Mahopac, Somers, Fox Lane, Greeley Move on in Class B
Carmel Beats New Ro’, Wins 1st Playoff Game Ever; Putnam Valley Wins 10th-Straight
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
Many of the top guns in the Section 1 Class B tournament took the first round off last Friday, including No.1 Rye, No.2 Yorktown and No.3 Lakeland/Panas, which secured first-round byes after a stellar regular season campaign, as did Briarcliff in Class C.
In the opening round of the Class B tourney, fourth-seeded MAHOPAC dispatched No.13 Clarkstown South, 15-2 when the up-and-comers did a ton of damage, including sophomore Mike Rettberg (hat trick) and freshman Danny Koch, who added two goals and three assists for the Indians, who also saw sophomores Gavin Viglucci and Ryan Geofhegan score two goals apiece. Junior pole Sean Massett delivered one goal and one assist to go with two takeaways and a team-high six GBs. West Point-bound junior Mike Harney added a goal and two assists. Senior Matt Puckhaber (2A) and sophomore Jake Degnan (1G, 1A) and freshman John Kearney (1G, 1A) all had multi-point games for the Indians, who should return a ton of talent next season after setting the foundation in 2021.
The Indians were set to host No. 5 FOX LANE in last night’s quarters in what promises to be a whale of a game, with the winner moving on to the semis to face No.1 Rye, the reigning Class C champ, in all likelihood.
The Foxes cruised to a 17-2 win over No.12 Eastchester Friday when Everett Banks sent six between the pipes and set up another as the Foxes commanded a 10-0 edge by the end of the first. Banks has pumped out some major numbers this season (44G, 18A, 62P).
Jake Wollman added two goals and four assists for the Foxes while Will Shepherd and Matt Magidson each scored a pair of goals in the win.
No.6 SOMERS advanced to the quarters to challenge LAKELAND/PANAS, which is coming off a 10-day COVID-related pause. The Tuskers worked No.11 Harrison, 14-3 when Kieran Gill went for the hat trick. Lorenzo Sessa (1G, 3A) did the bulk of the feeding and padded his season-long numbers (44 points) while Jack Silverman and Ethan Krauss added two goals apiece. Henry Ellison (1G, 1A) had a multi-point effort for the Tuskers, who led 12-0 after three.
As good as the Tuskers looked, they will need to put their best foot forward against a Lakeland/Panas program that has won three of the last six Class A titles before moving down to Class B this season. Rebel Mark Cummins will likely get in senior M TJ. Deagan’s grill, meaning other Tuskers will need to step up if they are to forge an upset in Tusker Nation.
No.10 GREELEY advanced to face No.2 YORKTOWN after a thrilling 12-11 overtime triumph of Clarkstown North when senior Jeffery Lungen swooped in on a GB and went top right with 39 seconds to play in OT. Previously, it was the Boden Bounds show for the Quakers, as the junior bagged five goals. Dylan Mutkowski finished with a hat trick while Dylan Zarr, Carter Meehan and Zach Eichenberg all tickled twine. G Sam Rosenberg (25 saves) was huge, including two soaks in overtime. Yorktown — with its potent attack that features Dylan Beck (32G, 15A, 47P), Harry Griff (22, 23, 45) and Will Embury (23, 17, 40) — should pose far too many problems for the Quakers to pull of what would be considered the upset of the decade.
John Jay ended No.8 BREWSTER’s season, 9-2. Josh Walsh and Jack Jordan each scored for the Bears.
CLASS C
In Friday’s opening round of the tourney, PUTNAM VALLEY won for the 10th time in a two, beating Ardsley, 17-5 Friday when senior M Ethan Mournier went for four goals and three assists, giving him 71 points this season. Cagey Tiger junior A Ryan Denike was serving the cheese all game long, dishing eight assists and scoring once. Denike (26G, 54A, 80 points) has had a monster year.
Andrew Dzybak finished with three goals and two assists while Jack Murphy added a hat trick for third-seeded PV, who was set to host No.6 Pearl River last night.
“We took care of business and advanced to the next round, which is what we were supposed to do,” PV Coach Tim Weir said. “It’s a special group of kids.”
Despite big games from Sailors Jack Kapfer (2G, 3A), Rocco Capicotti (3G) and Dean Hiltsley (2G, 1A), host Tappan Zee ended No.10 HEN HUD’s season by a 10-9 count.
Don’t look now, but BYRAM HILLS has a sneaky-good path to the Class B finals after an incredibly fortunate draw that has already seen No. 4 Edgemont knocked out of the playoffs, leaving the the fifth-seeded Bobcats with a home game against No.13 Lourdes last night.
This particular bracket was made to be busted and should 2019 Class C runner-up Byram beat Lourdes (a given) and advance to the semis, they would likely see top-seeded Sleepy Hollow, which hasn’t posted what some would call a quality W all season. The Headless Horsemen will have a tough time knocking off No.8 Pelham in the quarters, much less the Bobcats, but this is how the brackets broke in 2021 due to COVID-19 and the elimination of playoff formulas.
Byram’s loss to Somers in the regular-season finale bumped the Bobcats back to No.5, which kept both Putnam Valley and No.2 Briarcliff on the opposite side of the bracket, giving the Bobcats a prime path to the finals.
Hayden Fruhling eclipsed the 100-point milestone in the Bobcats’ 17-2 win over Nyack in the opening round as the mighty Fruhling finished with two goals and six assists. Bobcats Michael Oronzio notched four goals while Gavin Javorsky and Benny Rakower each netted a trio of goals. Ben Weinhoff dominated the X, taking 19 of 24 draws.
Pelham eliminated No.9 Westlake, 11-1. Andrew Llamas scored for the Wildcats.
CLASS A
CARMEL, the No.9 seed, set up a Monday showdown with No.1 Mamaroneck — the two-time reigning Class A champs — after Ram senior M Ryan McDonald scored a career-high four goals in a 10-8 triumph of No.8 host New Rochelle; what was the first postseason win in Carmel history. Carmel freshman Matt Risley continued his fast-paced ascension with three goals and three assists and teammate Jimmy Lyons had three goals and one assist.
“The kids killed it today,” Carmel Coach Matt Caione said. “I can’t give enough credit to McDonald, Risley and Lyons, and our D-mids were sensational, including Will Kelly, Max Richardson and Jake Ellner. They were beasts today.”
McDonald will pass the torch to Risley in the hopes of having done his part to build a sustainable program.
“Going into the game we were super excited knowing it could be the first win in our history,” McDonald said. “It’s the best feeling in the world and was definitely one we’ll remember. This team really battled and showed who we are. We came together as one and got the job done. There is definitely going to be more to come from Carmel, don’t doubt that.”
WHITE PLAINS, the No.5 seed, was set to visit No.4 Suffern last night, hoping that leading scorer Ryan Ortiz (39 points) would have a big game.
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.
