Putnam Valley, P’Ville Sit Atop Class C; Lakeland Rolls on Class B

By Tony Pinciaro

PUTNAM VALLEY was facing a difficult situation going into the 2024 varsity field hockey season. The 2022 and 2023 Section 1 Class C finalists witnessed the graduation of 11 seniors last June, leaving Julia Toth and her fellow seniors welcoming a new group to varsity. And, the seniors would do so with one less week of practice as Section 1 began fall sports’ practice August 26, one week before school opened.

However, Toth pointed out the team was prepared for this based on its off-season preparation.

“We would have Monday night practices during the spring season and a lot of us played winter league and summer league,” said Toth, a four-year varsity player. “We were constantly talking to each other and staying active. Last year was the second year in-a-row we lost in the section final. We’re kind of getting sick and tired of that so we were putting in the extra work.”

The results have been excellent for the Tigers as they own an 12-3-1 record and are currently tied with Pleasantville for the best record in Class C. However, Putnam Valley owns a win (4-0) over Pleasantville.

The Section 1 Field Hockey Seeding Meeting will be held, Tuesday, 10/22. Games will be played Thursday and Friday.

Putnam Valley closed out its regular season with a 3-2 victory over Pawling and 3-0 win over North Salem. The Tigers upset Putnam Valley, 1-0, in overtime, in the 2023 sectional final.

Along with the team’s determined off-season work, Toth and classmates Kate Nielsen, Izzy Kui, Naomi Gabay, Isabella Walther, Eliza Osmanaj and Hayley Craane brought the team together.

“Coach Parchen talked it out with the captains, that we had to bring up our game and bring up our energy,” Toth said. “The seniors, last year, had a fiery spirit about them and we fed off their energy. We had to continue keeping up with the power and energy and Coach Parchen helped a lot with that.

“We did a lot of team bonding and talked about the game. We also had 2-3 new girls, who had never played before, but it was very easy to build connections with them that way. All of them were quick to understand the game and succeed on a varsity level.”

Putnam Valley had a seven-game winning streak, including victories over Class A schools Clarkstown and Arlington. The Tigers also own a 4-0 win over Pleasantville.

“Our senior night against Pleasantville was a turning point for us,” Toth said. “We had lost to R.C. Ketcham the game before, by one goal. We really felt we played well and had a chance to win.

“Coming into the Pleasantville game, we showed up and played the way we wanted to play. I think that we had to show our strength and show what we are capable of doing.”

As the Tigers prepare for sectionals, a sectional title is the goal. Should Putnam Valley reach the final, the seniors have learned from last year.

“We beat North Salem twice in the regular season so coming into the final we were thinking we were going to win again,” Toth said. “Our energy will be a big component for sectionals. We feel our players are extremely talented and we also have to have a clear head and focus on what we’ve wanted for the last two years.”

Naomi Gabay, assisted by Toth, against Bronxville and Minisha Singh stopped six shots. Lily Johnson, Kui and Gabay had the goals against Pawling and Gabay also had an assist.

Lilly Cottrell led the way against North Salem with a goal and an assist. Maggie Caputo and Leah Harman also found the back of the cage and Singh rang up four saves.

LAKELAND closed out the season with a pair of wins – 9-0 over Hen Hud and completed a season sweep of Rye, 1-0, in overtime. The 15-time defending Section 1 Class B champions are currently tied with John Jay-Cross River for the top seed in the Section 1 Class B Championships. Emily Daniel propelled Lakeland to the overtime win, converting a penalty stroke 3:01 into the 7 v. 7 session.

Gabby Goldstein, Aditi Parambath and Daniel each scored two goals against Hen Hud. Gabby Santini added a goal and three assists and Gianna Santini collected four helpers.

HEN HUD goalies Imani Yuset (three saves) and Kelsey Wong (one save) combined for four saves.

YORKTOWN had a busy final week of the regular season with three games.

The Cornhuskers shut out Ossining (10-0), tied Fox Lane (1-1) and lost to John Jay-Cross River (1-0). Brie Gaccino and Serena Zimmerman each had a hat trick against Ossining and Lily Diaz added two goals.

OSSINING goalie Bella Gil made 10 saves. Diaz had the goal against Fox Lane and Annie Durante handled three shots. Durante made five saves against John Jay as the Cornhuskers completed the regular season with a 10-4-2 record.

PLEASANTVILLE registered two wins over North Salem and Croton to complete one of its finest regular seasons in program history at 12-3-1. The Panthers are even with Putnam Valley for the top record in Class C entering sectionals.

Claire Collins scored twice and added an assist Abbey Gordon contributed one goal and one assist against North Salem.

The Panthers had a balanced scoring effort against Croton with eight players registering points.
Collins had a game-high four goals and three assists and Maggie Kearney added two scores. Gordon finished with a goal and three helpers and Kayla Gooden had one goal and one assist.

MAHOPAC went 1-2 last week and closed out the regular season against Ossining, Monday.

The Wolf Pac lost to John Jay-East Fishkill, 1-0, but came back the following day and beat archrival Carmel, 3-1, on Mahopac’s Senior Night. R.C. Ketcham spoiled Mahopac’s week with a 3-0 victory. Talia Salon made seven saves against John Jay-East Fishkill.

Angelina Russo and Erin Harney each had a goal and assisted on each other’s score. Sophia Perillo converted a penalty stroke for the third time this season.

“Senior defender Madison Wyman had a strong performance blocking opportunities throughout the game,” Mahopac Coach Jess Ascencao said. “It was awesome to see our four seniors working together and performing at a high level on such a special night. All four of them have contributed to our growth this season compared to last season. It was a wonderful night to celebrate all of their success.”

Kara Sanseverino scored for CARMEL and Mia Conciatori stopped seven shots.

Salon was outstanding against Ketcham with 16 saves.

“Talia played an amazing game,” Ascencao said. “She made so many strong saves with the support of her defense and  Grace Gaine had three huge defensive saves that kept us in the game.”

FOX LANE completed the regular season with a 9-0 triumph over Ossining, a 1-1 draw with Yorktown and a 1-0 overtime loss to White Plains. The Foxes finished the regular season at 10-4-2.

Samantha Reder scored four goals and Georgia Webb added two goals against Ossining. Madison Kalarchian had the goal against Yorktown, assisted by Reder. Goalie Kayla Santos was huge, making 21 saves including negating a penalty stroke. Zoe Stonecipher was credited with a defensive save.

WHITE PLAINS received two goals from McKenna Austin in a 7-0 triumph of Ossining. Kayla Brogan and Isabella Reidy each added a goal and an assist. Caitlyn Hyatt and Sophia Gould each scored their first varsity goals.

The Tigers closed out the regular season with a huge 1-0 overtime win over Fox Lane as Brogan capitalized on a penalty stroke. Abigail Arndt made six saves. The Tigers, 6-8-1, completed the regular season against Horace Greeley, Monday.
PANAS went 1-1 the final week of the regular season. The Panthers celebrated Senior Night with a 3-0 victory over Edgemont as Emily Camarra scored two goals and Lily Gomez added one goal and one assists. Eva Hatfield only faced one shot. Panas received a 21-save effort from Alina Cavajani in a 3-0 loss to Pelham.

 

Unfortunately, the following schools did not respond to emails regarding information on the exploits of their student athletes: BREWSTER, CARMEL, SOMERS, HEN HUD, CROTON, HORACE GREELEY, VALHALLA and BYRAM HILLS.