Bronxville Dynasty Continues at the Expense of the Bears
of Bronxville in the Class B title game.
By Monica D’Ippolito
Both Briarcliff and Bronxville players pursued a loose ball along the left sideline late Saturday afternoon, one of the only threats the Broncos managed in the first 22 minutes. With contact coming from both sides, a pair of players went crashing down to the turf. A whistle blew and the referee issued Bronxville a free kick just outside the Bears’ 18-yard box.
The debatable call became the eventual game changer.
“Unfortunately, the free kick that was awarded over here was the first shot they had on goal,” Bears coach Owen Scully would say later. “It was a little bit of a momentum shift right there, it was very unfortunate. I saw it, it was a very tough call, but that’s soccer sometimes.”
Bronxville’s Killian Donahue sailed the direct kick over the outstretched hands of Bears’ keeper Sydney Wolin, scoring the game’s first goal and providing just the lift the top-seeded Broncos needed in a 3-0 victory over the Bears in the Section 1, Class B championship game at windy Arlington High School.
“I mean the referees are going to make the calls, just a matter of if our team can adjust,” Briarcliff defender Cassidy Carrafiello said.
Before the Broncos took the lead, the Bears had been dominating and looked as though they were the ones who were the four-time defending Class B champions. Briarcliff did well working the ball down the flank and then playing dangerous crosses through the Bronxville box, but ultimately couldn’t capitalize on the early opportunities.
“We played strong but just didn’t drop for us,” senior Kelsey Simpson said.
The 15th minute looked like Briarcliff’s best shot, as Carrafiello struck a ball that looked all but in. However, Broncos’ keeper Charley Warble dove and tipped the ball away, and the Bears’ shot on the rebound smacked against the crossbar and then was finally cleared away.
“I thought the girls put in a great first-half performance,” Scully said. “The way we were playing at that particular time, I was very pleased.”
The Bears went into halftime trailing 1-0 and also faced the tough task of going against the heavy November wind for the final 40 minutes. The second half was mostly played in Briarcliff’s defensive third and the Bears had a difficult time clearing the ball out of their side.
“It was difficult, but we really faced these conditions like this all the time,” Carrafiello said. “Owen just said go out, work hard and make the best of it, so that’s what we tried to do.”
“Just being able to judge it and gage where you want to put the ball was difficult tonight,” Scully added. “That didn’t help us, but then again it was there for both teams, it was equally difficult. The opportunities they had they took, and we had the same amount but unfortunately it didn’t drop for us.”
The Bears managed to keep their deficit at just one goal until the 62nd minute, when Lucy Kohlhoff shook a defender and hit a shot past Wolin.
Two minutes later, Donahue added another insurance goal on a corner. She sailed the kick near-post, the unrelenting wind got hold of it, and Wolin misjudged the shot, which wound up sneaking past her for the game’s third goal.
By then, it was apparent the Bears would have to wait another year to put an end to the recent Bronxville dynasty.
“I was so content with everyone’s performance, everybody worked so hard the entire season, really going to miss everyone,” Carrafiello said of her last game in a Bears’ soccer uniform. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
“It’s rough,” added Simpson. “I obviously wanted to get a win, but we’re happy to be here. We progressed from last year, so hopefully next year’s team can build on that and win.”
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