Tags Posts tagged with "Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats"

Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats

By Bill Landon

The Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats, unafraid to shoot, rifled five shots on goal that were near misses before Mia Mangano broke the ice with a shot to the corner of the net 11 minutes into the second half in the Long Island Class A championship game Sunday afternoon at Farmingdale State College.

Ten minutes later, Olivia Pesso dished the ball to Shealyn Varbero, who headed it to the back of the net for a 2-0 lead over Wantagh, the Nassau County champion — a score that would stand until the final horn. Senior goalie Morgan Lesiewicz had a quiet day in net with two saves.

The win propels the Wildcats to their second consecutive New York State championship appearance in the semifinals Saturday, Nov. 16, at Cortland High School. The Wildcats will face Pittsford Mendon with hopes of advancing to the final round the following day.

­– Photos by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The Shoreham-Wading River football team aimed to avenge a late-season loss to Miller Place in the opening round of the Division IV playoffs, but a win for the Wildcats wasn’t in the cards. Miller Place quarterback Shane Kiernan and wide receiver Dennis James Williamson proved to be a potent combination, connecting three times for touchdown scores covering 88 yards. Miller Place defensive back Ethan Monaco’s interception and 20-yard return put the Panthers ahead 22-0 at halftime.

The Wildcats managed to get on the board when Brendan Friedlander found freshman wide receiver Gavin Cleary late in the third quarter, but the Wildcat offense stalled the rest of the way as the Panthers won 36-12.

The Wildcats conclude the 2024 season with a 4-5 record. Miller Place, the No. 3 seed, advances to the semifinals, where they will face the No. 2 seed Babylon on Friday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.      

— Photos by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Fresh off back-to-back wins, Shoreham-Wading River boys soccer looked to make it three in a row on Sept. 9, when the team hosted Bayport-Blue Point, at home, and never let up, from the kickoff onward, at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field Monday afternoon.

The Wildcats peppered the scoreboard, leading by four goals at the half-time break, then rattled off three more unanswered goals in the second half, shutting out the Phantoms 7-0, in the League VIII matchup.

Senior striker, Samuel Sweet, had one goal and two assists, while Tyler Nowaski found the back of the net twice. Additionally, seniors Patrick Shea and Luke Tannenbaum both stretched the net, as did sophomores Zachary Makarewicz and Evan DeGroot.

Goalie, Brandon Smith, a junior, had a quiet day in net stopping three.

The Wildcats have allowed only one goal in the early going, while scoring an impressive 16, keeping them atop the leaderboard with Elwood-John Glenn.

— Photos by Bill Landon 

Shoreham-Wading River midfielder Liam Gregorek battles at “X” in the Suffolk Class C championship final. Photo by Bill Landon

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.

By Bill Landon

The Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River paid a visit to Westhampton Beach for a Division II lacrosse matchup Thursday, April 25. On paper it looked as if it should have been a close game. The Hurricanes scored first in the first 45 seconds to take the early lead, but the Wildcats rattled off six unanswered goals before Westhampton could arrest the Wildcats scoring frenzy to trail 7-2 at the halftime break. 

Alex Kershis dished the ball to his brother Liam Kershis who split the pipes to put the Wildcats out front 8-2 in the opening minute of the third quarter. Sophomore attack Andrew Cimino stretched the net for his hat trick to put the Wildcats ahead 9-3 at the seven-minute mark of the third quarter. Liam Kershis struck again for his fourth goal of the game, then made it five to give the Wildcats an 11-4 lead.

First-year varsity player Noah Gregorek, an eighth grader, rattled off back-to-back goals as the Wildcats throttled the game clock for the 16-6 victory.

Liam Kershis led the way for the Wildcats with five goals and five assists, Gregorek notched three goals and two assists, and Cimino netted three with one assist.

Senior goalie and Fairfield commit, Jaden Galfano, had 11 saves in net.

Ava Zicchinelli slides safely home for the Panthers in a road game against Shoreham-Wading River. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Miller Place Panthers opened their 2024 softball season with a victory over Islip, a win against Sayville and then blanked Kings Park, before traveling to Shoreham-Wading River looking to make it four in a row.

Freshman Delaney Schleider’s bat spoke first, driving in two runs for the Panthers in the opening inning to take the early lead in the nonconference matchup April 8.

With one out, Miller Place loaded the bases in the top of the 4th when the Wildcats defense made a statement, turning a double play to strand three runners to end the inning.

It didn’t matter, the Panthers went on a scoring fest in the top of the 5th to break the game wide open by plating 11 runners before it was all over. Shoreham Wading River with their backs against the wall trailing 13-0 in the bottom of the 5th needed to answer back but the Wildcats bats fell silent, triggering the mercy rule — trailing by 10 runs or more — to end the game two innings early.

Miller Place junior Ava Zicchinelli put on an impressive pitching performance for the Panthers striking out eight batters while giving up just two hits, and teammate Brooke Borkowski had three hits, two runs with two RBIs in the win.

Miller Place retook the field the next day, April 9, with a home game against unbeaten Bayport-Blue Point, but lost for the first time, 2-0. Shoreham, on the other hand, cantered to an 18-5 victory at Harborfields. — Photos by Bill Landon 

Just past the halfway point in the season Shoreham-Wading River, the 2023 Suffolk County class A champions, find themselves in the middle of the pack in their division. The Wildcats (5-5), having lost to Mount Sinai three days earlier, were hungry to get back to their winning ways when they hosted Center Moriches (1-8), making short work of the Red Devils winning 58-35 in the League VI matchup Jan 8.

Senior Juliana Mahan led the way for the Wildcats doing what she’s done all season battling in the paint netting eight layups/putbacks for 16 points. Grayce Kitchen, a junior, netted 11 points and Kady Keegan, the sophomore, banked eight. Kitchen had a 3-pointer as did freshman teammate Stamatia Almiroudis.

The Wildcats next two games will be their litmus test with a road game at Elwood-John Glenn on Tuesday, Jan 16, followed by a home game against Hampton Bays Jan. 20. Game times are 5:15 p.m. and noon respectively.

By Bill Landon

With eight consecutive nonleague games to open the Shoreham-Wading River girls basketball season, game five pitted the Wildcats against Greenport Tuesday night when the visiting Porters clung to a one-point lead to open the second half. The Wildcats came alive in the final 16 minutes of play, slamming the door shut to win the game 50-28 in the Dec. 19 contest.

Senior forward Juliana Mahan led her team in scoring with eight field goals and three from the line for 19 points, while juniors Alyssa Bell banked 17 and Grayce Kitchen netted 9.

The win lifts Shoreham-Wading River to 2-3 in the early season.

The Wildcats retake the court in another nonleague matchup Thursday, Dec. 21, with a road game against Rocky Point. Game time is slated for 4:30 p.m.

— Photos by Bill Landon 

Rocky Point forward Max Wignall shoots in a non-league matchup against Shoreham-Wading River. Photo by Bill Landon

With an injury-riddled starting lineup, the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats had their hands full in a road game against Rocky Point where the Eagles defense was able to hold the Wildcats at bay. The Eagles offense pressed for all 32 minutes to win the nonleague matchup 55-40, Monday night Dec. 11.

Rocky Point guard Casmere Morrow topped the scoring chart for the Eagles with 17 points and forward Max Wignall added 13.

Shoreham-Wading River senior Gordon Votruba led the way for the Wildcats netting 11 points.

The win lifts the Eagles to 2-0.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 1-4. They will desperately need their bench to get healthy and will have to be at full song to make a postseason bid.

Shoreham-Wading River senior Alex Makarewicz battles his way to the rim in a road game against Centereach. Photo by Bill Landon

The Cougars of Centereach opened their season when they hosted the Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats (0-2) where both teams looked to put a “W” in the win column in a nonleague matchup Tuesday night Dec. 5.

Shoreham-Wading River had lost to Smithtown Christian and Hampton Bays to begin their season. Although the Wildcats had a 10-point advantage in the final minute of play, the Cougars closed the gap in the timeout-riddled final 20 seconds, where Shoreham escaped with a 42-38 victory.

Centereach retakes the court Dec. 9 when they host their crosstown rival Newfield before league play begins Dec. 12.

The win lifts the Wildcats to 1-2 with two more nonleague matchups before they hit the road to take on Port Jefferson to begin league play Dec. 21.

— Photos by Bill Landon