Alec Gregorek knew that with Smithtown West winning a bulk of the faceoffs — 17 of 23, to be exact — if his Shoreham-Wading River boys lacrosse team didn’t possess the ball, the Wildcats could be in big trouble.
That happened late in the fourth quarter, where the Bulls scored back-to-back-to-back goals off Nicholas Cottage wins to make it a much closer 11-9 win for the 2021 Suffolk County Class C semifinalists.
“Every time we had the ball we tried to possess it for at least two minutes and get the best look possible,” said the junior attack, who recorded four goals and an assist in the win. “Slowing things down on offense really helped us. We took our time.”
The Wildcats (2-0) were very successful with that early. Junior midfielder Tommy Palumbo, Gregorek and his younger brother Liam, a sophomore, all scored across the first and second quarters to give Shoreham-Wading River a 5-2 lead heading into halftime. Liam Gregorek bookended a four-goal first quarter, and found the netting on a diving shot to the far side to cap the 12 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Galfano also made a handful of his monster 16 stops to preserve the advantage.
“We were checking down and using our bodies — we want to continue that — and those stops were crucial,” Alec Gregorek said. “It was a good, team win.”
Then enters Fransisco Cortes, who scored all four of his goals in the second half — over a nearly 10-minute span — to help the Wildcats pad the lead before the Bulls charged back. He recorded his hat trick goal off a shot down low, and his fourth on a bullet from 20 yards out with 3:12 left to play. The senior midfielder also assisted three other scores for a game-high seven points.
“On the road to recovery, it’s nice to take big steps like that,” Cortes said. “We moved the ball around, so I was able to dodge off the shorties — that was big.”
Gregorek made it 11-6 on his last goal of the game when he powered his way up the middle, juked and knocked it in on the right side. Not bad for a team that graduated 16 seniors from last year’s squad.
“It’s always nice scoring, but I prefer the win over anything,” the junior said. “I just try to get my team in the best position.”
But the physicality led to some chippiness late, and the penalties stunted Shoreham’s momentum. Gregorek said while Smithtown’s late comeback helps point the Wildcats toward what they need to work on, he also knows they thrive in that environment.
“It was a little aggressive on the defensive side, but we like that,” he said, smiling. “We love to play physical, but we definitely have to clean up the high hits and the late hits and work on racking up less penalties.”
His teammate agreed.
“We do best when we’re under pressure,” Cortes said. “When we play good teams like that, we have our best games.”
Smithtown West’s Ryan Trebing, like Cortes, also had a big fourth quarter, scoring all three of his goals, including back-to-back makes across the three-goal spurt in just under a minute. Owen Ellick also recorded a hat trick and assisted once and Will Fitzsimmoms finished with two goals and two assists. Dylan Bonasera made nine stops for the Bulls (3-1 overall, 1-1 in Division II).
The Wildcats noted stiff competition upcoming, like matchups against Bayport-Blue Point — which edged Shoreham 11-10 in overtime in the semis last season — and Comsewogue, but added this game came at the right time. The team has also circled the final game of the season, against top-ranked Mt. Sinai.
Gregorek said the win is just another step toward Shoreham’s goal this year.
“We want another championship,” he said. “It’s just the beginning of the season, so we’re only getting better — and we’ll continue to get better and see where we fall at the end of the year.”
