This year, SWR stands for Shoreham Wants Redemption

Alec Gregorek wants to accomplish a few more things before finishing his Shoreham-Wading River lacrosse career this spring.

The senior played a key part in Shoreham-Wading River’s 2019 state championship team as an eighth-grade starting attacker. Now, he wants to bookend his high school lacrosse career with another state championship.
But before Gregorek and the Wildcats make a run at a state trophy, they’ll need to get through the challenge that is Long Island lacrosse. That starts with rival Mount Sinai.  Shoreham-Wading River has not earned a county title since 2019 and lost to Mount Sinai in the Suffolk Class C final last year. 
“We just want to beat [Mount Sinai] so bad, it just put a fire under us,” said Gregorek, who will play at Navy next year. “We’re looking to get that county championship. Because I feel like we’re going to earn it this year."

Actually, Gregorek is more confident: “We’re definitely going to earn it.”
Gregorek’s Wildcats finished 16-2 last season. Mount Sinai handed Shoreham-Wading River its only two losses, beginning with a 12-7 deficit in the final game of the regular season. And then a 16-5 loss in the county final. It was Shoreham's lowest offensive output of the year.
“We thought we had a better chance than we did, and we didn’t really have our best,” Shoreham-Wading River coach Mike Taylor said. “I don’t think we ever were in the game.”
Taylor and his players evaluated their performance after the season-ending loss. Taylor saw the value in being a young team learning how it feels to lose in the playoffs.
Mount Sinai coach Harold Drumm believes coaching has its place in high school lacrosse. It’s important to hold players accountable, motivate them and place them in positions to win.
“But the reality is, no matter what anyone tells you, you have to have the players,” Drumm said. “And if you have the players, you can have an excellent team.”
“Shoreham-Wading River is excellent, they have excellent players,” Drumm added. “We had the best player.”
That player, Joey Spallina, the all-time Long Island high school lacrosse scoring leader, scored 17 points on six goals and 11 assists against the Wildcats in their two matchups last year. He's now playing at Syracuse University. 
Gregorek’s 66 goals ranked second in Suffolk to the 77 scored by Spallina.

“Joey Spallina being the best player in the country, everybody wanted to play against him,” Taylor said. “I think he maybe added fuel to that fire, and even though he’s gone, we’ve now created that rivalry where I don’t think it’s ever going to go away.”
That rivalry has blossomed into a staple of Suffolk lacrosse. The two teams have met in the Suffolk championship twice since 2019 and have gone to overtime in two of their last four meetings.
Mount Sinai will visit Shoreham-Wading River on May 2 this year.
“It almost makes you play better,” said Mount Sinai senior Jake Spallina, Joey's younger brother. “You look forward to playing in front of a crowd like that.”
“It’s always a little bit different,” Mount Sinai senior goalie Brayden Wilcken added. “I try to keep the same routine, but in your head, you know they’re going to be a great team.”
The new-look rivalry will feature a hungry Shoreham-Wading River team and an explosive Mustangs squad this spring.
Mount Sinai’s offensive identity won’t be the same, but Drumm said several players, including Lucas Laforge, Cole Marsala and Christian Colantino, will carry more of the offense this spring.
“Joey was just so good that a lot of those players didn’t have the opportunity that they’re going to have this year. That’s just the reality,” Drumm said. “We’re really looking forward to them just playing a little more relaxed.”
Taylor knows that the Mustangs are still talented despite losing the elder Spallina to college.

“The scary thing about them is they still have a ton of talent,” Taylor said.
But his team, featuring Liam Kershis, who scored 80 points last season, Liam Gregorek, Alec's younger brother, and Jaden Galfano, is talented as well.
And in a way, this year’s group, Alec Gregorek serving as a familiar face, reminds him of another successful Wildcats team.
“It's very similar to the year we won the states,” Taylor said. “A very hungry group. Especially the way we lost last year.”