By J. Murrer and S. Q. DeJoy

April 1, 2026: The. Bronxville boys’ lacrosse team opened its season this past week with early success, positioning itself as a strong contender in both Section 1 and New York State. The Broncos, the defending Class D Section 1 Champion, return a deep and experienced roster and while it is early in the season, Bronxville currently sits atop the Class D rankings, ahead of Pleasantville, Putnam Valley, and Valhalla.  

“I think we have a really great team this year with a lot of depth, starting with a bunch of experienced older players, and a balanced number of younger kids that are ready to compete at high levels,” said Captain Brady Dolan. “We’re looking forward to a great season.”

While the Broncos are the Section 1 Class D favorite, they are also ranked highly among schools of all classes. In this week’s LoHud Power Rankings, the Broncos are ranked No. 5 with the number one spot going to Mamaroneck, followed by No. 2 Iona, No. 3 Rye, and No. 4 Yorktown. 

“We have a tough schedule,” said Dolan. “It kind of gets bumpy in the middle of the season with Rye, Somers, Iona, and Mamaroneck. We have to take it a game at a time.”

Bronxville, led by Dolan and co-captains Thomas Freeman, Brian Formato, Nick Martinelli, and Theo McMurray, opened the season with three wins including an 18-9 victory over Class C Briarcliff-Croton, a 15-9 win over Stepinac and a close 10-8 win over Class C John Jay-Cross River yesterday.

In a hard-fought game against John Jay-Cross River, Bronxville trailed 5–4 at halftime after a tightly contested first half.

At halftime, the team leaders came together to speak,” said Dolan.  “We reminded everyone to be patient, slow everything down, and trust themselves because we know we are better.”

The Broncos immediately responded in the second half scoring three unanswered goals to take a 7-5 lead. The game remained close into the fourth quarter, with the Broncos holding a narrow 8–7 advantage.

With under five minutes left to play, John Jay-Cross River evened the score at 8-8, but the Broncos answered back seconds later when Martinelli fired the go-ahead goal.  The Broncos scored one more time to clinch a 10-8 victory.

The Bronxville team has many talented players. In the win over Briarcliff-Croton, Martinelli led the way with four goals and two assists, while Trevor Valente added four goals. Freeman scored three goals, Dolan contributed a goal and an assist, Patrick Plunkett added two goals, McMurray recorded two goals and an assist, and Formato scored two goals

Against Stepinac, Chase Bacigalupo led with five goals and two assists, Martinelli had two goals and four assists, Valente added four goals, Plunkett scored three goals with an assist, and McMurray contributed a goal and two assists.

Two of Bronxville’s players have been recognized by LoHud this week as top players in Section 1. Brady Dolan who is committed to Williams College and Thomas Freeman who will continue his career at Princeton were named to LoHud’s “Next 11” list.

The senior captains, Dolan, Freeman, Formato, and Martinelli have played on the varsity team four years, and junior captain McMurray has been on varsity for three

“There are only a couple of new players this year, but most of us have played together since kindergarten,” said Dolan. Winning the section championship last year really bonded us, and the ability to play lacrosse together is a blessing.”

The Broncos now take a short break for the Easter holiday and will be back in action on April 7^th at home against Tappan Zee.

Go Broncos.