DeMarinis/Kittredge Connection Been Clicking for Years

Varada on Fire, Surging Hen Hud Shocks Yorktown, Mahopac

By Tony Pinciaro

When Noelle DeMarinis and Ella Kittredge began kindergarten they also began playing lacrosse and it would eventually lead to a chemistry that has given opposing teams headaches.

The SOMERS seniors are a high-scoring midfield tandem that has enabled the Tuskers to dominate games. Opponents can’t focus on stopping one because if they do, the other will still generate goals or set up scoring opportunities for their teammates.

DeMarinis and Kittredge each scored nine goals as Somers registered two more wins — 20-12 over Lakeland/Panas and 18-4 over Brewster.

Both players are outstanding athletes, excelling in other sports. But it was lacrosse that introduced them to each other.

“The creativity that each individual player can bring to the game of lacrosse stood out to me compared to my other activities,” said DeMarinis, who will attend Columbia University in the fall and play lacrosse. “I loved that lacrosse granted me the freedom of developing a unique style of play while still being in a team atmosphere.”

As the girls got older, they realized that lacrosse was their passion and it would eventually be their sport in college.

“I didn’t become serious about lacrosse until my sophomore year,” said Kittredge, who will attend Holy Cross in the fall and play lacrosse. “I was very involved in soccer and loved both sports, but eventually chose to pursue playing lacrosse collegiately.”

DeMarinis and Kittredge became varsity players freshman year. Even though they, along with all student-athletes were sidelined in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic, they have made up for the lost year without skipping a beat.

“Ella and I have been side by side since the beginning of our lacrosse careers.” said DeMarinis, who intends on majoring in Business or Statistics and concentrating in Analytics. “Our history has instilled an unbreakable trust between us. The reassurance and encouragement that Ella has bestowed on me has helped me develop into the player I am today.”

Kittredge knows that she and DeMarinis are in lock-step with each other each time they take the field.

“Noelle and I have been playing together for years so we have been able to build up our chemistry,” said Kittredge, who plans to major in Economics with a minor in Business. “I think we can read each other’s minds, at this point, which has led to most of our success.”

Not only are both girls happy to be back working their magic together, they were psyched coming into the season being reunited with their teammates. This has resulted in team success.

“I credit our success to the receptive nature of our team,” DeMarinis said. “As open-minded players, we adapt and absorb advice from our coaches and fellow teammates quickly and efficiently. Our drive to improve each day is critical in a shortened season where time is limited.”

DeMarinis led Somers with six goals against Lakeland/Panas, Lauren McCartin added five goals and Kittredge scored four goals.

Kierra Ettere had six goals and five draw-controls for Lakeland/Panas.

Kittredge had a team-leading five goals and six draws in the Brewster game. DeMarinis added three goals and an assist, including her 125th varsity point, Molly Fink had a hat trick and Julie Sirchia set up four goals.

Somers defeated visiting PLEASANTVILLE 18-12 on Saturday behind six goals and three assists from Kittredge. Teagan Ryan added four goals and an assist while DeMarinis tallied three goals and an assist. Abby McAllister paced the Panthers with five goals. Reilly Byrne added four goals and three assists.

The Panthers fell to powerhouse Bronxville 23-11 a day earlier but defeated Scarsdale 15-7 earlier in the week. Byrne (5 goals), Grace Capko (4 goals) and McAllister (3 goals) led the way against Scarsdale.

It was a busy, but perfect week for HEN HUD as the Class C Sailors went 4-0, highlighted by an 8-7 victory over perennial Section 1 Class B power Yorktown, the Sailors’ first win ever over the Huskers.

“The girls battled all game and the defense really stepped up to hold a great offensive team to seven goals,” Hen Hud Coach Rob Molfetta said. “The win was a total team effort.”

Kira Varada finished with five goals and four draw controls. Jordan Porter added a goal and an assist and Katie Bell and Gigi Deak each had a goal. Madison Porter handled six shots.

Aliza Garofalo and Sophia Spallone each had two goals for YORKTOWN and Alexa Borges registered two assists.
While Hen Hud’s offense scored in double-digits in all four games, the defense held its opponents to single digits in goals — 14-6 over Rye, 17-4 over Mahopac and 16-3 over Carmel.

Varada scored six goals against Rye, followed by Fiona McGovern with four and Claire Popolizio added three. Seventh-grader Addy Flinchbaugh made five saves between the pipes.

McGovern took over against Mahopac with a career-best seven goals and she added three assists. Varada added a hat trick and Paige Montgomery and Popolizio had two goals apiece.

Varada and McGovern each had three goals to help Hen Hud add the exclamation mark to the 4-0 week. Katie Bell and Deak each had two goals. McGovern and Porter each set up three goals.

“The team is playing well and defensively we are shutting down opposing offenses,” Molfetta said. “The defense is anchored by Gigi Deak and Colleen Ryan. We are also controlling the draw circle with Gigi Deak taking the draws and Colleen Ryan and Kira Varada on the circle.

“Gigi is putting the ball in the right place and Colleen and Kira are picking up the ground balls. The offense is led by attacker Fiona McGovern, who is able to create offense by feeding or dodging. I am very proud of our team and how they are coming together. We are getting contributions from all of our players.”

Don’t look now, but the Sailors are the Class C favorites to win it all.

CARMEL has added a couple of firsts to what has been an excellent season, to date.

The Rams swept Pawling (15-10) and Wappingers (12-9), improving to 5-3 this season. Among the five wins are first-time victories over rival Brewster and Fox Lane in the program’s 10-year varsity history.

Laila Rosenquest led Carmel with a hat trick and two assists against Wappingers and Taylor Roth also had three goals.

Alex DeFlippo and Ally Taranto netted two goals apiece and goalie Cat Tonchuk made 15 saves.

“We are very happy that we have the opportunity to play this year after losing our season last year,” Carmel coach Kerry Hackert said. “It’s so exciting to see more milestones in our Carmel Girls’ Lax history since we started at the varsity level in 2011.”

MAHOPAC split a pair of games, dropping a17-4 verdict to a red-hot Hen Hud before rebounding to beat Putnam County-rival, Brewster, 16-7.

Mahopac, now 5-4 this season, went into halftime with a 12-4 lead on Brewster.

Audrey Colucci and Avery Przmylski each scored four goals against Brewster. Nicole Panny added three goals and Ally Savino finished with two goals and two assists.

Przmylski also collected nine ground balls and won 14 of 19 draw controls.

“It was great to be back at home and get things back on track,” said Mahopac coach Jim Lieto of the Brewster game. “The team played well and we look forward to keeping that going into our final two weeks of the regular season.”

Hen Hud held a double-digit lead at halftime against Mahopac, holding the Indians to a season-low four goals.

Gigi Genovese, Julia McGrinder, Colucci and Panny scored for Mahopac.

“This was a tough way to start league play,” Lieto said. “Hen Hud dominated the time of possession and we just couldn’t create scoring chances on offense.”

OSSINING senior and Iona commit Kacey Scarduzio reached a milestone in the Pride’s 9-7 win over Hastings.

Scarduzio rang up five goals, including the 100th of her varsity career. Megan Spedaliere and Malin Turnquist each added two goals.

“Scoring my 100th goal was one of the best feelings ever,” Scarduzio said. “I’ve been through a lot, in terms of injuries, and not being able to play last year due to the pandemic.

“That held me back from achieving this a long time ago. I’m just so grateful to have this opportunity and achieving this was an amazing feeling.”

Scarduzio collected six goals in an 18-10 loss to Kennedy Catholic and Turnquist added three goals. Scarduzio scored eight in a 21-11 loss to Sleepy Hollow. Turnquist had two goals and Bailey Lapolla scored once.

After opening the week with a pair of losses — 16-11 to Our Lady of Lourdes and 11-5 to Pawling — PUTNAM VALLEY closed with a 16-3 victory over Beacon.

Catherine O’Sullivan had a big game against Beacon, scoring seven goals and assisting on one. Lindsay Cohen added four goals and an assist and Eva DeChent contributed three goals.

Jordan Tucker highlighted the offense against Lourdes with a hat trick and three assists. Cohen added two goals and two assists and O’Sullivan and DeChent each had two goals.

Jessica Walsh, Cohen, O’Sullivan, Tucker and DeChent scored against Pawling.

BREWSTER was on its way to its first win of the season when its game with Pawling was suspended because of weather as the Bears were leading 9-4 with 20 minutes remaining in the game.

The Bears lost a pair — Mahopac (16-7) and Somers (18-4) — prior to the Pawling game.

Sasha Kulo and Morgan Brace each had two goals and Emily Monaco had one goal and two assists against Mahopac.

A 10-day break in playing games was not what WESTLAKE wanted, but when the Wildcats resumed play, they went 3-0 for the week.

“We had a 10-day pause because of close-opponent contact,” Westlake coach Dan Smith said. “I am really proud of the way the girls have played together and are committed to playing hard for one another.

“We have faced well-coached teams that have been prepared for us and we have risen to the challenge. Our midfield and draw-circle has been very strong, backed by solid defensive performances and timely goalkeeping.”

Westlake improved to 4-1 with wins over New Rochelle (15-11), Irvington (12-10) and Valhalla (10-7).

Gianna Eglauf and Francesca DeMartino each scored four goals against New Rochelle. Eglauf also added three assists. Ellie Barnett contributed three goals and Kyla Anderson and Alexa Hudd had two goals apiece.

DeMartino also scored four goals against Irvington. Eglauf collected three goals and three assists and Vanessa Theriault added two goals. Barnett had one goal and one assist.

A perfect 3-0 week catapulted BYRAM HILLS to 5-3 as the Bobcats erupted offensively, outscoring their opponents, 52-11.

Byram Hills opened the week with a 17-4 triumph of Rye Neck as Chloe Siegle scored seven goals, registered three assists and had eight draw controls. Lilly Ceisler netted five goals and added four assists and Irene Byrnes had four goals and four assists. Defensively, Anastasia Byrnes caused six turnovers.

In the win over Yonkers, Kiley Blackmar, Jojo Wolf and Jamie Kaplan scored their first varsity goals.
Siegle (three assists), Ciesler and Byrnes each registered a hat trick and Morgan Aronsky and Byrnes had two goals apiece. Piper Siegle made three saves.

The offensive exploits continued against Blind Brook on Senior Day as Byrnes led the way with six goals. Ceisler rang up seven assists and scored five goals, Chloe Siegle had four goals and three assists and Irene Byrnes added a hat trick.

“Through eight games we have an extremely well-balanced offense, with four players having 30-plus points,” Byram Hills coach Jack Kensil said. “And our defense is led by Jess Kahn and Lily Feldman.

“I have never been so excited for the game, on both the men’s and women’s side. It is great to be back out there every day, and we are enjoying every moment of it together.”

BRIARCLIFF played on consecutive days, falling to Fox Lane (16-6), but bouncing back to defeat Valhalla (9-3).

Cassie Lawler was the catalyst offensively with four goals against Valhalla. Paola Galiano had a goal and two assists and Charlie Fink added one goal and one assist. Charlotte Baer made four saves.

Lily Shafiroff had two goals against Fox Lane, Dylan Krsulich had a goal and an assist and Galiano registered two assists. Baer finished with a season-best 17 saves.

Extra time was needed to determine HORACE GREELEY’s only game of the week, but it was Mamaroneck prevailing, 14-13.

“I am so proud of the effort, poise and improvement we demonstrated against a quality opponent on the road,” Horace Greeley coach Dennis Hurlie said. “We are getting better every day and despite a grueling schedule, the girls remain positive knowing that come playoff time we will be as battle-tested and as ready to go as any team in the bracket.”

Molly Byrne found the net six times and also had two assists.

Erica Rosendorf added three goals and collected nine draw-controls.

Bae Bounds chipped in two goals and Mia Scott and Finley Pollard each had one.

Coaches are encouraged to hit up Tony Pinciaro at tfinch23@optonline.net for inclusion in the Examiner Media Girls’ Lax Notebook.

ROB DIANTONIO / BOB CASTNER / ALEXA JINDAL PHOTOS