By Bi
ll Landon
It was a collision course anticipated from midseason between top-seeded Bayport-Blue Point and the Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River (No. 2) for the Suffolk Class C championship final Thursday night at the Martha Avenue sports complex in North Bellport May 23.
Having lost to the Phantoms 10-5 back on May 9, the Wildcats gave away three unanswered goals before midfielder Alex Kershis broke the ice for the Wildcats to trail 3-1 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. Kershis struck again with two minutes left in the half with his hat trick to tie the game thanks to an assist by Andrew Cimino, making the score 5-5.
Bayport scored twice more in the third quarter for which the Wildcats had no answer until the opening minute of the fourth when Liam Gregorek buried his shot followed by his younger brother Noah to make it a new game at 7-7. Kershis dished the ball off to Noah who split the pipes to retake the lead at 8-7 but Bayport scored with 10 minutes left in regulation. Bayport showed their patience with a four-minute-plus possession in the waning minutes when the Phantoms split the pipes at the 1:18 mark for the go-ahead goal at 9-8 that would make the final buzzer, and with it punched their ticket to the Long Island championship round.
The other Wildcat scorers were Cimino and Liam Kershis. Shoreham-Wading River concluded their 2024 season with a 10-4 Division II record, 11-7 overall.
With the victory, Bayport-Blue Point took on Nassau County Class C title holder, Wantagh, at Longwood High School Wednesday, May 29, but the result was unavailable by press time.
