The Bronx Times’s Top 10 Bronx high school teams of 2014

The Bronx Times’s Top 10 Bronx high school teams of 2014|The Bronx Times’s Top 10 Bronx high school teams of 2014
Photo by Robert Cole |Stefanie Gozdziewski

Bronx teams turned in some incredible seasons during the 2013-2014 high school year. Which squads stood out from the rest?

Bronx Times sports editor Joseph Staszewski makes his picks as he ranks the Top 10 Bronx high school teams regardless of sport. The squads are selected keeping in mind their level of dominance in the sport, the level and difficulty of any title won, the historic nature of the season and quality of their overall year. Here is how the teams stacked up:

(1) Cardinal Hayes football (9-2)

The Cardinals scripted the perfect ending to its first CHSFL Class AA title since 1981. They did so by besting rival Mount St. Michael 20-16 on Thanksgiving Day for just the second time in 32 years behind running back Timothy Poindexter and quarterback Roberto Nunez. Hayes’ two losses were by a combined nine points

(2) Fieldston Softball (17-1)

Fieldson picked up right where it left off last season. The Eagles rolled to their second straight private school state title with a convincing 6-0 victory over Long Island Lutheran in the final. Temma Levis and Co. added an undefeated Ivy League crown to boot and show no signs of stopping.

(3) Cardinal Hayes boys’ basketball (26-2)

Hayes and its seniors turned in the best season the program has seen in recent years. The Cardinals won their first CHSAA Archdiocesan title since 1977. Their only losses were to St. Peter’s and heart breaking defeat at the hands of Christ the King in the CHSAA Intersectional semifinals.

(4) Cardinal Spellman girls’ basketball (25–3)

Spellman final put its name among the city’s elite squads after years of sitting just below the top tier. The Pilots and Michigan-bound star Maria Backman bested rival Moore Catholic for the CHSAA Archdiocesan crown after three consecutive losses in the final. They also beat ‘AA squads Bishop Loughlin and Mary Louis.

(5) Bronx Science girls’ soccer (18-2-1)

A second straight PSAL Class AA title was not to be despite a third straight trip to the title game. Rival Beacon took down Bronx Science in penalty kicks this time around. That didn’t stop the veteran Wolverines from running through competition around the city and handing Beacon its only loss of the year.

(6) Riverdale girls’ soccer (13-3-4)

An uncharacteristically shaky start was just a blimp in a season to remember for Riverdale. The Falcons responded from two early losses with a 14-game unbeaten streak that ended with a heartbreaking overtime loss to Holy Child in the private school start title game.

(7) James Monroe baseball (35–7)

The Eagles turned in a stellar season because of their power pitching and big time hitting. Monroe rolled through the PSAL regular season undefeated and won their prestigious tournament for the first time in four years. An extra inning loss to Grand Street in the quarterfinals however ended the Eagles quest for a city title.

(8) Fordham Prep boys’ lacrosse (15-5)

Fordham Prep turned in a historic campaign that ended with heartbreak in a triple-overtime loss to rival Iona Prep in the NYCHSAA ‘AA’ title game. The Rams earned the program’s first ever national ranking with a 3-0 start to the season and competed with lacrosse powers Chaminade and St. Anthony’s.

(9) Preston softball (20-3)

The junior heavy Panthers were one of the elite clubs in New York City. A CHSAA Archdiocesan title would again elude them thanks to a third straight loss to St. Joseph by the Sea in the final. Preston’s only defeats were to the Vikings, PSAL champion Tottenville and Sacred Heart of Buffalo.

(10) Bronx Science baseball (17-4)

Bronx Science didn’t raise the PSAL championship trophy, but boy were they close The Wolverines rally was stop short when the winning run was cut down at home by a perfect relay throw in the bottom of the seventh. Still they brushed off a semifinal lost last season to reach the final game for the first time in school history.

Honorable Mention

Fannie Lou Hamer Boys’ Basketball

Fordham Prep Boys’ Soccer

Fordham Prep Baseball

Mount St. Michael Football

Mott Haven Boys Soccer

Taft Boys’ Volleyball

Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.
The Fieldston softball team checked in at No. 2 on the list after its second straight NYSAISAA title.
Stefanie Gozdziewski