very well, especially face-offs and groundballs.”
Garry connected with Levine in the second quarter for the Wildcats’ first goal, one of four Rye Country Day would score in that period. Sophomore Harry Razook made it 7-2, and Garry added an assist and goal to head into the half down 8-4. For Rye, Fulmer scored on a laser of a shot with an assist from Gordon, and Robert Santangelo took advantage of an RCDS mistake in front of their own goal for the Garnets’ eighth goal.
The third quarter was a stalemate until the aforementioned Francis Santangelo goal with little over two minutes left. The elder Santangelo brother scored again that quarter at the 1:22 mark. The Santangelos combined for five of Rye’s 12 goals. Robert Santangelo played fiercely around the goal, bouncing off defenders like a pinball made of steel. He is tops on the Garnets in terms of goals, with 20 so far this season. Gordon leads in points with 30 on 18 goals and 12 assists.
Sophomore Chris Seter scored the Wildcats final goal in the fourth quarter, and O’Callaghan and Prostano provided the offense for the Garnets. A bright spot for Rye Country Day was the play of Grinnell in goal. He made several spectacular stops in the second half, prompting one fan to shout, “and a goaltender is born!” after a particularly impressive save.

For the Wildcats, the loss dropped them to 6-6. They’ll look to bounce back May 10, at home against St. Luke’s in their penultimate regular season game. The Metro Tournament begins Saturday, May 17. The Garnets play a pair of contests post press time, and then host Mamaroneck May 10. After that, it’s three more regular season games before the reigning three-time Section champs begin their quest for a State Title.