Carmel’s Historic Season Ends in OT Title Loss; White Plains, P’Ville Dip Out in Finals

By Ray Gallagher

Examiner Sports Editor
@Directrays

Every soccer program mentioned in this piece, and others across the section, deserves a pat on the back for entertaining parents and fans while providing their respective clubs with unprecedented valor and courage due to the COVID-19 situation that forced school administrators to juggle schedules throughout the fall while getting us to the finish line in a cohesive, professional manner #KuddostoAll.

Rich in championship history, BYRAM HILLS will never turn its nose up at a soccer championship, especially during a season where COVID-19 had Coach Matt Allen’s top-seeded Bobcats quarantined for 16 days prior to playoffs, so Sunday’s 4-0 win over visiting No.3 WALTER PANAS was especially sweet. The Bobcats (9-0-1) saw four different scorers tickle twine to snag the Putnam-Northern Westchester Small School Regional title. Bailey Goldstein (2A), Ross Eagle (1A), Lorenzo Amorosino and Evan Boekel all found the back of the net.

“Bailey’s goal at the end of the first half was a back-breaker for Panas,” Allen said of the senior, who had a hand in three of the four goals, saving his best for last.

Panas (8-4-2), which has had a terrific season, failed to penetrate a stingy Byram defense that surrendered just three goals all season.

“’I’m extremely proud of these boys,” Panas boss Peter Pryschlak said. “They have accomplished more than most previous Panas teams have done. They beaten good teams, won a regional game at home and finished as a finalist. They finished with a record of 8-4-2, which was one of our best in a long, long time. Congrats to Matty Allen and Byram Hills.”

The Hills have heard that often and 2020 marked the seventh time in 20 years that Byram has championed the section, and this one was dedicated to  Christy Saltstein, the mother of a player who passed away suddenly at the age of 46. An amazing woman, who co-founded the Stayin Alive Charity, her efforts raised over 200-K for local police departments, fire departments and ambulance corps to buy equipment needed in times of distress.

It was a special season for the Bobcat seniors.

“Our motto has long been ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Greatness’, and today I told these guys we now sit upon your shoulders,” said Coach Allen, who saw his 20-year career record improve to 295-68-28, now just five wins shy of a major milestone that many area coaches will laud. “These seniors are now part of an alumni that understands and cherishes that reference.”

In a 5-1 Panas quarterfinal win over Briarcliff, Panthers Tristan Phillips, Mike Ronga, Juan Gonzalez, Kyle Arriano and Steve Quiridumbay each had a goal for the Panthers. Gonzalo Cavajani, Paul Ronga and Jackson DiLorenzo each handed out one assist.  Kyle Rizzo stopped a penalty kick and made four saves while Shane Kammerman stopped two shots for Panas. Luca Vargish scored for the Bears off a Tyler Cho assist. The Panthers received a 1-0 forfeit win over North Salem on Friday in the semifinals.

Byram also knocked off PEEKSKILL in the semis but the Red Devs advanced with a 3-0 win over LAKELAND in the quarters. Peekskill, which had its best season in quite some time, had goals from Kevin Mendez (PK), Cesar Culajay from Nilson Sanabria off a corner kick and Nilson Sanabria (unassisted). It was the first time Peekskill beat Lakeland in two decades.

“”This was a huge win for us,” Peekskill Coach Jonathan Iasillo said of the Lakeland game. “It’s been a focus of our soccer program to show a gradual growth of producing solid players and quality play. It’s rewarding when the boys exhibit that in meaningful games like today. We play Byram Hills on Friday and we are looking forward to seeing how we stand against them.”

CARMEL had an historic season but sometimes you just tip your cap to an opponent and move on. That was the case at Carmel High School last Friday night where sixth-seeded John Jay CR capped a momentous post-season run, which included victories over No.3 Somers, No.2 Yorktown and top-seeded Carmel.

This post-season party was improbable, given the facts: The Wolves (6-6-1) had to beat the top three seeds, they survived a quarantine that sidelined 10 players for prolonged stretches, and limped their way into the playoffs having lost six of the last seven. But none of that mattered in the

finals of the Putnam/Northern Westchester Large School Regional Tournament where the Wolves outlasted the host Rams, 2-1, in double overtime.

Jay’s Cole Ferguson finished just right of the cage, taking a 32-yard cross from Sean Sexton (a converted football player) for his second goal of the game, touching off a madcap celebration the Wolves never saw coming until the wins over Somers and Yorktown fueled belief within the unit.

“We beat teams we’d never beaten before, so it means a lot to us, especially the seniors,” Wolves defender Josue Giron said.

Carmel’s Jack Auteria tied the game at 1-all, hauling along the far side to gather Brian Blaser’s through ball eight minutes into the second half, and the Rams had all the momentum throughout the second half when they peppered Jay G Owen Rabii (14 saves). All that changed on a dime in the OT session where Carmel, with limited opportunities, simply fought to defend its turf in front of keeper Joe Galeano (8 saves). The end of the finest season in school history came swiftly.

“I’m very proud of my boys, they left everything on the field,” said Carmel Coach Vasiliy Shevelchinsky, who guided the Rams to what is believed to be their only league title in one of the toughest leagues in NYS. “They fough to the end. It didn’t go the way we hoped it would, but I hope they can take everything they’ve learned from this season and use it in life.

“This game can be cruel when you don’t capitalize on your opportunities,” the coach added. “We tried to make a few adjustments but they were a really good team and they were able to prevail. Our goal was to secure a culture for young players to come in here and build high levels of success and our seniors did that and then some. They set the standard for the underclassmen for years to come.”

No.3 PLEASANTVILLE advanced to Sunday’s Southern Westchester Small School Regional title game after a 3-2 OT triumph of No.2 Hamilton 1 last Thursday. Panther Arjun Singh scored off a Ryan Chalice to force OT where Singh came up big again from Patrick Panek. Panther G Adam Panek made nine saves. But the Panthers failed to mount a sustained attack on No.1 Bronxville and fell, 3-0, in the title tilt in a game that was much closer than the final score would indicate.

The P’Ville unit posted 10 wins and nine shutouts on the season.

Second-seeded WHITE PLAINS (7-1-2) reached the finals of the Southern Westchester Large School Regionals before falling to top-seeded host Mamaroneck, 4-1. Sunday. Tiger Gael Baraldi gave White Plains a 1-0 lead, but Marko Kecman scored a pair of goals in a two-minute span, putting Mamaroneck back on top for good.

“Sports is unforgiving,” White Plains Coach Mike Lambert said. “Today ends an extremely successful season where a group of soccer players brought pride and a league championship to their school and city. These boys have done so much for our program, they are my family. They should be proud, they deserve it.”

The Tigers reached the finals courtesy of a 3-2 win over No.3 Ardsley who had trouble stopping

David Paramo, who scored off a feed from Jair Cano for a 1-0 lead at the half. Mario Martinez-Jimenez then found Eric Ramirez for a 2-0 lead before Alen Meneses assisted on a Gael Balardi tally for a 3-0 lead. Tiger goalies Thomas Pisapia (6 saves) and Carlos Mendez (2 saves) split the difference in goal.