Liam Kershis had to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
The Shoreham-Wading River attack racked up five goals in a 10-7 route of previously undefeated Mt. Sinai Tuesday night for the Suffolk County Class C championship title at Stony Brook University’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, and while the Duke University-commit said he thought his Wildcats had it in them to take their first county crown since 2019, he still had to make sure the moment was actually upon him.
“I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not sleeping right now,” Kershis said, smiling. “This feels fantastic. This is real, and it feels good.”
The junior scored back-to-back goals to help his team close out the first quarter up 3-0, and his Wildcats (14-5) stretched that lead to 6-2 heading into halftime. Mt. Sinai senior faceoff specialist Jake Spallina had secured the ball on one of many battle wins at ‘X’ and dished to classmate Christian Colantonio for a score that cut Shoreham’s lead in half, 4-2, but the Wildcats re-extended it thanks to Kershis’ brother Alex’s rocket shot up high over his shoulder and five defenders after racing down the middle of the field and sprinting to his right to draw a slide, and an Alec Gregorek-to-Steven Cain goal in transition off one of Jaden Galfano’s gets (15 saves).
“Our defense came up with some huge stops in the beginning, and we possessed the ball on the offensive side until we took care of business,” said Gregorek of his squad that held the Mustangs scoreless in the first and third quarters. “We’re all brothers. We all love each other, and that’s why we connect together so well — not to mention anyone can score on offense.”
Shoreham went up 8-2 on Liam Kershis’ hat trick goal to end the third and a string of four goals over 15 minutes, but Mt. Sinai once again marched its way back in it. Spallina won the opening faceoff and senior attack Cole Marsala scored on that possession, and Marsala found Nick Carretta for the second time to once again cut the lead in half, 8-4. Spallina scored with five minutes left after Kershis netted his fourth of the game, and won the ensuing faceoff that Marsala scores his second on. Carretta collected his third goal off a Colantonio feed to make it 9-7 with 2:48 remaining, but it was as close as Mt. Sinai would come. Kershis iced it with 16 seconds left.
“Anyone on our team with the ball in their stick can make something happen,” Kershis said. “I was just doing whatever I could do help my teammates. Without them, I’m nothing.”
The junior said a slump in the middle of the season spurred his Wildcats turn things around. Shoreham had lost four of five from the middle of April to the beginning of May, with the Mustangs (17-1) capping a three-game skid with an 11-7 win.
“We knew we had to find ourselves and find our identity as a unit, and that’s what we did,” Kershis said. “Our motto was to play together. We didn’t let anything get in our heads. We didn’t let the good or the bad plays affect us, we just worried about the next one. In my heart I believed we were the better team. We knew we could come out on top.”
The Wildcats has taken that togetherness they found with them into the playoffs, where they bested No. 2 Bayport-Blue Point after losing to the Phantoms 10-8 in the middle of their downturn, and then overpowered top-seeded Mt. Sinai, which hadn’t allowed more than eight goals in a game since the start of the season. The victory was not only redemption for this year’s defeat, it avenged last season’s 16-5 loss to Mt. Sinai in the county title game. Cain said for him the win was a long time coming.
“Since freshman year I’ve been playing Mt. Sinai and always wanted to beat them, so this feels great,” said the Marist-bound senior. “They’re a great team. They have a bunch of great players. We were just looking to fight. We prepared very well, we came out of the gate strong and played with a lot of heart. We know when we do that, we win games.”
Gregorek agreed.
“I love playing against them,” said the Navy commit. “It’s a long game, so we showed a lot of composure. Now we’ve just got to stay focused and get to work for the next one.”
The Wildcats’ last county crown victory in 2019 was also the year the team went on to take the state title. To get back there, Shoreham-Wading River will play the winner of tonight’s Manhasset-Wantagh game in the Long Island Championship Saturday, June 3, at Stony Brook University at 10 a.m.
“It’s going to be tough to beat us,” Kershis said. “Because we’re not done yet.”
