Class B Lakeland, Class A Greeley Look to Repeat as Section Champs

Examiner Sports Editor

@Directrays

The Lakeland High field hockey program is the fine wine of Section 1 sports: It just gets better over time. Winners of the last 11 Section 1 Class B titles (20 overall) and owners of 13 NYSPHSAA championships, Coach Sharon Sarsen’s defending NYS champion Hornets (20-1-1) have become the envy of all New York State field hockey programs.

There’s good reason for the program’s success. The Hornets don’t take much time off. Sarsen, entering her 39th season with a career mark of 659-73-40, has her elite players competing in an off-season regimen that has them facing some of the stiffest competition in the nation on a regular basis.

“They buy in,” Sarsen said. “We’re all in.”

“All in” means a commitment second to none. It means staying active during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, unfortunately, has stripped student athletes of challenging for a NYS title this fall during an abbreviated season. Players and coaches will wear masks, fans will be limited, but the Hornets are simply looking to fulfill their destiny as Section 1 champs in an effort to carry on the Lakeland tradition, which was borne from former greats like Kathy Cortez, and the Bozek and Scavelli sisters… far too many to mention.

So when people think of Section 1 field hockey, they think Lakeland; because Sarsen’s Hornets eat, breath and sleep field hockey. To gather some perspective on Lakeland dominance: Since the turn of the century, only three other programs from Section 1 have won a state title (Mahopac 2001, Putnam Valley 2005 and four-time champ Rye 2000-01-03-7). Lakeland has 12 in that span.

“We can’t wait to get back on the field Tuesday,” Sarsen said. “We will enjoy every minute. The girls have been awesome with each and every challenge and obstacle they have faced during this pandemic. They are grateful for the opportunity to wear the Lakeland uniform again.”

Sarsen has lost just 73 times in 38 years. Less than two losses per season for the 30-time league champion Hornets (23 consecutive). Dwell on that for a second.

Top returning players include senior captains M/F Keirra Ettere, F Emma Fon and D Kristen O’Shea, who is nursing a broken arm to start the season. That will put some added pressure on junior D/M Mia Smith and sophomore G Celeste Pagliaroli.

“Our goal is to get back on a field and enjoy the experience,” Sarsen said. “To compete every day, and to win a section championship.”

As far as sectional titles go, there’s been no stopping them since Putnam Valley did so in 2008.

CLASS B

SOMERS (12-4-4)

The second-seeded Tuskers torched Brewster, 3-0, in the sectional quarters and went all the way to the finals before falling, 4-0, to Lakeland, which clung to a 1-0 lead at the half. First-year Somers Coach Amy Magaletti is hoping the Tuskers can build upon one of their finest campaigns in history despite some recent instability among the coaching ranks. Seniors M Isabella (Bella) Del Vecchio will put the charge in the Tusker attack while seniors M/F Ryan Mellor and Julie Rosenberg will solidify the defense. The D-I-bound Del Vecchio scored three goals in the 6-1 semifinal win over Pelham and figures to be among the premier scorers in the section this season. The road to the league and sectional title runs through Lakeland, but the Tuskers are ready to travel.

“This is going to be one challenging season with the presence of COVID-19,” said Coach Magaletti, now in her first season as head coach at Somers. “We will be taking each new day and building ourselves up. Being one team and using all of the amazing abilities each player offers will lead us to a strong and successful season.”

Juniors M/D Julianna Sirchia and G Carleigh Carbonaro are solid returning veterans.

“We have a whole team of players who can be standouts,” the coach said. “I can’t wait to see who else steps up in our new season and becomes a strong role model on the field.”

Key newcomers include sophomores Teagan Ryan and Lauren McMartin.

“I’m looking forward to seeing our other newcomers play in a couple of days,” Magaletti said.

We want to create a strong team bond and work together to always improve ourselves as athletes and students.”

BREWSTER (9-8-1)
After knocking off Yorktown, 1-0, in the opening round the seventh-seeded Bears met their match in the Class B quarters in a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Somers.

PANAS (8-9-1)

The ninth-seeded Panthers advanced to the quarterfinals after a shootout playoff win over Nanuet but were blanked 6-0 by Lakeland in the quarters. Freshman G Kathryn Astrab is the real deal, having started for the Panthers as an eighth grader.

YORKTOWN (6-8-3)

The 10th-seeded Huskers were eliminated by Brewster in a 1-0 opening-round playoff setback and struggled in a tough league (2-5), but first-year Coach Courtney Hyndman, who has six previous season experience at Putnam Valley, will focus on strengthening the defensive chops in front of senior G Addy Araeno, a D-II commit (Franklin Pierce University). With seven seniors returning to the fold, the Huskers should show significant improvement.

“We’re excited to see what our returning upperclassmen are going to bring to the field this year,” Hyndman said. “We are also looking forward to see what talent shows up during tryouts. I can’t wait to get started and am really happy this group of seniors get a season and get to finish their field hockey career. We want to establish a strong presence in the defensive circle, having game-like intensity at all times and being a top-three team in our league.”
HEN HUD (5-10-1)

After finishing out the 2019 season with a trip to sectionals, the 11th-seeded Sailors were knocked off by Pearl River in the opening round by a 6-0 count.

“We look forward to being there again this season,” Hen Hud Coach Melissa Locatelli said. “It did end in the first round with a loss but, just making it to sectionals was an absolute honor to our team.”

Hen Hud took a hard hit to graduation, losing 12 seniors.

“We have some amazing girls taking their places this year,” the coach said. “Our team has some great athletes, who I know will perform to their peak ability. We will also get to have the JV coach Alyssa Picariello joining us as assistant coach this year.”

The defense figures to be stour with returning seniors D Vanessa Rossi and G Caroline Coronel. Returning juniors include hotshots Taeghan Dapson and Emma Schembari, plus D Logan Gougelmann, Paige Johannsen and Alana Espinoza are all experienced players, as is returning freshman M Rowan Dapson.

Newcomers this season are Emily Hunt as back up goalie, Taylor DeResh, Amelia MacNeil and Ally McManus.

“A must to watch this year are Taeghan Dapson and Emma Schembari, they are a dynamic duo on and off the field,” Locatelli said. “Taeghan has led our team for the last three years and she is an all around stellar athlete with amazing sportsmanship. She has the amazing ability to dodge people on the field and is very adept at reading people and knowing their next move. Emma Schembari showed last season that all the hard work she put in pays off. Her stick skills and ability to read Taeghan and the field are uncanny. It will be exciting to see them working together on the field this season again. Together they are the perfect duo and a force to be reckoned with.”

Gouglemann has the ability to be in the right spot at the right time on the back line.

“Our midfield and defense this season is next level,: the coach said. “Sydney Muranaka, Rowan Dapson, Alana Espinoza, Vanessa Rossi, and Goalie Caroline Coronel are a very hardworking group of girls who don’t give up. This is a whole new defensive line up for us this season and I’m confident they will all be amazing this year.”

A key newcomer will be Paige Johannsen. “She comes from a field hockey/ice hockey background,” the coach said, “and she’s an amazing athlete who is ready to show this team what she is capable of. We are ready for whatever this season throws at the good and the bad. This is an amazingly talented group of girls who have what it takes. They show up and leave their hearts on the field. We are excited and looking forward to another awesome season and sectionals is our goal for the third year in a row. These girls have what it takes: talent, heart and drive.”

CLASS A

HORACE GREELEY (18-1-1)

The NYSPHSAA runner-up Quakers came up just shy of the state championship after defending champion Maine-Endwell built a 2-0 first-half lead and held on for a 2-1 win as Greeley dominated most of the second half.

Top-seeded Greeley hadn’t won a Section 1 title since 1984, and with nine players will be lost to graduation, including four starters, Coach Sukhi Sandhu has his work cut out for an encore performance.

After going 14-4-1 in 2018 and 18-1-1 last year, the Quakers have won 32 games the last two years while reaching three-straight sectional finals since 2017.  This, from the smallest Class A school in section, which is said to be the favorite to repeat this season.

Four-year senior sweeper Caroline Flannery is the glue to the defense. Junior M Catherine Salamida and seniors G Siena Jarrin, M Grace Arrese, M Natalie Laskowsi and F Lily Schoonmaker, all return with vital experience and playoff poise.

FOX LANE (9-6-3)

The seventh-seeded Foxes were knocked out of the playoffs by Mamaroneck in a 3-1 quarterfinal loss under fifth-year Coach Kim Gigante, who had the Foxes playing very competitively last season, including a 1-1 tie with Greeley.

Gigante is hoping for another 2016-like season when the Foxes finished as undefeated league champions with a stout defense and top returning players like senior G Ally DePalma, junior D Kelly Damore and senior D Cayla Smith. Junior F Katie Lash will be counted on for scoring punch.

“As a coach during these times, I just want to see my athletes working hard and having fun,” Gigante admitted. “Being that the majority of our student athletes have not been able to do much during the last few months, it will be nice for them to be out there and doing something that they love. We are looking to just take it one day at a time and be grateful for the time we do get on the turf.”

MAHOPAC (8-6-3)

The eight-seeded Indians were knocked out of the playoffs in a 4-3 opening-round loss to No.9 RCK, which handled the Indians three times last season.

Veteran Coach Dona DiMaggio, who has a state title to her credit (2001), is banking on several key returnees to maintain the Indians’ winning tradition, which got off the rails in 2018.

Senior M Krista Dietz banged the boards effectively last season and should lead the charge in 2020 with veteran juniors Gabriella Gonzalez, Carly Ravoli and Tatiana Moran providing an ample amount of experience and skill.

DiMaggio admitted she needs time to tell which newcomers would provide an impact.

“We want to stay healthy and well, have fun and play for the love of the game,” the coach said. “Let the games begin.”

WHITE PLAINS (11-5-2)

The sixth-seeded Tigers reached the quarterfinals but were bounced from the postseason after a 5-1 loss to Scarsdale.

CARMEL (6-9-2)

The 11th-seeded Rams lost 6 seniors, but the team is ready to rise to the challenge, according to Coach Aislinn Breslin. Key players to watch are returners Kylie and Laila Rosenquest, Nikki McGough, Kacey Lewis, Alyssa Febbraio, Sam Wozniak, Katie Brown, Jenna Meissner and Alex Defillipo. New additions to watch out for include Kara Medina, Claire Bumgarner and Julianna Marrone.

“We are excited to see what we can do this year,” the coach said

CLASS C

PLEASANTVILLE (9-6-1)
The fourth-seeded Panthers lost in the quarterfinals to Albertus Magnus, 1-0, but 13th-year Coach Kristen Coffey has several key veterans returning in 2020, including seniors Christina Skrzypczak and Meaghan Ennis, plus juniors Ryan Sullivan and Caitlin Rubsamen. The top newcomer is G Isabelle Baxter.

Team goals for the Panthers are to build a strong team dynamic both on and off the field with positive and constructive communication among teammates.

“Our team is half returning players and half moving up to varsity,” the coach said. “We have strong players and leadership to pave the way for the newcomers. This season will be challenging considering the circumstances. Our goal as a coaching staff continues to be keeping the health and well-being of our players as a top priority. We will continue to improve their field hockey skills and knowledge, as well as demonstrate how playing a sport can teach us a lot on how to handle things that occur in everyday life.”

CROTON (6-9-1)

The eighth-seeded Tigers ousted Putnam Valley in the first round and lost to Bronxville, 6-0, in the quarterfinals, and the insertion of veteran Coach Melissa Alamprese should only help matters. The coach has been aboard the Section 1 circuit for 20 seasons — starting at Croton, before moving on the Sleepy Hollow and Yorktown, before returning to her roots in 2019 — and should make a smooth transition in Year 2 back at Croton.

Top returning players include seniors Madison Archer, Izzi Popolizio, Adriana Nicolari, Lyndsey DeLasho and Jane Lally. Key newcomers include juniors Maddie Nikic and Phoebe Turner.

“The entire team returns from last except one player,” Alamprese said. “I will be looking for big contributions from all of them. Despite the time we have lost this season, the senior class is looking to make the most of what is left. This is a special group and I am excited that they will have an opportunity to get this season in.  Many of them had their seasons cut short in the spring and they are looking forward to practices and games to start.  Clearly, this will be an adjustment for everyone with  practices and preparation looking much different, but if we are going to be successful we can’t get distracted and remain focused on the areas we can control.”

PUTNAM VALLEY (4-11-2)

The ninth-seeded Tigers were knocked off by Croton-Harmon in the opening round last year, but there’s huge enthusiasm within the PV field hockey program with the return of Coach Tracy Cottrell-Parchen after a decade-long sabbatical to raise her children. Parchen, who guided the Tigers to a 2005 NYS title and a 2008 sectional title win over Lakeland, is the shot in the arm this program needs. Initially, she was hoping to return in 2021, but the recent coaching vacancy forced her hand and she took the opportunity to reclaim the mantle.

The hope is that Parchen, who works in the PV middle school, can energize the student athletes to fall in love with field hockey, like things were between 2003-2009 when the Tigers were perennial challengers for the sectional crown.

The Tigers were hit hard by graduation but players to watch this season include the Lussier twins, Sara and Shayla, along with Julia Cunningham.

VALHALLA (10-8)

The seventh-seeded Viking were eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 3-0 loss to North Salem, which is rumored to be very strong in 2020 and a legit challenger to Bronxville’s throne. Viking sophomore Ava De Natale has a nice future.

EDGEMONT (3-10-1)

The Wildcats did not qualify for the 2019 playoffs.

BRIARCLIFF (1-12-1)

The Bears failed to qualify for the post-season last year.

 

All Examiner-area coaches and/or AD’s were contacted via email for field hockey preview information, and all are encouraged to hit up raygallaghersports@gmail.com with results, stats and comments after every game or weekly before noon Sunday deadline.