Broadneck Boys Lacrosse Fends Off South River In Thriller For Region Title

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The story of Broadneck’s thrilling 10-8 boys lacrosse win over South River in Wednesday’s 4A East Region II championship game did not lie in the goals scored.

It was found instead in the little things: Ryan Salazar wriggling and weaving through the South River defense to protect both the ball and the lead; Jackson Shaw delivering hit after bone-rattling hit, consistently straddling the line between fair and foul and occasionally wandering across it; Tyler Hicks, having just scored a momentum-swinging goal, laying out at full stretch to make sure his stick was the closest as the ball crossed out of play.

“That was the effort it took to win,” said Broadneck coach Jeff McGuire. “We believe South River is one of the very best teams in the state. So much respect to them for the fire and the fight they brought tonight. They play a similar style to us, and they always play us tough.”

Ryan Della netted four times for the Bruins, while Shaw and Tanner Boone both scored twice. Hicks and Jake Chambers added the other goals, the former coming six seconds before the end of a tense third period and eliciting a wild fist pump and loud yell.

It was a moment where Broadneck finally matched the emotional intensity South River had brought all evening. Little more than 90 seconds later, the Bruins had the first two-goal lead of the night for either side, and they made it stick.

A back-and-forth emotional encounter ended with a frantic finish, as Broadneck nursed their advantage to the final horn despite spending most of the final two minutes down a man.

“We thought if we could just get it to a two-goal lead, our defense would be able to shut it down,” McGuire said. “Our defense was great all night; we wanted to get our goalie shots he was comfortable with, and we were able to do that.”

For the second straight season, the Bruins are seeded first in the 4A state quarterfinal round. They will host Laurel on Wednesday.

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