Sports fans were treated to an excellent early-season lacrosse game between two section title hopefuls on Tuesday, as Class D Bronxville hosted Class A  Mamaroneck for the Broncos’ home-opener. 

Despite the disparity between school sizes, the Broncos and Tigers battled throughout the course of regulation, with Mamaroneck edging their hosts 10-9 with the help of some timely goals.  After scoring the first three goals of the game to get to an early lead, the Tigers just couldn’t shake the Broncos, who would  continue to keep the score close, eventually tying the game with just under five minutes left to play. The Tigers would answer back with two straight scores, however, and held on for the one-goal win.

Brian Aucker led the Tigers with three goals, while Owen Reese and Nate Kulish had two. Carsen Winters had three assists and a goal. Thomas Freeman and Brian Formato both had three goals for the Broncos.  

Auker credited his the Tigers with their refusal to relent in the face of the Broncos’ late run, noting that the team’s play on both sides of the ball was factored into the win. 

“We’re always looking of opportunities and to minimize mistakes,” explained Auker. “We were really happy with the way the defense played and how we were able to back them up by answering with goals of our own, and today it worked out.” 

For the Tigers, the win is the first of the year, as the team dropped its first two contests against Long Island power Half Hollow and another highly touted Section 1 team in Horace Greeley. 

Winters said that it was good to be in the win column after a tough Monday loss to Horace Greeley, but that learning from good tests early on will only serve to help the Tigers grow as a team.

“That was a tough game [against Greeley] but we did our best to let it roll off our back and take this game head on,” said Winters. “As long as we stay positive and work together, we’ll be alright.”

With their opener behind them, the Broncos (1-0) will face another stiff test on Thursday, when they take on Iona Prep. Mamaroneck will play against Connecticut foe New Canaan on Saturday before taking on Eastchester next week. 

Winters acknowledged that the Tigers—who advanced to the Class AAA finals last year—will need to continue to gel over the course of April, but the squad remains confident in their ability to once again contend for a Section 1 crown. 

“I think that we need to take every game step by step,” said Winters. “We’re going to get better, we’re going to put in the work, we’re going to watch film and just keep on improving.”

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