Shoreham-WR silences Bronxville in NYS Class C semis

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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -  When a zone defense is clicking on all cylinders, it can make the opposition look desperate and antsy — almost like a fish out of water.

In Wednesday's 11-2 loss to Shoreham-Wading River in the NYS Class C semifinals, Bronxville was that fish.

The Wildcats' zone defense sucked the life out of the high-scoring Broncos, who came into the day averaging 12.81 goals a game.

“The zone defense doesn't pick out one specific person,” said Shoreham-WR captain Chris Mahoney, an Ohio State-bound defenseman. “We have to work as a group. Today, I thought we executed it very well.”

Bronxville (20-2) knew what it was up against coming in, but it mattered very little in the end.

“Their zone defense was good,” Broncos coach Tim Horgan said. “We knew they did that and knew we had to be patient. It's tough when you have a young team. After 30 seconds they get a little antsy and we forced some things and we didn't have possession of the ball too much.”

Shoreham-WR (17-3) blew it open in the second half, outscoring the Broncos 8-2 to coast into the state finals. The Wildcats, who won state title in 2002 and '07, will square off against Section 5's Pen Yan on Saturday at Middletown's Faller Field.

Notre Dame-bound middie Trevor Brosco sparked the second-half rally with a goal just one minute and 22 seconds into the third quarter. James Higgins scored 18 seconds later off a feed from Maryland-bound attackman Tim Rotanz (1G, 2A) and the Wildcats were off and running with a comfortable 5-0 lead.

“Early on I was getting some separation but not the looks I was looking for and I wasn't hitting the cage,” said Brosco, who led the Wildcats with three goals and two assists. “In the second half, it seemed to open up a little bit and I was getting some good looks down the alley.”

Dylan Gorman (2G), Ryan Bray (2G) and Troy Miller (1A) rounded out the offensive production for the Wildcats. Siena-bound goalie Tyler Lutjen made six saves.

Brown University-bound middie Brewster Warble notched both of Bronxville's goals. He eliminated the threat of a shutout with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter, scoring an unassisted goal to cut Shoreham-WR's lead to 11-1. Warble added his second goal with 15.7 seconds left in regulation.

Ironically, Bronxville excelled in the two areas that usually lead to postseason victories: goalkeeping and faceoffs.

Junior Eric Pass was a major bright spot with 12 saves, including five or six that were right on the doorstep. Senior faceoff specialist Andrew Walsh was a pit bull at the dot, winning 10 of 17 faceoffs.

“I was just seeing the ball,” Pass said.

According to Horgan, the score could have been much worse without Pass in the cage.

“He was phenomenal,” the coach said. “He must have stopped five or six point-blank shots today.”

This was the second straight year Bronxville's season ended in the state semis. In 2011, they dropped a 9-8 heartbreaker to Bayport-Blue Point. Despite being familiar with the moment, Bronxville still had some jitters on the big stage. They committed 26 turnovers and had countless issues clearing the ball.

“We really didn't play our game today,” Pass said. “We came off the bus slow. We could have played much better.”

With the majority of their key players returning next season, the Broncos should have a good shot to get back and prove it in 2013.

BOX SCORE
Bronxville         0  0 0  2   2
Shoreham-WR  2  1 4  4  11

SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
SW (4:54) Tim Rotanz unassisted | 1-0 SW
SW (2:57) Dylan Gorman from James Higgins | 2-0 SW
Second quarter
SW (11:12) Trevor Brosco unassisted | 3-0 SW
Third quarter
SW (10:38) Brosco unassisted | 4-0 SW
SW (10:20) Higgins from Rotanz | 5-0 SW
SW (8:07) Ryan Bray from Brosco | 6-0 SW
SW (0:21) Gorman from Brosco | 7-0 SW
Fourth quarter
SW (11:45) Bray from Troy Miller | 8-0 SW
SW (8:42) Brosco unassisted | 9-0 SW
SW (3:40) Higgins from Rotanz | 10-0
BX (2:47) Brewster Warble unassisted | 10-1 SW
SW (1:38) Higgins unassisted | 11-1 SW
BX (15.7) Warble unassisted | 11-2 SW

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