Greeley is back in the Class AA title game
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- October
- 31
Once again Horace Greeley has beaten North Rockland in Thiells to advance to the championship game. I knew this was going to be a fantastic game, and it lived up to every expectation. Only a dramatic finish would have made this one better. The skill on both sides was unbelievable. Between Loryn Ginley, Megan Lavecchia, Taylor Jackson, Courtney Miller, Lisa Lungaro, Sydney Rutman, Katherine Dapolito, and so many others there was never a dull moment and rarely an errant pass. Even the role players would be stars on other clubs.
A mark of a great team is that it gets to every fifty-fifty ball. You know what the mark of two great teams is? There are no fifty-fifty balls! Great teams don’t put passes up for grabs. Everything was clean today, everything was crisp. Bing bing bing  balls went from foot to foot. Not much was played over the top where anybody could redirect with a header. When somebody stole a pass, they didn’t knock it out of its path and chase after it. They bumped it down and immediately looked upfield for a quick counterattack. Just high quality soccer all around. Very fun to watch.
Not to mention the intensity level was through the roof. I was in awe watching Lavecchia pursue plays down field only to turn around and charge the other way after it got cleared. Most of the motors were revving at max RPMs for 80 minutes.
In the end, Greeley emerged 3-1 to take on another Dutchess County team in the championship. This time it’s John Jay-East Fishkill; last year Ketcham beat Greeley 3-2. I spoke to Erin Tracy, the Quakers coach, on the phone a couple hours after the game. She admitted she had barely heard my postgame questions because her head was so in the clouds and wasn’t even sure if she’d answered them. (I promised to get her back by slandering her in print, but I’m too lazy to think of any good smears so I’ll just say that if you ever hear anything bad about her, it’s definitely true.)
While her giddy clan celebrated and took team pictures on North Rockland’s field, the Red Raiders sat stoically in a circle for a long time. Eventually the underclassmen trudged away, leaving the 14 seniors to reflect on their careers. As sophomores they had come close to the pinnacle, losing to Massapequa in the state championship 1-0. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that they’d get another shot at states. But the new reality of Section 1 soccer is that, with all the old spring teams now in the fall, there are no more gimme sectional titles. Despite the consecutive eliminations at Greeley’s hands, these Red Raiders are as good as anyone around. It’s just so much harder to slug through four rounds of sectionals.
Yet expectations will always be sky-high for North Rockland girls soccer. It’s hard on the players and the coach when they don’t win it all. Steve Shepardson is one of the most even-keeled guys you’ll ever meet, and always considerate with his answers after a crushing loss, but  without getting too mushy here  you can see the disappointment in his eyes. I asked him whether the seniors were more hurt that they failed to return to states or happy that they’d been there at all.
“I think now more disappointed,” he said. “I think eventually when they have a chance to sit back and relax…they’ll hopefully look back and say ‘We got a chance to do something in our high school careers that not too many people get a chance to do.’ Right now they don’t want to hear that but I think ultimately they’ll look back.”
It’s a classic debate. They say ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved it all. But ‘tis it really?
As I walked off the field, a little girl was releasing the red and white balloons tied to a sideline fence. They drifted over the circle of seniors and out of sight. It seemed appropriate somehow.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 7:56 pm by Jake Thomases. 
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North Rockland will never be the team they were in 1999 when they were 23-0 and State Champs, NSCAA #2 National Ranking.
I think the players don’t realize that just wearing the uniforms doesnt get it done.
Kinda similar to the Yankees lol
Jake-Great articles, but . . . ever consider mentioning a defensive player? I know goals are important, and that Courtney plays offensively and defensively, but a soccer philosophy is that if you don’t allow goals you have a good chance of winning. Also, Kelsey Hill has come on big time. This team has the opportunity to go far, but can’t lose sight of the fact that the next game may always be the last one.
great article on Greeley senior girls soccer..You mentioned 8 girls names..you could have finished it with the other 3-4-5 names that played.both teams were great..
Greeleyfan…I definitely appreciate defense. My Rockland player of the year last season was Lauren Trinkoff, a stopper. When I covered hockey in 2005-06, my Westchester/Putnam player of the year was Charles Hallam McKenzie, a defensive player from Fordham Prep. I got some flak for that along the lines of “I’ve never heard of this kid. How can he be a player of the year?” So I do try to acknowledge the talented defensive players as well as the scorers.
Max
The 2007 North Rockland girls soccer team is not trying to be better than the 1999 team. That team of girls were amazing. This team of girls is also amazing. Their record speaks for itself even though the end came before they had hoped. They have nothing to be ashamed of, in fact it was a season of success that most teams can only dream of having. The North Rockland uniform is one each one of them wears proudly because yes just wearing it does mean something. It means that they were a team with One Mission, a team of girls that worked together and couldn’t have gotten as far as they did in every season for the past 4 years without that special uniform, their terrific coaches, and the wonderful talent that each one of them possesses. Oh yes wearing the uniform does get it done.
“Max”... I think you have one thing completely wrong. Its not about NR “being the team” they were in 1999. Why should any team need to be compared to another. No body on the team thinks that just wearing the uniform is enough. The record for the past 3 years has been amazing and there is no doubt that these girls were amazing. So, i completely disagree with everything you said, because theres so much more work that goes into being a player for North Rockland. Triple sessions in the blazing summer heat, hard work, dedication, committment and so much more are involved. Sure its good to be able to wear a uniform and say that you play for north rockland, i dont think anyone would disagree with that, but there is never a time where every girl is not playing their heart out hoping to come off with a win.
Reading Joyce’s entry made me realize that something needs to be said about North Rockland. Not only is the team unbelievably skilled and competitve, but the parents are a totally class act. I have never been to an opposing school where, after a big game that the host lost, the parents of the home team go out of their way to congatulate not just the players on the other team, but the parents as well. Yesterday, all of the North Rockland parents cheered and clapped for the Greeley girls as they left the field, wishing them luck in the finals. That is something Section 1 could use a lot more of. They should be applauded. It is no wonder that North Rockland has such an excellent girls soccer program. Class breeds class.
i completely disagree with max. I dont think people realize how much work is involved in actually playing for North Rockland. I’m almost positive no other team does the amount of work NR does during triple sessions..in the blazing heat, in the last two weeks of august. Putting on the uniform is a privilage but it doesnt matter what you look like, as long as you get the job done. Every girl on North Rockland is committed, determined, and willing to do anything for eachother. Every girl is respectful towards one another, and others, and thats all that matters. Maybe there wont be another team like the 1999 team, but why shouldnt anyone try? with the program that NR runs, i definately think that they will be very successful for a long time.
Wow, is losing the semifinals in sectional amazing Joyce? No its not. Please don’t use the word amazing for a semifinal team.
North rockland has slipped big time, State Final 4’s used to be the benchmark.
Now its Sectionals semis, how the mighty have fallen!!
Max:
You are obviously a parent or a player of the 1999 team who has not done anything since then since you seem very determined to relive the past(Good Luck with that). For those of us who choose to live in the here and now, I congratulate all the girls who put themselves out there and gave their all.
Avid fan of Soccer,
I am not a fan nor a parent tied to 99, I am associated with CNHS actually.
I am sick of hearing how great North Rockland is, they had 1 great year, and now the teams now think they are great just by wearing the uniform.
I was 12 in 1999, so do the math genius.
so youre associated with CNHS.. why are you sick of hearing how good North Rockland is?... Because you cant beat them? Or was it because they beat you 3 times this season instead of the normal 2? ... OR MAYBE because, you couldnt even score a goal against them… or was it because CNHS got 5 goals scored on them in less than half a game by NRHS… or was it how you the parents of CN players walked away from the first game saying… you just had “a flat day” that NR really isnt that good.. and the next two times, you still got beat. When CNHS can make it past the first round of Sections, or even make it into sections. PLEASE let me know. Section semi-finals are more than CNHS could ever do. So before you make yourself look even stupider i’d just stop. Thanks.
NOrth Rockland is not great, thats my point
yes they are better then CNHS, but we have talent chopped in half. CSHS and CNHS.
NR is not great, hasnt been in years, so stop acting like it!!