Girls Lax Notebook

By Tony Pinciaro

Megan Mucci saw an opening in Suffern’s defense and knew it was too good to pass up.

The sophomore drove to goal, drew a foul and set up her game-winning shot with nine seconds remaining, lifting third-seeded LAKELAND/PANAS to a 10-9 victory over sixth-seeded Suffern in a Section 1 Class A Girls’ Lacrosse quarterfinal game.

Lakeland/Panas played at second-seeded John Jay-Cross River in a semifinal, Monday. John Jay swept two games from the Rebels this season.

Mucci evened the score at 9-9 with two minutes remaining. The Hornets won the ensuing draw and held for the last shot.

“We had a plan to save the last shot and to get it going with about 20 seconds,” said Mucci, who finished with three goals. “Kelsey (McCrudden) was holding the ball, and they weren’t pressuring out on us, so she held the ball. We wanted to get the ball going and draw shooting space.

“Kelsey, Emily (Kness) and I were at the top. When I got the ball I drove it to net, looking to kick it out to someone, but I got a shooting space call.”

It resulted in a free position and Mucci made Suffern regret its defensive mistake.

“I was so nervous,” said Mucci, with a laugh. “I looked to my left, saw Kelsey and she just told me to take a deep breath and go. Honestly, I thought it was going to get saved.”

Mucci maintained her composure, did not tip her hand and unleashed a shot that beat Suffern’s goalie at the hip. It was Mucci’s second game-winning goal of the season. She eclipsed Hen Hud earlier this season.

Lakeland/Panas, now 10-7 this season, had a first-round bye which enabled the Rebels and coach Rebecca DiSisto-Leslie to install a new offense. Ironically, the Rebels implemented the offense the day before playing Suffern.

“The offense we used during the regular season was a motion offense, but this offense forced us to move a little bit more and move the ball more,” Mucci said. “Coach trusted us with it. After we ran it a couple of times in practice, we thought it worked a lot better because it created more open lanes for people. We all knew, immediately, it work better than what we used all season.”

Jenna McCrudden had a hat trick and Kelsey McCrudden added a goal and two assists. Emily Kness had one goal and one assist and Raquel Nieves and Keirra Ettere each had one goal.

 

Even though John Jay beat Lakeland twice during the regular season, the Rebels learned from those games and will make the necessary adjustments for the semifinal.

PUTNAM VALLEY, seeded second, began its quest for a return trip to the Section 1 Class D championship game with a pair of decisive victories: 17-3 over Edgemont in a first-round game and 17-6 over Briarcliff in a quarterfinal matchup.

Emma Rippon led the offense against Edgemont with five goals and three assists. Madelyn Deegan, Jackie Phillips, Jessica Denike, Lindsay Cohen and Jessica Walsh each had two goals and Denike also collected three assists.

Emma Rippon finished with a game-best five goals against Briarcliff. Philips added four goals and five assists and Deegan also had four goals.

BREWSTER, the second seed, moved one step closer to a possible berth in the Section 1 Class C final with a 17-5 thumping of 10^th-seeded Nyack as Marina Souza and Lauren Craft each netted four goals.

Brewster hosted third-seeded Rye in a semifinal, Monday.

“The girls played a full game today,” Brewster coach Sara DiDio said. “The defense had an amazing game, working as a unit to stop Nyack from driving into the 8-meter zone.

“Our attack also had a stand-out game. They moved the play well for fast breaks and found their teammates inside the 8-meter.”

Along with her four goals. Souza also added three assists. Haile Ratajack scored three goals and Dani Regan and Maggie DePaoli had two apiece. Regan also registered three assists. Sam DeLeo and Meagan Beal each had one goal.

MAHOPAC held off a stubborn Scarsdale team, 8-6, in a Section 1 Class A quarterfinal game.

No.3 Mahopac advanced to the semifinals, Monday.

The Indians led 5-3 10 minutes into the second half before Scarsdale scored twice to even the score. Caroline Raymond scored her fourth goal of the game with 13 minutes remaining to give Mahopac a 6-5 advantage, but Scarsdale bounced back to even the score with six minutes on the clock.

Mahopac answered as Sophia DeFrancesco scored the decisive goal two minutes later and Caitlyn Reilly added an insurance with two minutes remaining.

“It’s about doing everything you can to survive and move on, and that is exactly what we did,” Lieto said. “Different girls stepped up and filled roles today to ensure that we moved on to the next round.”

Fourth-seeded HEN HUD advanced to the semifinals of the Section 1 Class C Championship following an 11-3 victory over fifth-seeded Pelham.

Hen Hud played at No. 1 Byram Hills, Monday, in a semifinal.

Kira Varada finished with a game-high four goals, Rachel Palka and Erin Clark added two goals apiece and Haley Merchant contributed one goal and two assists. Rutgers-bound Mackenzie Porter handled 12 shots.

“The defense played great, only allowing three goals to a very talented Pelham team,” Hen Hud coach Rob Molfetta said.

No.1 YORKTOWN cruised to an 11-1 triumph over Ursuline and advanced to face No.4 Fox Lane in Monday’s Class B semifinal round.