RHS Boys' Lax
Garnets Capture Third Straight Sectional Title, Advance in State Playoffs

– By Jim Byrne –

Spurred by dominating performances on defense and in goal, the Garnets captured their third consecutive Class C Section Title Thursday, May 31, against Putnam Valley in Suffern.

Although the game was tied at 3-3 going into the second half, Rye managed to score a couple of goals in the third quarter to take the edge. From there, it was all defense and goaltending in the Garnets' 6-3 win over the Tigers.

“I thought our defense played well as far as shutting down their top guys, Peter Morgan and Tom Kelly,” said Rye head coach Brian Dooley. “Eddie Bouton did a really good job on Morgan and Colin Hart made 16 saves in the game, a lot of them standing on his head. All year with Colin, you ask him to make some saves and then he makes a whole lot more.”

T.J. Smith - who was recently named Rye's first All-American in lacrosse - agreed with Dooley that the difference in the contest was Hart's stellar performance in goal.

“We look to give up the bad angle shots for Colin because he is the best goalie in the Section,” said Smith. “Having him back there is really comforting because you know that you can give up the shot and it's going to be saved.”

Hart was indeed a rock for the Garnets in the Section Final, but his defense also did an exceptional job in protecting him. Smith, Bouton, and J.B. Welling stifled the Putnam Valley offense, particularly in the second half. They never gave the Tigers a clean look on goal, and in the rare times that Putnam Valley did get a shot off, a Rye defender altered it by getting a stick on the shot.

“We weren't afraid to go get hit,” said Smith. “Our team defense really stepped up.”

Robert Santangelo scored the game-turning goal for the Garnets in the third quarter when, facing away from the goal, he scooped up a rebound and flicked a no-look shot over his shoulder and in for the score. The goal came with 1:33 remaining in the third, and gave Rye a 5-3 lead.

“I just saw the ball pop up and I got my stick on it,” said Santangelo. “I noticed the goalie was kind of out of position a bit, so I shot it right there and put it in the back of the net.”

“It was one that could have gone either way,” said Dooley. “It was a breaking point for both teams, and usually there is one of those moments in each game. So, we were fortunate that it ended up in their net.”

Matt Donahue and Alex Prostano led the Garnet attack with three points each. Prostano scored all of his points in the first quarter, first dishing it to D.J. Virtue for a goal and then scoring twice on his own, once unassisted and once on a Donahue feed. Donahue also assisted Kevin Gordon on what would be the game-winning goal in the beginning of the third, and then scored a goal in the fourth to make the score 6-3.

With the victory, Rye advanced to the New York State Playoffs to continue their quest for a State Championship. In the first round, the Garnets used a six-goal second half Saturday, June 2, to defeat Section 9's O'Neill 9-1 at John Jay-Cross River. Rye then headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy for the State Quarterfinals, where they won 15-3 Tuesday, June 5.