For Saturday’s “Southern/Central Westchester notebook”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070929/SPORTS02/709290389/1070 I talked to Bronxville about its upcoming battle with Rye Neck. They didn’t hide how excited they were about the Saturday night affair. Rye Neck was destroying opponents, and, like Bronxville, was unbeaten.

Not anymore. The Broncos scored a HUGE 3-2 win tonight when Christie Gietl broke a 2-all tie in the final minutes. Cara Dennen and Christie Bonfiglio also scored for the Broncos, who move to 8-0. Rye Neck, which finally met someone on its level, drops to 8-1. Lona Speidell had both Panther goals and leads the area with 22 scores.

I’d love to know more about this one. It was Bronxville’s homecoming so there had to be a good crowd. Anyone who went want to chime in on what happened?

The first state rankings are out. As with all the state rankings, the records are a few days behind. Names are listed alongside section.

Don’t take them too seriously. I don’t know exactly how the rankings are determined, but I know it’s not an exact science. I mean, where is North Rockland, the five-billion-time section champ? Where is East Fishkill, which beat N. Rock?

Class AA
= ================
1. Bethlehem-2 6-0-0
2. Sachem East-11 4-0-1
3. Union-Endicott-4 4-0-1
4. Massapequa-8 5-0-0
5. Rochester Aquinas-5 7-1-0
6. Smithtown West-11 5-0-0
7. Cicero-North Syracuse-3 3-0-1
8. Horace Greeley-1 2-0-0
9. Warwick-9 5-0-0
10. Shenendehowa-2 5-1-0
11. Penfield-5 4-1-0
12. North Tonawanda-6 6-1-0
13. Arlington-1 4-0-0
14. West Genesee-3 6-1-0
15. Ward Melville-11 3-0-1
16. Horseheads-4 5-0-1
17. East Meadow-8 4-1-0
18. Syracuse CBA-3 5-1-1
19. Rochester Mercy-5 5-1-0
20. North Babylon-11 6-0-0

Class A
= ===============
1. Rockville Center South Side-8 5-0-0
2. Sayville-11 5-0-0
3. Williamsville East-6 6-0-1
4. Victor-5 5-1-0
5. Oneonta-4 9-0-1
6. Tappen Zee-1 2-0-0
7. Burnt Hills-2 4-2-0
8. Pittsford Mendon-5 4-1-1
9. Maine-Endwell-4 6-1-0
10. Homer-3 5-1-0
11. Island Trees-8 3-0-1
12. Islip-11 1-5-0
13. Eastchester-1 4-0-0
14. Shoreham-Wading River-11 1-0-0
15. Honeoye Falls-Lima-5 5-2-0
16. East Aurora-6 6-1-0
17. Somers-1 3-1-0
18. Goshen-9 3-1-0
19. Garden City-8 2-2-0
20. Bayport-Blue Point-11 5-0-0

Class B
= ===============
1. Marcellus-3 7-0-0
2. Lansing-4 7-0-0
3. Le Roy-5 6-0-0
4. Ichabod Crane-2 5-0-0
5. Red Hook-9 5-0-0
6. Potsdam-10 7-1-0
7. Chenango Forks-4 7-0-1
8. Nanuet-1 4-0-0
9. Falconer-6 6-0-0
10. Mattituck-11 4-0-0
11. Goshen Burke Catholic-9 4-0-0
12. Schalmont-2 5-2-0
13. Cazenovia-3 6-1-0
14. Briarcliff-1 3-0-0
15. Watertown Immaculate Heart-3 7-0-0
16. Highland-9 5-0-1
17. Tamarac-2 5-1-0
18. Northeastern Clinton-7 6-0-1
19. Mynderse-5 5-1-0
20. Newark Valley-4 7-2-0

Class C
= ===============
1. Hoosick Falls-2 6-0-0
2. Marion-5 7-0-0
3. Florida-9 6-0-0
4. Mechanicville-2 5-0-0
5. Buffalo Nichols-CHS 6-1-1
6. Alexander-5 6-0-0
7. Ausable Valley-7 8-1-0
8. Tully-3 6-1-0
9. St. Lawrence-10 5-1-0
10. Cooperstown-3 6-2-0
11. Unadilla Valley-4 7-2-0
12. Harley-Allendale-Columbia-5 4-0-1
13. Maple Hill-2 5-1-0
14. Beaver River-3 6-2-0
15. Naples-5 4-0-0
16. Manlius Pebble Hill-3 5-1-0
17. Galway-2 5-1-0
18. Utica Notre Dame-3 5-0-1
19. Allegany-Limestone-6 4-4-0
20. Madrid-Waddington-10 5-2-0

Class D
= ================
1. Ellicottville-6 5-1-0
2. Chazy-7 8-0-0
3. Downsville-4 8-0-0
4. Edwards-Knox-10 8-0-0
5. Fillmore-5 7-0-0
6. Arkport-5 6-2-0
7. Lyme-3 6-1-0
8. Harrisville-10 5-1-0
9. Edmeston-4 7-2-0
10. McGraw-3 4-1-0
11. Milford-4 7-1-0
12. New Lebanon-2 2-2-0
13. Belleville-Henderson-3 7-1-0
14. Genesee Valley-5 4-1-0
15. Hamilton-3 6-2-0
16. Elizabethtown-Lewis-7 5-1-0
17. Chateaugay-10 5-2-0
18. Old Forge-3 4-0-0
19. Jasper-Troupsburg-5 6-1-0
20. North Collins-6 4-2-2

And a whopping 13 Section 1 teams are ranked. Valhalla has the honor as the top-ranked team from the Lower Hudson Valley. The Vikings are ranked No. 2 in Class C, a worthy ranking if I ever saw one. I’ll get my first up close look at them next week in their big game with Bronxville.

Remember, these rankings represent games through Monday, so don’t think they will look the same next week.

You can check them out here.

Thoughts anyone?

Up and down Mahopac was up today, at least for the last 70 minutes.

Clarktown North was the better team when the game began. The Rams were more settled, getting the ball to the corners. The way Maya Kantor was going after it, it seemed only a matter of time before she scored.

Instead it was Mahopac who scored, first by luck, then by skill. The Indians walked off North’s field with a much-needed 3-0 victory. After the disappointing tie to New Rochelle and loss to White Plains, and before the difficulty of league play, they had to have an easy win like today.

Like they have recently, they started poorly. Then about 10 minutes in, Carly Villanova (pictured at right) got a straight shot on North goalie Sheulen Tsai. It hit Tsai in the hands, flew behind her, and went in. That goal turned out to be just the spark Mahopac needed. It was no doubt the better team after that.

Now comes the deadly league schedule, which I’ll explore in this week’s notebook.

To see me ramble incoherently about this game and yesterday’s nanuet game, click “here.”:http://vcreport.lohudblogs.com/2007/09/27/girls-soccer-nyack-albertus-and-mahopac-clarkstown-north/

Got my first opportunity to watch Pelham and Rye in action this season. Maybe it was because I showed up (yeah right) but Rye got its offense rolling in the right direction. The Garnets scored four unanswered goals, including three in the second half, and emerged victorious in the League III-B game.

Overall, Rye has some serious depth. TJN photographer and undercover sports reporter Tom Nycz— who gets the credit for that photo of Matt Savarese (18), left, being congratulated by Andrew Klokiw (11)— was surprised by the sheer number of players the Garnets had on their roster. But one player in particular caught my eye: sophomore forward Juan Chang.

He sprung off the bench and scored what turned out to be the game-winner less than a minute into the second half. He finished with two goals and an assist. I wrote in our preview how I though Rye would be a team to watch in Class A this season and after seeing them today, I feel pretty good about that prediction.

For those who didn’t see the story on A1 (that is, the front cover of the paper), my colleague Tony Pinciaro did a fantastic job cobbling together in about 45 minutes a “story on Brewster’s Jessi-Ann Betcher”:http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070926/NEWS04/709260376. Betcher came back from a heart transplant to not only play varsity soccer but score in a win over Peekskill.

Tony had never heard Betcher’s name as of 8:30 last night. He got a call from Bears coach Eric Buzzetto and, with deadline breathing down his neck and no background info to rely on, conducted interviews and wrote a complete story. Kudos to him.

I’ll follow up on Betcher in the coming weeks. Hopefully my editors will let me tackle the story in more detail, with a little more time to do research.

Nanuet and Albertus never fail to disappoint against each other. It’s a pleasant rivalry — they play very hard and often physically and with a lot of intensity, but in the end they seem to like each other. There was plenty of waving and hugging between opponents after Nanuet’s 2-1 win. Besides being two miles away from each other on Route 304, they’re bonded by a mutual respect for one another’s ability. Albertus has always been good, and since Nanuet rose as a program in 2002, they’ve been equals. One of them has won a sectional title every year since 2000 until last year. Last year was also the first that one didn’t eliminate the other since 2002.

Albertus got on the board first today on an Alyssa Valente goal. Eighteen minutes later Brittany Farsetta tied it with a strong running kick from 25-30 yards away (I was on the opposite side of the field). Apparently Nanuet’s had a mental block the last couple years when it comes to falling behind early, despite its prodigious talent. So Farsetta’s equalizer was huge. She and the other seniors gave a pep talk at halftime anyway. With 15 minutes left, Becky Torres headed in a Kelly Fanshawe free kick for the win. Coach Mike Henderson told me later that Torres and Jen Gonos, a stopper and sweeper, are his two best headers off set plays, so he always sends them near the net.

While all this was going on, Albertus striker Caroline Burke limped around the bench. She suffered a thigh contusion eight minutes in and never returned. What a huge loss. Burke isn’t just the leading scorer; her 12 goals are 10 more than the next highest Falcon. She’s fourth in the area in goals. The team will evaluate her injury tomorrow to determine if she can play Friday vs. Pearl River.

I had the fortune of heading over to the RNN studios today and chat with sports anchor Ben Sosenko about the boys soccer season so far. I’m sure many of you didn’t get a chance to see it since it aired between 5 and 7 p.m. and most players and coaches were likely either playing games or “just practicing” as Allen Iverson would say.

So you can check it out below. Enjoy.

Download:

There’s been a lot of playful banter on the Byram Hills post, so I figure it’s time for you guys to have your voice heard. I just created a new poll and this is something I will try to do each week. If you haven’t seen the feature before, it’s located on the right side of the page. We’ll start with Class AA and move our way up the ladder.

Hurry, the polls will be closing sooner than you know it so vote now!

I know it’s not cool to be late to your own party. I was covering the Jets today and then had a dozen little things to do after that so I’m just getting around to the Top 10 rankings I promised. At least it lets me include today’s games, like the Byram-Briarcliff blockbuster.

Every team here is fluid. This early in the year, everyone can jump or drop based on one game. If you think I’m off, tell me why.

1. North Rockland (3-2): Can’t drop them since they haven’t lost to any area teams, but boy, those nine goals allowed in consecutive losses are a cause for concern. Especially since they’ve come on just 23 opponent shots.

2. Mamaroneck (3-2): In spite of Stephanie Velez’s seven minute miracle versus Greeley, she’s only tied with Hallie Pace for the team points lead (five).   

3. Horace Greeley (3-1): They looked like sectional champion material for most of the game against Mamaroneck and I’d still pick them in a big spot. But for now they’ve got to eat humble pie and take a backseat to the Tigers.

4. Yorktown (4-0-1): Three of their top four goal-scorers—Sam Russo, Cleo Reiss, and Noelle Lombardo—are in 10th grade or below. So are their two platooning goaltenders, Marena Vigilante and Gabrielle Lawrence.

5. Briarcliff (4-0): Unpredictable outcome in Briarcliff, where the Bears beat Byram Hills 5-4. These two played to a 1-0 result last year which was every bit the plodding midfield Pong game.

6. Nanuet (6-0): When coach Mike Henderson and I were talking about Kelly Fanshawe’s ACL rehab, he mentioned how many options he has on offense. Eleven of his 17 field players, he told me, have scored  goal. Sorry Mike, but you’re wrong. It’s actually 12 of 17. And Jen Gonos, who has four assists but no goals, is capable too.

7. Eastchester (5-0): Sophomore Jenna Marino unexpectedly seized the goaltender job, playing 350 of 400 possible minutes. The fact that Eastchester is scoring more consistently than last year makes her job that much less pressured.

8. Tappan Zee (2-1): Dutchies are here on reputation. They can solidify the spot by avenging themselves against Somers on Saturday. For those who don’t remember, Somers and Amanda DaCosta ended TZ’s sectional title streak last year. 

9. Byram Hills (6-1): It’s still September, but the Bobcats might have cost themselves a league title by allowing Briarcliff to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

10. White Plains (3-1): Win over Mahopac was nice, but I still need to see more to get a handle on this team. Next Monday vs. Mamaroneck will be telling.

I had the chance to check out New Rochelle take on Suffern today. I filed a video report on the game and you can check it out below. If you want to read the actual game story, you can view it here.

Download:

Just in case anyone didn’t have a chance to check them out, the first batch of power rankings appeared in Sunday’s paper and online.  I saw a little playful banter going on  a few posts down, so you guys can have at it here. Post thoughts on the rankings and which teams you expect to be there at the end.

Here’s the Westchester/Putnam rankings.

1. Byram Hills (3-0-1): The Bobcats have won three straight heading into tomorrow’s showdown with Section 9’s Spackenkill.

2. Fordham Prep (5-0): At this rate, the Rams will be playing in the CHSAA state title game again this year.

3. Lakeland (4-0): The Hornets have posted two shutouts and have yielded only two goals.

4. White Plains (2-0-1): The Tigers have outscored their opponents 8-2.

5. Valhalla (5-0): The Vikings boast the area’s top scorer in Paolo Luciano and are rolling.

And … here’s Rockland.

1. Suffern (3-0-1): Mounties began the season with an impressive win over defending state Class AA champ Arlington.

2. North Rockland (5-0): The Red Raiders are no longer the youthful team they were a year ago.

3. Tappan Zee (3-1): The Dutchies won three straight before dropping a 1-0 decision to Ossining.

4. Clarkstown South (4-1): Vikings have outscored their opponents by a 25-8 margin.

5. Nanuet (3-1): Three home wins have the Golden Knights off to a nice start.

I realize that the Top 5 power rankings from my weekly notebooks may not be enough for everyone. There were plenty of deserving teams who didn’t make it. I don’t want them thinking they’ve gone unnoticed. So on Monday I’ll be releasing my Top 10 list (minus the Paul Schaeffer sound effects). This will give me a chance to recognize those on the cusp, as well as flesh out my observations beyond what I can include in the small newspaper space.

Barring work overload or bizarre gardening accident, the Monday Top 10 will become a weekly feature. It’ll be a chance for everyone to offer commentary on where their teams belong. I can be convinced to move teams around if you give me a good argument. Stay tuned.

Somebody send extra security to Hillary Clinton’s house, there’s a deadly weapon in Chappaqua.

Stephanie Velez (that’s her in orange in the lower photo), Mamaroneck’s junior striker/spirit crusher, blasted Greeley for three goals in the final 7:12. Her cherry on top, a goal slipped between keeper and right post with two seconds left, lifted Mamaroneck to a 3-2 win. It was a stunning turn of events. I was stunned. Greeley was stunned. I have to think even the winners were stunned (although they played it pretty cool afterward). There’s no way even they, as confident as they might be in themselves and their dynamic forward, saw this coming.

The Quakers totally controlled the action from the start. They looked like they were playing out the stretch. Which I guess they were. Erin Jackson, twin sister of heralded forward Taylor, marked Velez brilliantly. Honestly, Jackson was more tenacious when the ball flew in their direction. Granted, Velez never got anything on her foot, but she was beaten to loose balls time and again by Jackson, who had a big height/length advantage on the small Velez. Liz Novenstern played great as her backup. So capable were they that Courtney Miller (pictured above, in white), a roving defender, was allowed to roam into basically an offensive middie role. Taylor Jackson pushed in Greeley’s first goal 26 minutes in off a rebound. Sydney Rutman scored their second three minutes later on a header.

They probably should have had more. Miller, Novenstern, and Kelsey Hill had numerous direct kicks or clear shots at the net. All were well struck, but into keeper Phoebe Hanley’s arms. Hanley ended with 20 saves. Greeley outshot Mamaroneck 22-7 on net.

With the game almost in hand, Greeley relaxed enough to let Velez creep away from tight coverage. It proved to be their undoing. She capitalized on two counterattacks in a 53-second span for a miracle tie. In the final seconds she took a through ball from Alana Flynn and, with three people closing, scored the winner. No sooner had it hit the net than the whistle blew to end the game. Just unbelievable.

If you want to watch a very tired me talk about the game in living color, click “here”:http://vcreport.lohudblogs.com/2007/09/20/girls-soccer-mamaroneck-shocks-greeley/.

It’s one of those crazy days when it seems like every team at every school is playing. Talk about a hectic night here at Varsity Central … Oh, boy!

Anyway, here’s the scores that we had reported to us. Big win for Keio against Port Chester. The Unicorns aren’t scoring much, but just enough. As long as they have more than their opponent, that is all that counts.

Fordham Prep 2, Holy Cross 0
Our Lady of Lourdes 8, Peekskill 0
Keio 1, Port Chester 0
Fox Lane 3, Yorktown 1
John Jay 3, Somers 0
Saunders 2, Lincoln 1
Mahopac 2, Clarkstown South 0
Mamaroneck 3, Carmel 0
Ossining 4, Hen Hud 1
North Rockland 3, Mount Vernon 1
Valhalla 4, Solomon Schechter 0
R.C. Ketcham 4, Clarkstown North 2 2OT
Lakeland 3, Brewster 1
Pleasantville 2, Pelham 0
Nyack 3, Spring Valley 2

Just got back from watching Byram Hills play its best game yet of the season. I have to tell you that I was very, very astonished with what I saw because Pearl River isn’t a team full of pushovers. The Pirates are one of those teams that could easily make some serious noise in the postseason, so that made the Bobcats’ 6-0 road win all the more impressive.

Coach Matt Allen wasn’t happy with the way the Bobcats, who won the Class A section title last year and advanced to the state championship game, began the season. He felt the team was playing as if was already a lock to make a deep run in the playoffs, which obviously isn’t the case. But he was extremely pleased with the outcome today.

“Today was, I think, our first complete game,” Allen said. “I thought defensively we played real well and the shutout was important to us.”

Thing was, their best player—Will Ogden—only logged about 15 minutes because he missed the previous five days battling a fever.

I’m telling you, this was my first look at Byram Hills and it’s good bet the Bobcats are only going to get better as they learn to play without stud Hayden Morris (Seton Hall). They are 3-0-1 heading into Monday’s big showdown with Section 9’s Spackenkill. And as long as they don’t get too complacent, when sectionals run around, they will likely be doing the thing they shouted at the end of their postgame huddle today.

Defend.

Here’s tomorrow’s schedule:

Girl’s soccer
Lincoln at Clarkstown North, 4:15 p.m.
East Ramapo at Mount Vernon, 4:15 p.m.
Scarsdale at John Jay-East Fishkill, 4:15 p.m.
Mamaroneck at R.C. Ketcham, 4:15 p.m.
Yonkers at Suffern, 4:15 p.m.
White Plains at Mahopac, 4:15 p.m.
New Rochelle at Arlington, 4:15 p.m.
Gorton at Clarkstown South, 4:15 p.m.
Tappan Zee at Our Lady of Lourdes, 4:30 p.m.
Hen Hud at Ursuline, 4:30 p.m.
Beacon at Horace Greeley, 4:30 p.m.
Ossining at Somers, 4:30 p.m.
Brewster at Fox Lane, 4:30 p.m.
Yorktown at Panas, 4:30 p.m.
Harrison at Lakeland, 4:30 p.m.
Nyack at Port Chester, 4:30 p.m.

It wasn’t the laugher we expected, but the Americans did indeed advance to the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals with their 1-0 victory over Nigeria. Lori Chalupny put in a short shot 55 seconds in, making it feel like another blowout was in the works. Not so, as Nigeria held on in impressive fashion and had one point blank shot deflected by the keeper. All the U.S. needed was a draw, so they move on to the final eight for a shot at their third Cup. North Korea also emerged from their group. Nigeria and Sweden were eliminated.

Turning to the locals, Byram Hills pulled out its second overtime win in two days. A day after taking down Westlake, the Bobcats got a goal from Danielle Hoffman with three minutes left to upend Pleasantville 1-0. Panther goalies combined to make 22 saves, but couldn’t hold the floodwaters forever. If Byram beats Croton-Harmon on Thursday and Briarcliff beats Kennedy (also Thursday), the League III-A opponents will head to their huge Monday clash each undefeated. I’m trying hard to get out to that game. Briarcliff beat Croton today for its third 6-0 win to open the season.

A few days ago I predicted you’d see Rosina Calisto and Jodi Rosenzweig of Rye Neck atop the scoring list for a few weeks because of their prolific numbers in the early going. Turns out I was wrong — for not including Lona Speidell! With Rye Neck scoring nine goals every day, those three occupy the top three spots on the goals and points charts. Kelly Fanshawe of Nanuet is fourth in points.

I’d like to introduce a Player of the Day feature here on Just Kickin’ It. When there’s someone deserving that is. Since I can only go by what I hear and what stats I see, any suggestions are welcome. Today let’s go with Caroline Burke, a senior striker on Albertus Magnus. She sunk four goals in a 6-0 win over Albertus Magnus.

Clarkstown North came across the TZ today and picked up a big 3-2 non-league win over Scarsdale at Quaker Ridge Elementary. The Rams had struggled a bit after their season-opening win against Spring Valley, going winless in their previous three outings heading into this one. But they got a solid effort up front from freshman Thomas Colaprico, who assisted on the Rams’ second goal and scored what turned out to be the game-winner.

Scarsdale, meanwhile, had its opportunites, but had two potential goals wiped out because of offsides calls. The Raiders are still trying to find a way to convert those chances that seem to be coming by the bucket load as they did against North. They are a surprising 0-4 so far and know they need to get things turned around quickly before they head into play in their brutal league, which includes New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, and White Plains.
I filed a video report on our VCR blog but you can also check it out right below.

Download:

For anyone interested in women’s soccer at the highest level, set your TiVo for ESPN at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Team USA is playing Nigeria in Shangai, China for a chance to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. All the Americans have to do is tie and they move on. Nigeria has a steeper climb. It must beat the Americans by three goals (unlikely) or beat them by less and await the result of North Korea/Sweden.

Historically this has been a pretty one-sided matchup. Team USA has beaten Nigeria by a combined 15-2 score over their last three meetings. Guess being the most populous country in Africa doesn’t guarantee anything.

While I normally wouldn’t pay much attention to the WWC until the semis, my girlfriend is Nigerian and I plan to sucker her into some sort of bet on the game. She’s not aware of how badly the U.S. has dominated, so basically I’ll dig up a bunch of dirt on her country and insult her with it until her nationalist flame gets so stoked that she agrees to a wager. Once Team USA wins, she’ll be buying dinner for a month. Nothing like using sports to swindle those close to you.