Santini Magic: Lakeland Senior Joins 200-Point Club

Hornets, Greeley, Yorktown Advance to Quarters

By Tony Pinciaro

LAKELAND opened the Section 1 Class B Field Hockey Championships with a lopsided victory and, more importantly, Gabby Santini achieving a monumental program mark.

The senior and captain finished with two goals and two assists in a 9-0 victory over No.16 Brewster. The four-point performance surpassed 200 varsity points, making Santini join a very-esteemed group of five, as per legendary Lakeland Coach Sharon Sarsen.

Current Somers’ Coach Shannon Scavelli (333 points), former two-time USA Olympic Field Hockey player and current Yale University Coach Melissa Gonzalez (326 points), Emma Bozek (305 points), Dana Bozek (289 points) and Kathy Cortez (200) comprise the current 200-point group.

“Gabby is one of the most skilled and all-around players to ever play at Lakeland,” Sarsen said. “That, combined with her work rate and ability to dominate both offensively and defensively is what makes her special.”

Lakeland, the top seed and 14-time defending Class B champion, hosted No.8 Pelham in a quarterfinal, Monday. The winner advances to a semifinal, Thursday, against the No.4 Rye-No. 5 Yorktown victor.

The Class B championship game will be played, 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2, at Lakeland.

Lakeland, 15-2 this season, did not play Yorktown during the regular season. The Hornets swept Rye, 4-0 and 1-0, in overtime.

Emily Daniel added two goals against Brewster. Gianna Santini and Riley Walters added one goal and one assist apiece.

Third-seeded HORACE GREELEY defeated No.14 Hen Hud, 10-1, in a Section 1 Class B first-round game. The Quakers, 14-3 this season, hosted No.6 Harrison in a quarterfinal, Monday. A victory would propel the Quakers into a semifinal, Thursday, against No.2 John Jay-Cross River. The Wolves handed the Quakers a 2-0 loss, Oct. 15.

“We have focused on making our loss into a learning experience,” senior and captain Nina Byrne said. “The whole team has been working exceptionally hard for the past two weeks, and we are excited for this effort to shine through.”

The possibility of playing John Jay-CR is almost a certainty as these two teams, along with Lakeland and Rye, are annually the top four seeds in the Section 1 Class B Field Hockey Championships. The Quakers are also very familiar with John Jay considering many of each team’s players are in the Rye Field Hockey Association travel program.

“I think playing on the same club team with many John Jay-Cross River players has made it neither easier or tougher to compete against them,” Byrne said. “Though we have the benefit of knowing many of their players’ strengths and weaknesses, the same is true for them. For that reason, we intend to focus on ourselves in the upcoming match so that we can address our weaknesses and capitalize on our strengths.”

Lilah Tainsky was the offensive leader with a hat trick against Hen Hud. Nina Byrne and Maya Vohra contributed two goals apiece and Phoebe Warshaw added a goal and two assists.

YORKTOWN, the fifth seed, opened sectional play with a 6-0 victory over No.12 Nanuet.

The Cornhuskers, 12-4-1, played at No.4 Rye in a quarterfinal, Monday. Rye owns a 2-0 victory over Yorktown in the Cornhuskers’ second game of the season. Lily Diaz had a hat trick in the first half against Nanuet. Annie Cunneen added one goal and one assist and Hannah Salles and Serena Zimmerman each scored a goal.

MAHOPAC’s first season under new Coach Jessica Ascencao resulted in a return to sectionals. However, No.8 Pelham was not a gracious host as it held off the No.9 Wolf Pac, 3-2, in a Section 1 Class B first-round game. The Wolf Pac finished the season with a 9-7-1 record. Kayleigh Pontillo and Erin Harney had the goals assisted by Anastasia Villani and Sophia Perillo.

“This game was a very even, back-and-forth battle,” Ascencao said. “The entire season, ‘Pac field hockey has never held back and has never quit, and this game was no different as they fought to the very last second. I am very proud of every member of this team and all that we have accomplished this season!

“I would like to shout out our four seniors, Erin Harney, Angelina Russo, Talia Salon, and Madison Wyman. Each of our seniors contributed to our team in major ways. We had so much growth and improvement this past season and each of them were a big part of making this happen.”

PUTNAM VALLEY earned the top seed in the Section 1 Class C Field Hockey Championships which begin with quarterfinals, Tuesday, Oct. 29.

The Tigers, 12-3-1 this season, host No.8 Valhalla. A victory sends the Tigers into a semifinal, Thursday, where they would host the No.4 Bronxville-No.5 North Salem winner.

The other half of the quarterfinals features No.2 PLEASANTVILLE, also 12-3-1, hosting No.7 Rye Neck and No. 3 Pawling welcoming No.6 Irvington. The semifinals will play for the Class C championship, 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2, at Lakeland.

Putnam Valley senior Julia Toth and her teammates have been runners-up the previous two years. They are looking forward to making a third trip to the final and hopefully, win the program’s third Section 1 title.

“Being the top seed and winning our league has been encouraging and exciting, however, we know the competition is still going to be tough. We want to come into each game knowing it could be our last so we will be ready to give it our all and play our best game.

“These past weeks we have found positions that work best for us, playing to our strengths.We learned a lot by playing each game and are looking forward to applying what we’ve learned this sectional season.”

FOX LANE, the fifth seed, will play at No.4 Suffern, Tuesday, in a Section 1 Class A quarterfinal. The winner advances to a semifinal to play defending champion and top-seed Mamaroneck, Thursday. The Class A final is scheduled for 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2, at Lakeland.

SOMERS lost its Section 1 Class B first-round game to No.4 Rye, 4-0. The 13th-seeded Tuskers finished the season with a 7-7-3 record.

PANAS was seeded 15th in the Section 1 Class B Field Hockey Championships and the Panthers dropped an 8-1 verdict to No.2 John Jay-Cross River.

 

ANDY JACOBS/TONY HUMBERTO PHOTOS