A couple coaches last night asked me to hold off on putting the all-section team in the blog right away. Because they were big and scary, I agreed. If you didn’t see the team in this morning’s newspaper, here it is.

All-section:
Albertus Magnus: Caroline Burke, Caitlin Hoffer, Caitlin Frawley; Blind Brook: Amanda Lois, Jillian Forbes; Briarcliff: Amy Wagner, Katie Underwood, Jane Wallis, Savina Reid, Liana Cornacchio, Danielle Christiano; Bronxville: Christie Gietl, Maggie Pyle, Meghan Bond;  Byram Hills: Carly Roth, Liza Falk, Regan Marin; Carmel: Kim Broccoli; Clarkstown North: Samantha Stein, Dana DeJesus; Clarkstown South: Jessica Silva, Meghan Hayes; Dobbs Ferry: Nicoleta Hardesty, Emily Rosenbloom; Eastchester: Samantha Fleischman, Delia Hughes, Alexandra Paolucci; Edgemont: Molly Orden, Nicole Shifteh, Melanie DeFiore; Fox Lane: Kelsey Wilkes; Gorton: Arlene Brodrick; Haldane: Alex Milner, Faye Rice, Emily Marsh, Lily Rubino;  Harrison: Daniela Madaloni; Hastings: Margot Klepetko; Hen Hud: Kelly Hanly, Leanne Benson, Kayla Mancusi, Deanna Peterson; Horace Greeley: Sydney Rutman, Taylor Jackson, Erin Jackson, Courtney Miller;  Irvington: Emily Braun; John Jay: Christina McLoughlin, Zoe Boyd; Keio: Yuuri Yamanaka; Lakeland: Kristen Reiche; Mahopac: Carly Villanova, Lauren Cihanek; Mamaroneck: Phoebe Hanley, Stephanie Velez, Amanda Tuck, Emma Mintzer, Erika Romagnoli; Nanuet: Kelly Fanshawe, Brittany Farsetta, Lauren Kahn, Jen Gonos, Michaelle Kelly; New Rochelle: Nora Haney; North Rockland: Megan Lavecchia, Nicole Landes, Jenna Angelucci, Loryn Ginley, Katherina Dapolito; North Salem: Cate Crenson, Erica Nagi, Ashley Nussbaum, Elyana Genovese, Stacy Buzzetto; Nyack: Kristina Miehle, Elizabeth Gronwoldt, Caroline Chesterman; Ossining: Kelsey Vallach; Panas: Tiara Johnson; Pearl River: Brittany Egan, Maria Kunzmann; Pelham: Jules Carfora, Laura Davis, Rashida Sherman; Pleasantville: Alexa Woolley; Rye: Tatiana Saunders, Lia Bellizzi, Alexandra Rimmer; Rye Neck: Rosina Calisto, Lona Speidell, Jodi Rosenzweig, Jessica Wright; Saunders: Christine Terlecky, Jessica Negron; Scarsdale: Ashlyn Hlawitschka, Christine Yankou, Nicole Rafajac; Solomon Schechter: Nicole Fleishman, Naomi Pollack, Adina Goldman; Somers: Shona Craig, Teadie Becker; Suffern: Catrina Del Gais, Alanna Fisher, Stephanie Reimer;  Tappan Zee: Jennifer Trinkoff, Jamie Kimak, Dezre Diers; Tuckahoe: Tess Meyer, Gabriella Severaino, Diana Ottamanelli;  Ursuline: Kerry Ann O’Connor, Taylor Cordy, Kelly Reilly, Megan Englert; Valhalla: Krista Everett, Katie Giberson; Westlake: Amy Marron, Alexis Pardo; White Plains: Renee Jensen, Marisa Caldarola, Janay Brunson; Yonkers: Guadalupe Maceda, Megan Kenn; Yorktown: Samantha Russo, Kathryn Donatelli.League I-A
Player of the Year: Stephanie Velez (Mamaroneck)
Coach of the Year: Ron Blain (Mamaroneck)
League I-B
Player of the Year: Megan Lavecchia (North Rockland)
Coach of the Year: Darren Hawks (Clarkstown North)
League I-C
Player of the Year: Colleen Barry (Arlington)
Coach of the Year: Darryl Sullivan (John Jay-East Fishkill)
League I-D
Player of the Year: Christine Terlecky (Saunders)
Coach of the Year: Carlo Mitrione (Saunders)
League II-Central
Player of the Year: Courtney Miller (Horace Greeley)
Coach of the Year: Erin Tracy (Horace Greeley)
League II-North
Player of the Year: Sarah Porco (Our Lady of Lourdes)
Coach of the Year: Dave Seipps (Our Lady of Lourdes)
League II-South
Player of the Year: Kerry Ann O’Connor (Ursuline)
Coach of the Year: Malcolm Brown (Ursuline)
League III-A
Player of the Year: Katie Underwood (Briarcliff) and Amy Marron (Westlake)
Coach of the Year: Owen Scully (Briarcliff)
League III-B
Player of the Year: Jules Carfora (Pelham)
Coach of the Year: Nicole Kocalnes (Pelham)
League III-C
Player of the Year: Kelly Fanshawe (Nanuet)
Coach of the Year: Michael Henderson (Nanuet)
League IV-North
Player of the Year: Cate Crenson (North Salem) and Alex Milner (Haldane)
Coach of the Year: Bob Martin (North Salem)
League IV-Central
Player of the Year: Rosina Calisto (Rye Neck)

Here’s a report from Kristin Noonan on Byram Hills’s win over Owego: 

“Despite the drop in temperature and snow scurring down, Byam Hills walked away with a 4-1 win over Section 4’s Owego in the Class A regional semifinals yesterday at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta. From opening kick-off the Bobcats (20-1-1) came out on fire and wanted to prove they can come out on top, but Owego came out first scoring on a direct kick from about 30 yards out with five minutes into the half. But the Bobcats answered right back rwo minutes later by Will Shaheen goal off of a direct kick at midfield by Stephen Paresi. After that point during the first half, the Bobcats held possession and had many opportunities to put the ball in the net. Some bounced off the post, some went wide, and some the keeper saved, until Mike D’Angelo scored with eight minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the half to break the tie. Once again, Paresi got the assist.

The Bobcats continued to play like it was still 0-0 throughtout the second half. Senior Will Ogden, the team’s leading scorer, walked away with two goals in the second half, giving him 20 goals this season so far. Paresi having all four assists is proud to walk away with 14 this season.

‘It is just the best feeling knowing you have practice they next day and that the season is not over,’ Paresi said.”

 Thanks for that report Kristin. Kristin was up in Oneonta for two days after covering the girls game on Tuesday. Now here’s Eric Lebowitz on Greeley’s loss to Vestal:

“Although Horace Greeley fell 3-2 to Section IV champion Vestal in a boys soccer Class AA state semifinals, the Quakers showed tremendous heart in rallying from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game late in the second half.     Part of the reason Vestal was able to jump out to that 2-0 lead was its ability to capitalize on the field conditions. Light rain and snow fell before and during the game, making for a slick field. Twice Vestal was able to use the fast conditions to play passes through to forward speedy forward Brian Rose, who scored both first half goals.     

     Greeley forward Stephen Reisert almost scored a truly remarkable goal midway through the first half with the score 1-0 Vestal.  Reisert was in position to receive a cross near the top of the 18-yard box, but as the ball arched in his direction it seemed destined to sail over his head. In a stunning display of instinct and skill, Reisert backpedaled, turned around and struck a bicycle kick perfectly. Vestal goalie Mike Economou was frozen, and only an unfortunate bounce of the inside of the left post cost Reisert his goal. 

      Despite giving up three goals, Greeley goalie Dan Thau was a big factor in keeping the game close. He made 10 saves in all, including several from point blank range.

      Greeley got the tying goal from senior Scott Scheine with just 4:23 left in the game, and all the momentum seemed to be with the Section 1 champs. But Vestal is a three-time section champion with 16 seniors, and all that experience paid off.

     Rather than panicking or even playing defensively and settling for overtime, Vestal came right back at Greeley and got the game-winner with just under three minutes left in the game.” 

Hey folks, this is Jake Thomases. You may know me from such blogs as “Baking with Jakey” and “I’m telling you, I saw Elvis working at Hot Topic in the Palisades Mall.” Or from the other half of this soccer blog. With Rod departed for Newsday, I’ll be taking over the boys half through the end of the season. A few reporters will cover the boys state games, and they’ll report back to me on what happened. Hopefully the readers can contribute too, especially with background info our reporters may not know.

Our first boys blog entry comes from last night’s Class C game, where Blind Brook advanced 4-2 past Millbrook. Here’s Alex Myers with the report.

“Blind Brook was able to walk away with a regional semifinal win over Section 9’s Millbrook last night at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton in what was truly an incredible game. While six goals were scored, they all occurred in two stretches of about three minutes.

In the first half, the Trojans (14-2-2) went ahead 2-0 quickly on goals by Jordan Silverman and Brett Novick. Millbrook responded 23 seconds after Novick’s goal with one of its own to make it 2-1 with nearly 33 minutes left in the first half.

Amazingly, no one would score again until the game took an unexpected and sad turn. Millbrook’s Aiden Little suffered a severe leg injury just below his right leg on a play near the sideline. No one seemed to notice for awhile, but when they finally did, it was determined that an ambulance was needed. Since they didn’t want to move him at all (several players said they saw a bone popping out) everyone waited for the ambulance to arrive. When it finally did, the delay had lasted approximately 30 minutes. Because of the action in previous game’s this kickoff had been nearly an hour after the 7 p.m. scheduled time, so when the play resumed, it was nearly 10 o’clock.

But the craziness was just beginning. Blind Brook tried to stay focused during the break with its 2-1 lead, but Millbrook almost immediately scored to tie the game. While the delay may have had something to do with it, I don’t know how anyone could have stopped the Blazers’ Justin Williams long shot that managed to sneak just under the crossbar 15 seconds after play resumed.

Blind Brook, an experienced team with 15 seniors from last year’s squad that also defeated Millbrook in the regional semifinal, wasted little time responding. Novick scored 33 seconds later on a beautiful long pass from David Levinson and Scott Kaufman added a clinching goal less than two minutes after that to make it 4-2.

What a wild game. I was particularly impressed with Blind Brook’s response following having the game tied. They could have sulked about how the injury delay caused them to lose their momentum, but they didn’t and they pulled out an incredible win.

Novick, the team’s leading scorer all year was great with two goals, but Harris Brett also played well in goal with eight saves, most of which came in the second half. Levinson, who made the assist on the winning goal, also played a superb defensive game, including saving a second half goal with a clear right near the goal line.”

Plato, Nietzsche, Meatloaf—these are the great philosophers of Western thought.

The Lower Hudson Valley ain’t bad, not after taking two out of three state playoff games today. The victors didn’t just win either. Horace Greeley and Briarcliff combined to beat Section 4’s champions 10-2. The scores—Greeley 5-0 over Corning in AA and Briarcliff 5-2 over Lansing in B—were indicative of how little danger the locals were ever in.

Corning played even for about 10 minutes before the Quakers realized how small the Hawks were and “blasted them.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/SPORTS02/711070376/1070 Before eight minutes were gone in the second half the Quakers led 5-0. Coach Tracy spent the last 25 minutes yanking her starters one by one until only Erin Jackson remained. Tracy pulled her fullback with five minutes left. In my four years on the job I’ve never witnessed that much gar-baj time in a state tournament game. I could have done my laundry and been back for postgame interviews. At least it wasn’t that cold. There was wind at the beginning but it quieted down. (Probably had money on Corning.) It ended up being a lot more pleasant than Saturday night.

Around the time that game shifted into autopilot, Briarcliff was wrapping up “its game,”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/SPORTS02/711070387/1070 which started 20 minutes earlier. At one point in the second half Lansing cut the lead to 3-2, but it was never that even. The Bears were in Lansing’s end all day. Halfway through the first half they’d already taken six corner kicks. Lansing had been ranked second in the state, which either means Briarcliff is No. 1 or the state rankings take the “shoot” out of “crapshoot.” I said before the sectional finals that the Class B winner would go far in states and I didn’t see any evidence to the contrary today. Liana Cornacchio’s hat trick is more proof that these crazy-skilled freshmen are as driven as the Megan Hewetts and Kira Pancottis, the upperclassmen who got bumped early last year.

OK, now the bad news. Solomon Schechter took S.S. Seward into OT but couldn’t advance past the Section 9 champ. The Lions fell 2-1 to close one of the best stories of the year. They went from Class D nobody to Class C champ in a year, using a lot of the same crew that slogged through all those 2-10 seasons. After the game, Talia Prince said, “We’re bringing 800 more kids into the school and playing in AA next year. Watch your backs, Greeley!” OK that’s a lie. But they should feel great about moving up a class and thriving. For the sake of competitiveness I hope they stay there; Class C is shrinking rapidly in Section 1 and can use as many schools as it can get.

As for the game itself, I didn’t see any of it because it was in Milton while I was in Oneonta. Dan Marra gave me the lowdown, which he can describe better than me in “tomorrow’s game story.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/SPORTS02/711070394/1070 Basically the first 65 minutes were dead, followed by an action-packed final 15 and overtime. There were clutch plays, controversial yellow cards, and a second-varsity-ever-in-her life goal from Nicole Fleishman, who you may recall scored her first on Saturday. Bottom line, Dan confided, Seward’s girls were twice as big so Schechter was fighting uphill all day.

Just so you guys can go ahead and still comment on the state playoffs (for however long that might be), don’t worry I didn’t forget about you. You can post your comments on this thread.

Have at it and good luck to all the teams that are still alive.

Guys,

Today is my final day at The Journal News after two-plus years. I would like to thank each and everyone from the bottom of my heart for the heartfelt e-mails and phone calls regarding my writing and coverage during my time here. I’ll never forget it.

I’m leaving to take a great opportunity at my hometown paper, Newsday. It’s something I never dreamed I’d be doing, but here I am and the only reason it’s happening is because of the way you guys responded to my work. Whether it’s the ridiculous blog traffic I’ve helped generate on the soccer and lacrosse blogs, or the great positive feedback on my stories, you the reader/fan/athlete have been very gracious. And for that I am thoroughly thankful.

For my lacrosse heads out there, I won’t be too far away come spring. There’s a good chance I’ll be covering Hofstra men’s lax and I know how many of you follow the Pride very closely. There are plenty of players from the Lower Hudson Valley on the Hofstra lax team, so I look forward to writing about them as well.

Once again, thank you for all the love you showed me here at The Journal News/LoHud.com. It will always be appreciated.

My man Jake called to tell me about the goings on up there in beautiful Oneonta. Here’s the latest:

In Class B, Briarcliff led Lansing 2-1 at the half. Liana Cornacchio has both goals for the Bears, who increased their lead with another goal in the second half and are up 3-1.

In Class AA, Greeley led Corning 1-0 midway through the first half on a Becca Kaplan goal. Goals by Taylor Jackson and Sydney Rutman have extended Greeley’s lead to 3-0 at the half.

Both teams are dominating play and it should be only a matter of time before they punctuate these wins and move onto the state regional finals, AKA the state quarterfinals.

Check back here later for more updates.

Tuesday’s regional semifinals are as follows:

Horace Greeley vs Corning (Section 4) at Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, 1:15 p.m.

Briarcliff vs Lansing (Section 4) at Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, 12:45 p.m.

Solomon Schechter vs S.S. Seward (Section 9) at Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton, 5 p.m.

I won’t have computer access out on the frozen tundra of Oneonta, but I’ll call a coworker periodically to place score updates on the blog. If you’re following at home or work, check in starting at 1.

By the way, does anyone know why the Soccer Hall of Fame is in Oneonta? I’m pretty sure soccer wasn’t invented there…

Phew, what a weekend huh? I’m still exhausted from all the great games. Did that Scarsdale-Greeley game end yet?

Anyway, I have a bit of news to share with you, so here goes:

Ladies and gentlemen, below is the entire list of this year’s Section 1 honorees. Congrats to all of those who made it. You guys, as always, can feel free to leave your thoughts and tell me what you think.

Brad Jacobsen (Mamaroneck); Rob Mancino (Mamaroneck); Akeeba Marshal (Mount Vernon); Brian Cabrera (New Rochelle); Jonathan DosReis (New Rochelle); Daniel Espinoza (New Rochelle), Caleb Duncansen (Scarsdale); Eric Frieman (Scarsdale); Robbie Oliverio (Scarsdale); Henry Acosta (White Plains); J.P. Arenas (White Plains); Jhojan Restrepo (White Plains); Mike Barbetto (Clarkstown North); Eric Gioseffi (Clarkstown North); Matt Mahoney (Clarkstown North); Ryan Moroni (Clarkstown North); Stephen Maliszewski (North Rockland); Loucas Nesteros (North Rockland); Eric Garcia (Suffern); Evan Kwilecki (Suffern); Charlie Pirc (Suffern); Evan Shreck (Suffern); Matt Trauner (Suffern); Edgar Barragan (Yonkers); Evan Callahal (Brewster); Eli Duarte (Fox Lane); Harrison Lewin (Greeley); David Reison (Greeley); Scott Scheine (Greeley); Dan Thau (Greeley); Bucky Illingworth (John Jay); Andrew Snell (John Jay); Lukas Wear (John Jay); Lou DeMello (Lakeland); Mike Malan (Lakeland): Adam Purdy (Lakeland); Chris Coppolechia (Somers); Allen Mata (Yorktown); Joe Maloney (Beacon); Dan Vegrincic(Beacon); Martin Rodriguez (Hen Hud); Dan Wexler (Hen Hud)l Michael DaFont (Ossining); Sebastian Forero (Ossining); Zack Gabor (Ossining); Jorge Herrera (Ossining); Joey Dalleo (Our Lady of Lourdes); Rich Edwards (Lourdes); Tomo Oldiges (Lourdes); Anthony Rozmus (Lourdes); Kabiru Dere (Peekskill); Dan Edwards (Poughkeepsie); Gianpiero Torres (Harrison); Gian Luca Territo (Harrison); Nozomu Miyazaki (Keio); Shun Okamoto (Keio); Yuma Soga (Keio); Rui Tsutsumi (Keio); Kevin McCabe (Nyack); Luis Barajas (Port Chester); Mauricio Paiva (Port Chester); Chris Holihan (Tappan Zee); Spencer Martin (Tappan Zee); Joe Missale (Tappan Zee); Max Effron (Briarcliff); Michael Robinson (Briarcliff); Brian Myers (Byram Hills); Will Ogden (Byram Hills); Stephen Paresi (Byram Hills); Michael Szczesniak (Byram Hills); Eric Shum (Kennedy); William Brown (Pleasantville); David Hyman (Pleasantville); Billy Elliott (Pleasantville), John Bello (Westlake); Stefano Silvestri (Westlake); Colin Powers (Westlake); Anthony Capparelli (Eastchester); Aaron Sokol (Eastchester); Kenta Yamazoe (Eastchester); Kaito Komatsu (Edgemont); Justin Orden (Edgemont); Andrew Mandelbaum (Edgemont); Andrew Walmsley (Pelham); Badir Sherman (Pelham); Luke Byrnes (Rye); Andrew Klokiw (Rye); Matt O’Neill (Rye); Brian Whiston (Rye); Andrew Tartara (Albertus Magnus); Donny Mimnaugh (Albertus Magnus); Aaron Markowitz (Hastings); Cameron McNeil (Hastings); Savi Tober (Hastings); Matt Forster (Irvington); Daniel Davrew (Nanuet); Nick Capogrosso (Pearl River); Rob Ferreira (Pearl River); Carlos Gomez (Sleepy Hollow); Eric Waldman (Sleepy Hollow); Jason Ruivo (Sleepy Hollow); Harris Brett (Blind Brook); Brett Novick (Blind Brook); Rodrigo Amboss (Bronxville); Chris Dennen (Bronxville); Leighton Welch (Bronxville); Andre Ingenito (Valhalla); Paolo Luciano (Valhalla); John Michala (Hamilton); Jorge Vera (Hamilton); Gerson Felipe (Dobbs Ferry); Adam Fleishman (Solomon Schechter); Max Wein (Solomon Schechter); John Mulhearn (Tuckahoe); Alessandro Persampieri (Tuckahoe); Domenick Villano (Tuckahoe); Jorge Aldano (Dover); Nick Esposito (Dover); Eric Kelly (Dover); Adam Rohan (Haldane); Tom Kruze (North Salem); Dan Loftus (North Salem); Brian Span (North Salem); Greg Shea (North Salem)

Honorable mention
Mike Corenthal (Mamaroneck), John Henry (Mount Vernon), Santiago Rigby (Scarsdale), Adam Rose (Scarsdale), Andre Young (White Plains); Ari Nutovits (Clarkstown North); Cody Bovino (North Rockland); Jorge Mera (Ramapo); Steben Mathews (Suffern); Forest Valow-Picarello (Suffern); Seby Trotta (Suffern); Carlos Gamboa (Fox Lane); Dan Diorio (Greeley); Billy Epstein (John Jay); Anthony Femia (John Jay); Dan Foci (Lakeland); Bryan pacchiana (Lakeland); Ben Brenner (Somers); Tejorn Davis (Beacon); Jarrelle Joseph (Beacon); Gino Gallo (Hen Hud); Kenvick Gordon (Ossining); Nick Grant (Lourdes); Kevin Hummel (Lourdes); Michael Parish (Panas); Hank Rubenstein (Harrison); Makoto Sano (Harrison); Tomohiro Yatsumonji (Keio); Francis Moran (Nyack); Christian Castillo (Port Chester); Danny Kane (Tappan Zee); Gabe Bender (Briarcliff); Pat Vierengel (Byram Hills); Mike LaGreca (Kennedy); Adrain Vallejo (Pleasantville); Sebastian Munoz (Putnam Valley); Wiliam Reis (Putnam Valley); Darwin Gramajo (Westlake); Kiyota Gomi (Ardsley); Anthony Maiorano (Ardsley); Felipe Diaz (Eastchester); Curtis Trueb (Eastchester); Dan Weinstein (Edgemont); Juan Chang (Rye); Michael Lincoln (Albertus Magnus; Mike Pacheo (Hastings); Jackson Kerr (Irvington); Evan Ostrow (Nanuet); Chris Relihan (Pearl River); Chris Coronel (Sleepy Hollow); David Levinson (Blind Brook); Marcos Coto-Batres (Rye Neck); Peter Reca (Rye Neck); P.J. Flynn (Valhalla); Jairo Larios (Hamilton); Greg Klassen (Dobbs Ferry); Evan Marchand (Dobbe Ferry); Adam Leffell (Solomon Schechter); Scott Garcia (Dover); Matt O’Neill (Dover); Mike Cuzzi (North Salem); Tom Schumann (North Salem)

1) It occured to me, around the time Pelham tied its game with Lourdes, how few shutouts there were in the late rounds of sectionals. Nanuet was the only finals shutout victim. There were three more in eight semifinals. Usually the pressure of championship battles makes players tight, especially in the second half. When they’re tight they can’t run an offense and miss open looks. They get less precise. It didn’t happen this time.

2) Because I didn’t cover the AA game, I watched it among the fans in front of the stands. Minutes before the shootout began, while the teams gathered at midfield, Fishkill’s goalie ran over to where I was standing. “Where’s Kevin,” she yelled to the JJEF crowd. A kid I presumed to be Kevin stepped forward. “What do I do?” she asked with a shrug. The crowd laughed, but I wasn’t sure she was joking. She and Kevin huddled for a minute before she ran off. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But when Greeley scored on all four of its penalty kicks, I flashed back to that moment. Then I read Kristen Guernier’s comments in the game story, about how she works on stopping PKs every practice, how she felt comfortable in a tense extra session. Quite a contrast.

3) If you want a lesson on how to encourage your players/employees/children, watch Kim Saxton coach. Her Solomon Schechter team must have self-esteem coming out their ears. She praises them so much I was starting to feel bad about my outfit because she hadn’t said anything nice about it yet. At one point Maya Moskowitz made a nice dribbling move before losing the ball. Saxton got her attention as she jogged back upfield. “Maya! Hey Maya! I couldn’t ask for anything more, Maya!” After their comeback win she had tears streaking her face. When I approached her I half expected her to be filing adoption papers for all 20-something of her girls.

4) Got to tip my cap to Fishkill, which brought a big crowd of parents and students despite having the second-farthest to travel. Might have outnumbered Greeley’s fans. Good job by them coming out in support.

5) Speaking of travel, I wonder how many people are going to make the trek to Oneonta for the next round. Think it’s too far? Maybe, but at least it’s freezing cold. Weather reports says 43 degrees with 18 mph winds. Always seemed funny to me how the girls play a whole season in 60-75 degree sun, then when the most important games come it’s sub zero. A couple years ago in Oneonta the fields had to be snowplowed before the games could go on. New York State should annex one of the Virgin Islands and play its regionals there.

Two months of toil and we finally have our sectional champions. The four teams that won today have had stellar seasons and can’t complain about whatever happens from here on out. Most players tell me they have two preseason goals — league and sectional title. All four of these teams did both. Everything from here on out is gravy.

Just to recap, your champions are Greeley in AA, Lourdes in A, Briarcliff in B, and Schechter in C. The first three will travel on Tuesday to the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta to take on Section 4’s champs, all at 1 p.m. That’d be Corning in AA, Maine-Endwell in A, and Lansing in B. Only Maine-Endwell is ranked in the state. Schechter stays a little closer to home. It’ll face Section 9 winner S.S. Seward in the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton at 5 p.m.

Greeley beats John Jay-East Fishkill in PKs. Greeley hit all four kicks it took. Pelham lost 2-1 to Lourdes, whose speed up front was unbelievable.

More later.

Well gang, the day most of us have been waiting for since the ball bags were officially opened in the preseason has arrived. In less than 12 hours, we will have champions crowned in each class. The Class A (1:30 p.m.), B (4 p.m.) and AA (6:30 p.m.) games are at Suffern Middle School while the Class C finale is at Bronxville High School at 2 p.m.

First up is No. 1 Byram Hills and No. 2 Lakeland meeting in a rematch of last year’s scintillating Class A championship game under the lights up in Cross River at John Jay. This should be one of the best—if not the most physical and exciting—game of the four. And we won’t have to wait long to see who the winner is. This is one of those games where you won’t want to fall behind becaise both teams are stingy defensively and the pressure will begin to mount as each second ticks off the clock.

Second comes top-seeded Valhalla and No. 2 Blind Brook meeting for the Class C crown. Blind Brook got the best of the Vikings in their Oct. 25 meeting, but don’t read too much into that because the Vikings rested four of their top players so they would be fresh for the postseason. I dont think these two teams like each other too much, so this should be an all out you know what.

Next up will be No. 3 Bronxville meeting top-seeded Hastings. The Yellow Jackets and Broncos haven’t met this season, so there’s nothing to gauge how this one will go. If nothing else, the Broncos do have more postseason experience since they played for the title last year, losing to Albertus Magnus in the championship game. But Hastings has silenced the doubters so far, so anyone who doesn’t think they have a legitimate shot isn’t thinking too claerl.

Lastly, there’s the game everyone predicted: No. 5 Greeley and No. 10 Scarsdale playing for the Class AA title at 6:30 p.m. If you thought this was going to be the matchup, please raise your hand. For those raising your hand, put them down quickly before they are struck by lightening. You have to give it to Greeley coach Bob Oddo and Scarsdale coach Joe Cipriano. Both have done a great job beating the odds to get their respective teams here and they are each one win away from the big dance, AKA the state tournament. Each team is loaded with seniors, so it will come down to the team that takes serious advantage of any good scoring opportunities they can get.

If for some reason you can’t make it to either of the two sites, have no feat. The Just Kickin’ It blog crew is here. I will do my best to provide you with instantaneous updates as the games go along. I will be at Suffern and my man Eric Lebowitz will be at Bronxville. So keep it right here if you have a prior engagement that won’t allow you to be there in person.

Check back early and often. In the meantime, I want you guys to weigh in with your predictions. Who ya got?

Seems like Fordham Prep is playing for a CHSAA city and state championship every year. Why should this year be any different?

I just talked to Rams coach Pete McNamara. He’s preparing for Fordham Prep’s game tomorrow against St. Francis. The teams are playing for the CHSAA A city title at 3 p.m. at St. John’s University and this is the fourth straight year the Rams are in position to win the city championship.

“It’s been a good run,” McNamara said.

The Rams are led by senior goalie Ryan Meara and senior Mike Mazzullo, a natural midfielder who made the switch to sweeper to help the team shore up its defense. Win or lose tomorrow, they have their eyes set on the CHSAA A state championship. They will play the Long Island champ, whih hasn’t been determined yet, at either 5 or 7 p.m. next Friday at Fordham University.

Should they win their semifinal game, they’d play for the state title on Sunday.

First, let me say that it seems like every time I go to Armonk to watch Byram Hills (even in the spring when I watched a boys lax game there) there’s a relentless wind. What, is there some kind of wind tunnel up there? Sheesh?

Anyway, I’ve been fortunate enough to watch some good soccer in my three seasons on the beat here at The Journal News and today was one of the most exciting games I’ve witnessed. The cold temperatures gave it that definite postseason feel and Matt Allen expressed to me how he thought it was one of the most even-played games he’s ever been a part of.

It took a header from Will Shaheen with a little over four minutes remaining to send the Bobcats to the thrilling 1-0 win, putting Byram Hills back in the Section 1 Class A title game and giving Hills a chance to defend its title.

Here’s something Allen read to his players before the game, talking about their 19th game of the season: “There are times in our lives that the world lets us show/the things of ourselves that now only we know/of course people say, ‘They’re so fast!’ They’re so strong!/But in thinking that’s us, they’re totally wrong/Sure the skill and the strength are keys to our fate/But they’re not the main things that make this team great/No, those on the outside can’t see why we win/Because they cannot see what we all have within.”

Not bad, huh? Can’t tell you what’s he’s scheduled to read before game 20 Saturday. This is a family blog after all. But it is pretty funny, I must admit.

Also, I’ll tell you what: Jared Small has the Garnets going in the right direction. Besides looking snazzy in his European-style suits in the sidelines, he’s brought a certain element to Rye that can’t be measured. You can tell the players feel they are going to win each game, no matter who they are playing. Rye losses just five seniors and one of them isn’t Juan Chang. He’s only a sophomore and is going to get better. Watch out him for over the next two years.

Ok, so who you guys going with in the Byram Hills-Lakeland game. Tell me who’s going to win and why?

Anyone who watched last year’s game between these two know how physical it was until Hayden Morris helped send the Bobcats into the state tournament, a run that ended with a loss to Section 5’s Aquinas in the state title game. I expect another close game Saturday.

Just got off the phone with Greeley coach Bob Oddo. Needless to say, he was about as excited as can be. His team beat defending state Class AA champ Arlington—a team that had lost one game in two years—by a slim 1-0 margin. Stephen Reisert, a sophomore, was the hero. He was nearly at a loss for words as he explained how he scored the biggest goal of his life.

Here is his take:

“Justin Karr threw it in and Dave Reison headed it and flicked onto the center. And one opposing defender couldn’t clear it. It bounced off him and it was loose in 18-yard box. I just took a step in and blasted into the upper left corner. ”

It took a minute for it to sink in.

“I was so happy. It was the greatest feeling in the world.” Reisert said. “I was so happy it was the greatest feeling in the whole world. It was so amazing. I couldn’t even think about what was going on. I thought it was a dream. I didn’t think it was real. But it was great.”

Greeley hasn’t been getting much respect by some on this blog (that doesn’t include me) and the Quakers feel they gained mucho respecto with this win today. Arlington is no slouch and features behemoths at nearly every position, but Greeley took advantage of a big scoring opportunity and made the Admirals pay. Now the Quakers will play Scarsdale, which beat Jay 1-0, for the title at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Suffern Middle School. Amazing, isn’t it?

Here’s the rest of the scores we have so far. We are just missing the Blind Brook-Haldane scores as of now. Crazy tournament so far, huh?

Boys soccer
Section 1 tournament
Semifinals
Class AA
Greeley 1, Arlington 0
Scarsdale 1, John Jay 0

Class A
Byram Hills 1, Rye 0
Lakeland 2, Tappan Zee 1
Class B
Hastings 3, North Salem 1
Bronxville 4 Edgemont 0
Class C
Valhalla 1, Solomon Schechter 0, OT
No. 3 Haldane at No. 2 Blind Brook, 3 p.m.

I was planning to post these earlier but I’ve had to spend the day chasing this Hackley story.

Not sure which two games I’ll cover on Saturday. I don’t think I’ll even get a choice. Brian Heyman is covering the other two and his schedule may determine which ones he’ll be at.

By the way, I hope everyone’s aware that the game order has been reversed. Originally Class C was scheduled to go on at 1 p.m., followed by B, then A, then AA. But Solomon Schechter can’t play before sundown on Saturday because of the sabbath. So Class C is now last, at 7 p.m. AA is 1 p.m., A is 3, and B is 5.

Class AA

Horace Greeley 3, John Jay-East Fishkill 2: Come on, you didn’t think I was going to pick against the Quakers after I watched them play so amazing against North Rockland, did you? I’ve loved this team all year, even after they lost that bizzaro game to Mamaroneck. Like Steve Shepardson said after his Red Raiders fell, their positioning in unbelievable on every part of the field. No one is where they’re not supposed to be (gotta love those double negatives). So to Taylor Jackson, who asked yesterday if I had picked against them, I hope you’re reading this.

Class A

Pelham 1, Our Lady of Lourdes 1: Both are coming off impressive semifinals. Pelham put up a three-spot against Byram Hills while Lourdes, which had split a pair of 1-0 contests with Hen Hud during the season, scored five on the Sailors. You can look at Rye as a predictor of this game. Pelham and Rye tied 1-1 during the last week of the season. Lourdes and Rye tied 0-0 in the quarterfinals, where Lourdes won on the 11th PK. Of the day’s four games, this appears the most likely to go into a shootout.

Class B

Briarcliff 2, Nanuet 1, OT: This is the one finals I saw coming two months ago. Nanuet and Briarcliff, a combined 36-1, were the class of Class B all year and long appeared on a collision course. It’s a rematch of last year’s title game too, which Briarcliff won 1-0. I can see one of the Bears’ young guns coming up with an overtime goal here. Whoever wins, I see them going to at least a state semifinal.

Class C

Solomon Schechter 2, Valhalla 0: The Vikings got back to the stellar defense that got them off to a hot start, holding Haldane scoreless for 109 minutes in their semifinal. Kate Giberson hit a breakaway goal a minute before the game would have gone to a shootout. Schechter absolutely cannot let that girl free if it wants to win. But I think Naomi Pollack, now the area’s second-leading scorer, will notch a goal or two to send the Lions on.

I’ve just learned that Hackley, the three-time defending state champions, will not be participating in this year’s state tournament. There’s a form that every school needs to submit to the New York State Association of Independent Schools by Oct. 18 declaring their intent to enter the playoffs. Coach Julianne Puente turned it in on Oct. 22, and the NYSAIS decided it would be unfair to accept it late. Other schools have been barred in the past for the same reason.

At 15-0, Hackley was the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champs. Shame it won’t be able to because of a minor mistake. The NYSAIS committee must have felt its hands were tied by precedent.

Right now details are limited. Mostly I’ve got a lot of “no comments” and unreturned phone calls to show for the day. You can read my story in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. I’ll update the blog with details as they come in.