RHS Boys’ Lacrosse
Rye’s Section Championship Streak Ends at Four

For the first time since 2004, the Rye High School’s boys’ lacrosse season ended without a Section championship. The Garnets (12-7) faltered in the Class C championship game June 4 at White Plains High School, losing to Putnam Valley 10-7.

The Tigers scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter to take a commanding 8-4 lead heading into the fourth. Rye sophomore Jack O’Callaghan brought the Garnets back within two by netting a pair of quick goals – including a laser from 25 yards out – but Putnam Valley responded with a devastating score at the 8:20 mark.
“It was back and forth for a while, with each team answering the other’s goals,” said Rye co-head coach Scott Dooley. “But every great team – especially a senior-oriented one like PV that has been together for so long – has a run, and they were able to pull away in the third.”

The Garnets suffered a major blow late in the first quarter when seniors Matt Foristel and Rob Santangelo collided violently while attempting to check Putnam Valley’s roaming goalie. Santangelo, one of Rye’s leading scorers and an all-around force on the field, took a hard knee to the hip and was down for a few minutes. The immediate concern was that Santangelo had fractured his hip, but fortunately that was not the case. Although the captain continued playing, his mobility and time on the field were severely limited.

It was a disappointing finish for Santangelo and his fellow captains, Donald Keough, Patrick O’Callaghan, Tommy Kehlenbeck, and Tim Jones, as well as seniors Andrew Wood, Neil Davis, Foristel, Dexter Loscher, Jake Gordon, Kris Kilpi, Keith van Kuller, and Ian Gibbs. Dooley, however, was proud of the way his team performed against the most difficult schedule in all of Section 1. He noted how Rye began the season 2-5 before winning 10 of their final 11 games entering the Section final, and that the Garnets scored thrilling victories against Class B champs Somers, Class A runner-up Lakeland, and local rival Rye Country Day.

Rye will undoubtedly be back in the Section title hunt in 2010, with players like Jack O’Callaghan, junior middie Cole McCormack and junior goalie Mike Linehan set to take over leadership roles. McCormack has been starting in the face-off circle for the Garnets since his freshman year, and Linehan made several big saves in the championship tilt.