It may have taken Bronxville a little while to get going on Saturday morning, but once the Broncos started rolling, they proved tough to stop. Taking on Albertus Magnus for the Class D girls lacrosse title on June 12, the top-seeded Broncos used their speed, skill and depth to bury the Falcons, hoisting the Section I championship plaque with a 16-3 victory.
Albertus Magnus’ game plan was evident from the outset, as they sought to control the ball in the offensive zone and slow down the pace of play in order to keep the Broncos’ explosive attackers in check. But Bridget Finley put Bronxville on the board just over six minutes into the game, and the Broncos never looked back, tallying eight first half goals while holding the Falcons to one lone score they surrendered with just 25 second left before intermission.
“They did a really nice job coming out of the gate and it was a game for a while,” Bronxville head coach Sharon Robinson said. “But we began to pressure out on them defensively and that helped us turn the tide.”
Junior Kiki Tormey, who went 12 for 21 on draws, chalked up the Broncos’ slow start to nerves and said that once the team was able to move past that, they were able to demonstrate just how dangerous they can be.
“Everyone of course is a little bit nervous coming into a championship game,” Tormey said. “So for us, it was really just a question of settling in, getting it around once and then playing our own game.”
Tormey led Bronxville with five goals and an assist, while Finley added four goals of her own. Caroline Ircha and Catharine Berkery each had two in the win.
The Broncos also got a surprise goal late in the game from senior Victoria Ruffo, who—along with classmate Alex Doukas—was able to enter the game with less than five minutes remaining. Ruffo and Doukas were the team’s offensive standouts until both were sidelined by knee injuries that appeared to be season-ending in nature. The duo approached Robinson on Friday asking to suit up for the game, and the Bronxville coach agreed after consulting the stars’ doctors.
“Obviously they mean a lot to the program and the program means a lot to them, but we didn’t want them to get hurt,” Robinson said. “We went to their doctors to get clearance and we were looking for a situation where we could get them in the game, but we didn’t make any promises.”
Tormey said that putting the Broncos in a position that would allow Doukas and Ruffo to enter the game was a motivating factor for the team at halftime.
“Our coaches told us if we were up by a lot they could get in the game, so we really had to go out and ice the game to make that happen,” she said. “It was amazing to get them in, especially that score, and we are definitely going to miss them a lot.”
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