Carmel Upends Mahopac in Final Minute; Panas Shocks Somers
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
They always lay it on the line when it comes to Putnam County’s finest rivalry; no matter the sport, and they didn’t disappoint in Section 1’s opening round on the pitch.
No.8 CARMEL hosted No.9 MAHOPAC Saturday in a rivalry battle for much more than Putnam County supremacy. The bordering foes had tied in their two previous matches, but it was Carmel which advanced to face No.1 Tappan Zee, ranked No.6 in NYS, after the Rams (8-3-6) eked out a 1-0 win off a gorgeous free kick from Zach Foltz.
A devastated Wolf Pac (8-6-3) club concluded an otherwise solid season, playing without a premier playmaker, injured senior Kody Booth.
The Carmel win was especially satisfying for senior G Alex Berardi, who notched seven saves for the shutout (his eighth of the season), with a little help from above.
“It’s been a crazy season,” Berardi said. “My dad passed right before the start of the year, and I’ve been playing every single game for him. Every time I step on the pitch I know he’s watching me, so I leave my heart out there on the field. I just know he was looking down on me today.
“It’s a rivalry game, so it’s a big win for us,” he added. “The defense played great. We’ve got a great back line. Great middle. Zach Foltz’s goal was an amazing cross. I was playing on instinct, and I’m pretty much speechless right now.”
Carmel Coach Vasiliy Shevelchinsky was humble in victory, giving Mahopac credit for its effort in all three games this season.
“We joked, (Mahopac Coach) Coach Mulholland and I before the game about this being another game that would go to PK’s or overtime,” the coach said. “We were finally able to capitalize on the opportunity we had against them. The defense stepped up today but will have their biggest challenge yet against Tappan Zee. Their kid (Brady Jacobs, 36 goals) has scored more goals than we have all year. I’m just excited to see the boys grow and develop with these opportunities before them. All season long we talked about having to have that mental toughness to pull games like this out.”
CLASS AA
Two first-half goals by Colin Warden (header) and Christian Beitler’s first of the season was all No.4 YORKTOWN would need in its 2-0 win over No.13 Clarkstown South. Huskers Haniel Flores and Daniel Cabrera each set up a score.
The Huskers (11-4-2) seized control, literally, by utilizing a ball-control game plan and held the ball for close to 80% of the time, keeping the visiting Vikings (5-11-1) at bay. Yorktown will host bracket-busting No.12 Clarkstown North in Tuesday’s quarterfinal.
“The team played well,” Yorktown Coach Justin Huff said, “but there’s a lot we need to clean up if we want to reach a section final. Our first goal was scored by Colin Worden, and was assisted by one of our freshmen, Daniel Cabrera, who has really come on strong at the end of the season for us. Patrick Reardon had a fantastic heads up play and we caught them sleeping when he played Haniel Flores in for a quick corner. He was able to play a beautiful ball to Christian Beitler to get that huge second goal.
“We got Clarkstown North next,” he added. “They’re coming off a huge upset of Harrison, and will be playing with a ton of confidence. If we can keep our game simple and finish our chances I like our chances to move on to the semis. We must keep playing hard and stay hungry for every 50/50 ball.”
No.15 Gorton was up against it at No.2 host PEEKSKILL, which is having its best season in recent memory, and the Red Devils (13-1-2) weren’t going home early after their 3-0 triumph Saturday behind goals from Chris Chalco, Melvin Criollo and Daniel Fare Sierra (1A). Juan Ventura added an assist for the state-ranked (No.10) Red Devils, who will host No.7 Roosevelt in Tuesday’s quarters.
No.14 BREWSTER gave it their all but No.3 host HORACE GREELEY has been on a roll, which wasn’t about to end in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the gritty Bears (4-11). Ryder Goodman, Jack Metzger and Daniel Fioretti scored for Greeley. Brewster’s lone goal came from Dante Gulla, and Bears keeper Jack Stasi had 12 saves.
“The boys looked very good but Brewster’s defense was persistent,” Quaker boss Camp Shropshire said. “We were ready for that, so we just kept to our game plan and eventually forced a penalty kick, which Ryder Goodman converted. We’ve had some challenges closing out games but the boys did a great job and shut down any and all counters from Brewster late in the game.”
The state-ranked (No.19 Quakers (10-2-5) will host rival Fox Lane in Tuesday’s quarterfinal doozy. The Quakers took a pair of one-goal victories in the regular season.
“I’m very proud of their performance yesterday and looking forward to another great challenge on Tuesday,” Shropshire said. “Fox Lane is well coached, motivated and have some fantastic and dangerous players. We got ’em twice in the regular season but, as you, us, and Fox Lane know, none of that matters in the postseason. “
No.11 Yonkers could not solve No.6 host FOX LANE, which will ride the wave of a 3-0 shutout into the next round after the Foxes (10-4-3) got single goals from Kenneth Mejia Lopez, Lucas Ormazabal and Ryan Joseph.
CLASS A
Top-seeded BYRAM HILLS, the 2023 NYS runner-up, made short work of No.16 Obama School Saturday morning, rising for a 6-0 win behind All-NYS senior Chris Amenedo, who finished the match with a goal and two helpers. Harry Boyd (1G, 1A), Seb Olego (2A), Ryan Jakubek (1G), Ryan Nichols (1G) and Tyler Bond (1G) all found the stat sheet while G Wes Woodworth (6 saves) notched the shutout, the sixth of the season for the state-ranked (No.10) Bobcats (13-1-3), who will host No.9 Panas Tuesday.
“We have played Panas in the playoffs four out of the last five years,” Byram Coach Matt Allen said. “Coach Pete (Pryschlak) was a Bobcat at one point and we are very close. I consider him one of my closest friends. With that, we know each other extremely well. This certainly doesn’t feel like a 1 vs. 8 matchup, as I believe the two teams are incredibly even.”
No.9 WALTER PANAS saw No.8 SOMERS for the third time this season in Saturday’s opening round, and the third time was finally a charm as the visiting Panthers (6-7-4) sent the Tuskers (8-8-1) packing in a shocking 5-3 Panas win. After losing 3-0 and 1-0 against the Tuskers (8-8-1) in the regular season, an energized Panas club showed up and showed out in the postseason behind a pair of goals from both Gershon Botomswe and Johncarlos Ortiz. Danny Coello (1G, 1A) also had two points for the Panthers, which got assists from Daniel Coello, Cristiano Ferreira, Jason Hernandez and Osvin Alarcon. Somers got two tallies from Daniel Nikac and another from Hyugo Todo, but it wasn’t enough in a very rare opening-round loss for the Tuskers.
“We saw Somers for the third time this season,” Panas Coach Peter Pryschlak said. “We had a game plan. The boys stuck to it. We battled for 80 minutes. Somers is a premier soccer program. Their boys fought hard. Give them some respect. It’s tough playing a league rival and opponent in the playoffs. We’re taking it one game at a time.”
No.12 Eastchester couldn’t slip one past the goalie Saturday and No.5 LAKELAND hung a 2-0 verdict on the Eagles behind the shutout effort of Hornet keeper Oban Rader, who made eight saves for his seventh shutout of the season. Goals by Hornets Vinny Karaqi (1A) and Jonathan Lage propelled the Hornets (11-5-1) into Tuesday’s quarterfinals at No.4 Rye.
No.14 Irvington pushed No.3 PLEASANTVILLE to the brink before the Panthers (9-3-3) prevailed in overtime, 2-1, on a season-saving goal from Kai Martens-Wallace, who scored off an unassisted volley for the unassisted golden goal in OT, jumping on a failed attempt to clear the ball in the Bulldog box. Danny McInerny (1G) and Erik Nanaj (1A) connected on the initial goal for the Panthers, who will host Westlake in Tuesday’s quarterfinal.
WESTLAKE is moving on after the sixth-seeded Wildcats (8-5-4) put a 2-1 decision on No.11 HEN HUD (8-9) Saturday. Nico Scanapieco and George Bojovic each scored for host Westlake off assists from Collin Lyden and Nate Ortiz. G Jozsef Varadi made six saves, beaten only by Sailor Helmer Herrera.
CLASS B
No.13 Albertus Magnus provided a tough opening-round test for No.4 BRIARCLIFF, but the 2023 sectional runner-up Bears (7-3-6) survived and advanced after Saturday’s 2-0 win over the visiting Falcons. Dan Chioccola scored with 17 minutes left in the first half and Odhran Murray scored his first off the season, both set up by Nathaniel Rohde (2A) while G Conall Torres (7 saves) managed the shutout for the Bears, who will host No.5 Bronxville in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.
Just call them the VALHALLA Bracket Busters because for the third year in a row the 11th-seeded Vikings (4-11-2) pulled off an opening round upset at No. 6 Dobbs Ferry, 4-3, Saturday afternoon. Last year, as the 13 seed, the Vikings beat No.4 Irvington, 1-0, and in 2022, as the 12 seed, they beat No.5 Dobbs Ferry 4-1.
“We limped into sectionals having lost the last five games,” Valhalla Coach Sandro Prosperino admitted, “but we knew our record wasn’t an indication of who we are. The team has persevered all season long and never gave up on each other or themselves.”
Viking Arthur Barrozo placed a pair between the pipes and Isaac Hernandez set up Barrozo first, and then assisted on Aiden Murphy’s first varsity goal. Ian Silvero scored the game-clinching goal at the 60-minute mark, unassisted.
“We knew our task at hand was huge playing a very talented and well-coached Dobbs Ferry who 37 days earlier on September 19 gave us our worst loss of the season (6-1),” Prosperinos said. “The boys really embraced the challenge of going back to Dobbs Ferry, which was reflected in how we prepared in practice all week leading up to this game. We had a game plan which the boys executed perfectly. And for the third straight season we pulled off the big first round upset! I don’t think I’ll ever forget the pure joy on these boys’ faces as that final whistle blew!”
G Jacob Bricker made five saves for the Vikings, who will visit third-seeded Rye Neck, which swept the Vikings by a combined 9-3 count, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
CLASS AAA
No.13 Mount Vernon went into the lion’s den at No.4 OSSINING where the Pride (10-3-4) advanced to the sectional quarterfinals behind goals from Brando Tuba, Alex Lenaghan (1A), Gabe Robinson and Noah Gooden.
No.11 WHITE PLAINS (6-7-4) took a 1-0 loss at No.6 New Rochelle when Huguenots junior G Jero Velasquez blasted a 55-yard free kick to the head of Julian Ward for the game-winning goal.
“We went to OT with a very good New Rochelle team,” White Plains Coach Michael Lambert said. “It was one of the best high school games I’ve ever been a part of. Congratulations to New Rochelle on the victory, and to our boys for playing their hearts out. It only hurts because they were a part of something great. Love to all our seniors.”
RAY GALLAGHER/ANDY JACOBS/DAVID TABER PHOTOS
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
