Shout out to Yo, Soccer fan and others who asked.

You wanted it so I am going to oblige. I wanted to wait to post this until we got as close to sectionals as possible and now we are here. So here goes.

Now as my homey Jake pointed out in one of his girls’ posts, we don’t cover Dutchess County schools. I used to cover boys soccer a bit when I worked for The Poughkeepsie Journal, a sister publication of The Journal News. But for this comprehensive report, I’m going to include the two best teams up there in Class AA this year only because we are talking about the entire section and not just schools in our coverage area when it comes to out TJN power rankings. To leave them out would be silly for a report like this.

Class AA
Contenders

Suffern: Wins over Arlington and Roy C. Ketcham early in the season had the Mounties looking strong. A three-game losing skid followed soon after, however, and there were questions about whether the Mounties, “Were who were thought they were!!!!” as Dennis Green on that famed Monday night last year when the Arizona Cardinals choked away a late-game lead and lost to the Chicago Bears. Since, Eric Garcia, Evan Shreck and company had won nine straight before losing the season finale to Newburgh. They have been shutting out opponents at a ridiculous rate. However, they might have to go without two of their top players, so we’ll see what happens if that’s the case.

John Jay-East Fishkill: I’m not going to act like I am an expert on the Patriots ‘cause I’m definitely not. But I know that when I talked to AA coaches in our area who’ve played the Patriots, they all raved about how good they were. Most seem to believe they ARE the team to beat. We’ll see if that’s the case in due time.

Arlington: Same as above, but I can tell you this: I penned an award-winning piece on Arlington’s program a few years back, so I know more about the program overall than this year’s crop. The Admirals are deep year in and year out and play a suffocating style of defense that swarms around the ball and doesn’t give opponents many (quality) shots on goal. So any team that knocks off the defending Class AA champs, who went undefeated a year ago, will have to find a way to score in key situations. They better take advantage of any chances they get.
John Jay: When most people refer to John Jay in soccer, it’s sometimes assumed they are talking about the aforementioned Patriots of Wiccopee (that’s the small hamlet JJ-EF is actually located in). But I’m here to tell you the guys who call Cross River home are right there with anyone in the class this season. Peter Neidell knew the Indians would have a solid team this year and he was right. Last year, they came up with a stunning first-round win over White Plains. This year, winning a first-round game won’t be enough. Depending on the draw and the seedings, don’t be surprised if the Indians are in the championship game.

Greeley: Experience is always a good thing in the postseason and the Quakers have good senior leadership in Dan Thau and Harrison Lewin. Playing in arguably one of the section’s toughest leagues surely doesn’t hurt, so they are sure to be battle tested thanks to facing Lakeland, John Jay and Fox Lane among others twice a season.

Don’t be surprised if: New Rochelle makes a deep run in the tournament. The Huguenots are about as talented as any team, but their hangup is consistency. They are about as up and down as you can get. Here’s an example: They totally dominate rival White Plains then proceed to lose to Mount Vernon two days later. Nothing against the Knights, who’ve had their share of good wins this season, most recently knocking off a good Scarsdale B team. But Mount Vernon is a team New Rochelle is ‘supposed’ to beat. If they play up to their potential, it could be interesting.

The pick: Arlington

Class A

Contenders

Byram Hills: We all knew the Bobcats were going to be one of the best teams in their class this year, but did anyone really think they would be as good as they’ve been without Hayden Morris and his rocket left foot? C’mon? But here the Bobcats are, preparing for what should be another deep postseason run. They made a few lineup changes, notably putting natural midfielder Stephen Paresi up front with Will Ogden to give them a solid one-two combo. They are going to be hard to stop.

Lakeland: Mike Malan missed a portion of the season with a bulging disk in his back, but there’s no question the Hornets are a different team when their emotional leader is there to lift the spirits of his teammates. The biggest thing will be Malan getting some scoring help up front because you know most teams are going to focus the bulk of their attention on him. That’s where Lou DeMello comes in. He leads the team in goals with 11.

Rye: The Garnets were another one of those teams that probably played a bit above their heads last season, making it all the way to the Class B semifinals before losing to eventual champ Albertus Magnus. Coach Jared Small has the Garnets right back in the mix this year, although they are playing in a higher class. They weren’t intimidated when they played Byram Hills earlier this and they know they can hang with any team. Now they have to prove it.

Dont’ be surprised if: Harrison turns more than a few heads. I really think the Huskies can be this year’s version of Tappan Zee. TZ caught a few people off-guard, me included, with its nice run all the way to the semifinals a season ago, where the Dutchmen lost to eventual champ Byram Hills. I’m telling you, man, look for the Huskies to be playing for a shot at Saturday’s championship game come Thursday.

The pick: Byram Hills

Class B

Contenders

Bronxville: I’ve talked all year about how the Broncos feature one of the purest goal scorers in Brian Rogers. He blew away everyone else in the area goal standings and it’s no secret he’s as good as advertised. He can still find a way to score even if defenders are draped all over him. Chris Dennen and Trent Emanuel make it hard to lock on just Rogers because if you do, they can hurt you as well.

North Salem: Brian Span caught my eye last year in the Class C finals against Blind Brook. I had to keep looking at my roster during the game with the Trojans just to make sure I was reading it right that he was actually a freshman. He’s back this year and is more seasoned, and coach Ron Hendrie has the Tigers primed for another great run. I like the way he coaches and his knowledge of the game is a great assest. These guys are good.
Hastings: Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Yellow Jackets might have shocked a few by garnering the No. 1 seed. But if you don’t know anything about them, you better know this: Aaron Markowitz is the truth and Cameron McNeil is his sidekick. This dynamic duo has done it all season and one shouldn’t expect that to change too much now, though they will have the bull’s-eye emblazoned firmly on their chest.

Edgemont: Well lookee here. The Panthers are back with a vengeance as the second seed, winning six of their final eight games going into sectionals. They have a good tandem in Justin Orden (18 goals, four assists) and Kaito Komatsu (16 goals, 6 assists). They’ve outscored their opponents 56-23 and have big wins over two aforementioned teams in Bronxville and Rye. They are probably happy they don’t have to face Eastchester anymore. The Eagles beat them twice during the regular season.

Don’t be surprised if: It’s Bronxville and North Salem in the final. The bracket is set up nicely for those two teams to meet since they are on opposite ends. It would make for a nice rematch and you don’t think the Broncos would want to avenge that early-season loss to the Tigers. I’d pay to see that one and I don’t even have to. Note: Those at the gates, please don’t remind me of this and make me fork over the dough.

The pick: Bronxville

Class C

Contenders

Blind Brook: Fresh off their 2-1 win over Valhalla to clinch the League IV-B title, it’s the Trojans who are riding high and should have plenty of confidence heading into sectionals. They await the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between No. 3 Haldane and No. 6 Hamilton and shouldn’t have much of a problem against either of those teams.

Valhalla: The Vikings are still one of the best teams I’ve had the chance to see in person this season and they will likely go as far as Paolo Luciano takes them. They’ve played up in

Don’t be surprised if: Well, you should be surprised if these two teams aren’t warming up around 1 p.m. for Saturday’s 2 p.m. championship finale at Bronxville.

The pick: Valhalla