NCN SPORTS BLOG

‘Town defeated the Tigers 20-7.

Video highlights — lots of them — to come.

Commentary as well.

They will take on Greeley in the next round.

Leave scores and commentary from the other games played today …

Here’s a little change of pace before the men’s Sectional tourney heats up tomorrow.

Lakeland-Panas middie Melissa Gonzalez is quite the player — lightning fast.

Check back tomm. for quarterfinal action from the men’s Sectional tourney …

Enjoy.

Alright, back in March I foretasted my picks for each class.

Having taken in the entire season, and being stubborn, I am sticking with these picks.

Class A = ‘Town

• I think ‘Town rebounds from a rough season by taking home the sectional crown. Mamaroneck, who will likely be their quarterfinal opponent are much improved, however, they are still a fringe team. Down county lax teams –minus Rye– are always silenced come Sectionals. Also, I don’t see Greeley or Lakeland-Panas beating ‘Town twice in the same season. Lightning may strike once …

Class B = John Jay

• If only all the picks were this easy. The Indians should will coast through the sectionals and regionals en-route to a rematch with Huntington, which will be the premier HS game in the country this season.

Class C = Putnam Valley

• Sure, it would be easy to go with the mega favorite in Rye, but I’m not going to. The Tigers are my upset special. Tom Kelly and Pete Morgan will lead this team on the ultimate playoff run.

I can’t wait to take in all the action. HS lacrosse dwarfs any other sporting event(s) in the state right now. Yankees vs. Red Sox — who cares? Mets vs. Braves — Zzzzzzzzz …

Here are the brackets.

Click on each link for an easy to print out bracket.

Things to keep in mind:

• Games are played at higher seed until the finals, which are at Suffern Middle School on Saturday (5/31)
• Opening round games are on Monday (5/21) @ 4:30
• Quarterfinals are on Tuesday (5/22) @ 4:30
• Semifinals are Thursday (5/24) @ 4:30
• Finals — at Suffern on 5/31 — are as follows.
• Class A at 8:30 PM
• Class B at 3:30 PM
• Class C at 6:00 PM

Class A1.htm

Class B.htm

Class C1.htm

Greeley 8, ‘Town 6

Long stick Dan DeMartini led the Huskers in defeat, scoring a goal and adding two assists. Matt Witko led the Quakers with a hat trick and an assist. ‘Town finished up their regular season campaign with a 7-9 record. It was the first time the Quakers have defeated the ‘Huskers in the history of their program. Considering ‘Town’s dramatic loss to Somers was only 19 hours old at the start of today’s game, they must have been playing on heavy legs.

L/P 10, South 6

Andrew Collins paced the Rebels with 3 assists and 1 goal. Jack Doherty and Doug Hoch each had 2 goals and an assist. L/P closed out their season with a record of 17-1. They are undoubtedly the favorite heading into the Class A playoffs.

Feel free to discuss …

Briarcliff 8, Pelham 7

The Briarcliff Bears (15-3) secured their first league title with a dramatic OT win over Pelham. Luis Reyes, a junior midfielder, scored the game winning goal in sudden death. Reyes attacked the cage from behind, slipping past his man to find daylight above the plane of the goal. He then rocketed an off balanced underhand shot into the back of the net. Following the goal, Reyes was mobbed by his teammates, as the Bears piled on to celebrate their momentous achievement.

Briarcliff, who held an early 5-3 lead at the half, saw it quickly disappear as the second half got underway. Pelham scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter, pushing their lead to 7-5 to being the fourth.

However, Briarcliff got things together in the fourth quarter, scoring two goals to send it into OT. Dylan Gessner put home the game tying goal on a broken play.

Notes

• Jake Resnick, a junior long stick, was the standout for the Bears on defense. Although he did make a few questionable decisions, which resulted in unsportsmanlike like penalties, his aggression and intensity couldn’t be matched. While not the biggest defender, Resnick is tenacious, punishing opposing players with calculated slap checks. He also showed solid technique when matched up against Pelham’s #19, who was considerably bigger, by lifting his bottom hand to force a turnover. It was a gutsy performance.
• Eric Brandel, who is the Bears’ leading scorer, had three assists. He essentially played the role of the QB on offense. He was able to create for his teammates, but was held scoreless due to strong slides from the Pelham ‘D.’ Brandel clearly has the stick skills to make his mark on the field, however, too often his feet were rooted in the ground, which didn’t allow him ample separation from his defender to get off his shot. More off the ball movement, which I saw him display in a 6 goal effort against Peekskill, would’ve resulted in more scoring opportunities. Needless to say, a three assist effort is commendable and shows his unselfish, team oriented nature.
• Dylan Gessner, who had three goals and an assist, was the true all star on the Bears’ offense. He created for himself by dodging to the cage and also finished on the crease. He also rode extremely hard, which was exemplified by his game tying goal off a broken Pelham clear. It was an all around effort from Gessner.
• The Bears, playing at arch-rival Pleasantville’s field, showed a lot of focus and determination by wrapping up the league title in unfriendly confines. I even noticed the Pleasantville lax players cheering on Pelham, which I guess makes sense. It certainly says a lot about the Bears’ mental make up, which makes me think they have a good as shot as any to make some noise in the Sectionals. An upset is not out of the question, so beware power league teams, the Bears are dangerous.

Somers 11, Yorktown 10

Evan Von Heyn netted the game winner with about three minutes left in the third quarter, putting the Tuskers on top for good, 11-10.

‘Town, who led most of the game, stretched their lead to 8-4 with 7:41 left in the third quarter, as Nick Newman found the back of the net off an assist from Kevin Interllichio.

Following the goal, the Tuskers righted the ship, ripping off six straight goals to take a 10-8 lead with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter. Matt Marasco gave Somers their first lead since early in the second quarter with 11:42 left in the fourth, rocketing a laser shot into the back of the net after receiving a go ahead pass from his brother, Joe. The goal put Somers ahead 9-8. Ben Emmanuel followed Marasco’s goal with one of his own, stretching the lead to 10-8 with 10:31 remaining in the game.

However, Yorktown’s Rocky Bonitabitus singled handedly brought the ‘Huskers back in the game, ripping off two straight goals to tie the score up at 10-10 with 5:35 left in fourth quarter. But Von Heyn made sure the comeback effort was pure fiction, driving from behind the cage to put home the game winner.

Notes

• Somers defeated Yorktown in back-to-back years for the first time in school history.
• This was a barn burner of a game. ‘Town looked poised for victory early on, fluidly moving the ball on offense and finishing their shots with deft precision. However, once they gained a seemingly comfortable lead, 8-4, midway through the third quarter, everything went wrong. It mirrored the Murphy Cup game, where ‘Town also held a lead (9-6) in the third quarter. Though, it wasn’t as if Yorktown gave up, Somers’ big guns of Marasco and Von Heyn just refused to lose. The duo had a hand in six (either assist or goal) of the final seven Tuskers goals. It was a prime time performance from both players.
• ‘Town worked a different kind of rotation in the goal, subbing in Michael Bonitabitus to handle clearing duties. However, with 20 ticks left on the clock and ‘Town with the final possession to tie it up, he threw the ball into no man’s land, resulting in a game ending turnover.
• Somers, who have now won 12 straight games since an April loss to Jay, are peaking at the right time. It’s a shame, for them, that a big purple juggernaut will be eagerly waiting to try and snap their streak come sectionals.
• ‘Town, who at times looked dominant, struggled to put together a complete game. However, despite what the scoreboard says, they are improving each game. ‘Town vs. L/P in the Class A finals is a trap game for the Rebels, who have a near perfect record of 16-1. If the match up comes to fruition, I see the ‘Huskers taking it.
• Joe Marasco is my favorite player to watch in Section I. Hands down. Talk about a gutsy player with boundless athletic ability. Like those classic car commercials, Marasco is 0 mph to 100 mph in seconds. He has the quickest first step I’ve seen. I’m glad he’s only a sophomore.
• Chris Coppolecchia was an unsung hero tonight. He was everywhere, doing all the dirty work. In my opinion, he is a vastly underrated player. I’d rank him among the top 5 defensemen I’ve seen this year. Also, only a junior.

Feel free to add insight from either game …

Vids on the way.

Due to the tornado watch, a scheduled video shoot of Briarcliff vs. Pelham has been PPD.

The AD explained the game will be the same time/ same place tomorrow.

That means we will have a double-feature with Briarcliff vs. Pelham followed by Somers @ Yorktown.

In the early game I predict Briarcliff 9, Pelham 7

• Eric Brandel nets a hat trick and dishes out two assists.

In the late game I predict Somers 10, ‘Town 8

• Joe Marasco and Evan Von Heyn combine for 8 points.
• Look for the game to be decided in the fourth-quarter.

Feel free to discuss these two games while mother nature releases her fury.

Till then, be safe.

Check back tomorrow night for both games.