The LoHud Boys Soccer Blog

After a disappointing end to his senior season, Ivan Martinez delivered some positive news on Monday when he officially signed with the University of Albany. One of the most lethal strikers in the section, Martinez tore the meniscus in his right knee early in the season, which resulted in Rye Neck missing sectionals all together. To put that into perspective, the Panthers had made the section finals in the previous three seasons with Martinez, winning a Class B title in 2009. I only had an opportunity to watch Martinez play once, but based on that game and what I’ve heard from many opposing coaches, he probably would have been the most lethal offensive weapon in the section this season. As a junior, he led Section 1 with 33 points (28 goals and five assists).

I spoke to Albany coach Trevor Gorman this week, who indicated that he expects Martinez to compete for playing time right away. He called Martinez’s rare knack for the goal, “the kind of thing that you lookout for,” and said that he seems him being a major threat at the collegiate level. Martinez has played some games with FC Westchester since the conclusion of the 2011 high school season, and seems to be recovering nicely. For more on his decision, here is my story from today’s paper.

Photo by Seth Harrison/The Journal News

At long last, my official 2011 boys soccer all-star teams were released on Sunday. It was a time-consuming process to sort through all of the players and gather the opinions of many coaches from around the section, but in the end I feel very confident with the teams I ended up with.

In Westchester/Putnam, our Player of the Year was Lakeland senior goalkeeper Steven Reiche (pictured above). The decision was an extremely difficult one between Reiche and Blind Brook senior forward Lucas McBride, but I ultimately gave the slight edge to Reiche. Both players put their teams on their backs in the playoffs, which is the type of thing that you look for when it comes to this type of award. But Reiche had a little bit of a tougher road in Class A, most notably a 1-0 shutout win over previously unbeaten Port Chester in the final. He was put in high pressure situations all season long, and protected one-goal leads better than anyone in the section. Here is my story on Reiche.

Our Westchester/Putnam Coach of the Year was Lakeland coach Tim Hourahan. Horace Greeley coach Adam Borman and Yonkers coach Janet Ryan were also strong candidates, but the feeling was that Hourahan had the toughest field to navigate through in Class A. No Class AA teams were of the caliber of Port Chester, which handily beat Greeley twice in the regular season. Hourahan also used excellent motivational techniques in the playoffs, and made some gutsy decisions that paid off.

Here are the rest of the Westchester/Putnam first-team, other than Reiche:

Defenders
Jeremy Brazda, Byram Hills: The All-Region senior led the Bobcats to a 32-6 record in his two years captaining the defense. At 6-foot-3, he is excellent at winning balls in the air.
Jack Dennen, Bronxville: The All-State senior captained a defense that allowed only 10 goals in 19 games. He has appeared in two section finals.
Mark Kramarchuk, Fordham Prep: The senior sweeper led the Rams to their first CHSAA state title. A Mount Vernon resident, he also plays for the New York Cosmos club team.
Ian Robinson, Rye: The Rutgers-bound All-Section senior played center back and led a stingy Garnets defense. He is also a captain for the FC Westchester club team.
Midfielders
Fabian Chapparo, Mamaroneck: The All-Region senior led the Tigers with 13 goals and 12 assists. He also plays for FC Westchester.
Daniel Norris, Hackley: The Boston College-bound senior finished with 10 goals and eight assists. He also plays for FC Westchester.
Kevin Riveros, Port Chester: The All-Region senior was the catalyst for the Rams, who went undefeated until the Class A section final. He finished with 13 goals and nine assists, and will play at Purchase College.
Forwards
David Alemany, Scarsdale: The All-State senior was one of the most lethal weapons in the section, finishing with 12 goals and nine assists despite being consistently double-teamed. He plays for FC Westchester and is committed to Washington University at St. Louis.
Lucas McBride, Blind Brook: The All-State senior went on an incredible run in the playoffs, either scoring or assisting on 10 of the Trojans’ 11 postseason goals to lead them to a Class B section title. He finished second in the section with 23 goals.
Matthew Praino, Sleepy Hollow: The All-Section senior led the section with 29 goals and 10 assists, despite being the main focus of opposing defenses.

Second team
GK — Alex Kapp, Sr., Iona Prep
D — Hyun Kyo Jung, Jr., Kennedy
D — Josh Kogan, Jr., Horace Greeley
D — Chris Monteferante, Sr., Lakeland
M — Chris Cruz, Soph., Yonkers
M — Melvyn Huaman, Soph., Hamilton
M — Cristofer Saldivar, Jr., White Plains
M — Alex Tejera, Soph., Ossining
F — Brian Coyt, Sr., Port Chester
F — Jeremy Kesselhaut, Sr., Horace Greeley
F — Zef Saljanin, Sr., Yorktown

In Rockland, our Player of the Year was Pearl River junior Giovanni Galvano. With the Pirates establishing themselves as the top team in the county (they didn’t lost a game in Rockland all season), it made sense that the award would go to someone from Pearl River. The way that the Pirates structured their system, a tremendous amount of stress was put on Galvano, and he handled it beautifully. As the central midfielder, everything went through him, and he was the catalyst for a potent Pearl River offense. He finished among the leaders in the section in assists. Here is my story on Galvano.

Our Coach of the Year in Rockland was Pearl River coach Damon O’Keefe. O’Keefe led the Pirates on a drastic turnaround after finishing around .500 last season. They finished 14-2-2, and did not lose a game in the county. Those factors made it difficult to deny O’Keefe.

Here are the rest of the Rockland first-team all-stars, other than Galvano:

Goalkeeper
Danny Calderon, Tappan Zee: The senior was the backbone of one of the stingiest defenses in the section. He’s known for his acrobatic saves.
Defenders
Jared Chin, Suffern: The All-Section senior was the leader of the Mounties’ defense and led the team to a league title. He is committed to Union College.
Brandon Curtis, North Rockland: The All-Section sophomore is athletic enough to lock down an opposing team’s top scorer, while also possessing the ability to push up and create offense. He plays for the New York Red Bulls academy team.
Chris Montera, Clarkstown South: The All-Section senior led the Vikings on a surprise run to the Class AA semifinals.
Mike Trinkoff, Tappan Zee: The All-Section junior is regarded by many as one of the top defenders in the section. He helped hold Pearl River to one goal in two meetings.
Midfielders
James Huber, Albertus Magnus: The All-Section senior led the Falcons through a treacherous scheduled filled with large schools. He finished with 12 goals and seven assists.
Chris Kane, Tappan Zee: The All-Section senior led the Dutchmen to impressive wins over North Rockland and Suffern. He finished with 11 goals and five assists.
Forwards
Alex Castillo, Pearl River: The All-Section junior finished second in the county with 17 goals. He is capable of scoring from deep thanks to a strong leg.
Kurt Diffley, Clarkstown South: The All-Section senior led the county with 18 goals. He has a knack for the clutch goal, notably scoring the winner to upset top-seeded Yorktown in the Class AA quarterfinals.
Paulo Menendez, Suffern: The All-Section senior was a force for the Mounties, finishing with 13 goals and six assists. He continued to produce throughout the season to lead Suffern to a league title.

Second team
GK — John Helgesen, Sr., Suffern
D — Rafael Aguilar, Jr., North Rockland
D — Sam Berry, Sr., Pearl River
D — Tim Ehardt, Jr., Tappan Zee
D — Tim Kelly, Sr., Albertus Magnus
M — Orphee Jean-Charles, Sr., Spring Valley
M — Rob Kcira, Sr., Clarkstown North
M — Connor McIntyre, Sr., Pearl River
F — Keith Diaz-Albertini, Sr., Suffern
F — Sean Diffley, Sr., Clarkstown South
F — Blaise Panepinto, Soph., North Rockland

I want to thank everyone for all of their support throughout the season. It’s been a blast covering boys soccer in Section 1, and the response has been great. My posts will obviously be less frequent moving forward, but I’ll continue to update the blog if I hear of any interesting offseason news. Until then, enjoy your holiday season everyone!

I just wanted to remind everyone to check tomorrow’s paper for the official release of my 2011 all-star teams! Included in the package will be my players of the year for both Westchester/Putnam and Rockland, my coaches of the year for each, plus complete lineups I’ve chosen as first-team, second-team and honorable mention for each.

There were some very tough calls to make (the Westchester/Putnam Player of the Year might have been the toughest decision I’ve made since working here), but I feel pretty confident with my final selections. I’ll post them at some point tomorrow, but be sure to pick up a newspaper!

Horace Greeley coach Adam Borman was your choice for Westchester/Putnam Coach of the Year, receiving 46 percent of the vote. Now, I want to know who your pick is in Rockland.

Remember, all of these official announcements will come out in Sunday’s paper, which will also include my full all-star teams. They’re all just about finalized. Here’s my top four candidates for Rockland Coach of the Year:

• Bob Walkley, Suffern — The long-time Mounties coach led his team to a league championship and a fourth seed overall in the Class AA playoffs. Among Class AA teams in the county, Suffern was the most dominant throughout the regular season.


• Michael Ludwig, Clarkstown South — The Vikings proved to be just as good, if not better, than the traditionally strong Class AA teams in the county such as North Rockland and Suffern. Ludwig guided his team to a strong finish, which included an upset win over top-seeded Yorktown in the quarterfinals.


• Damon O’Keefe, Pearl River — Under O’Keefe, the Pirates established themselves as the top team in the county. After a relatively mediocre season in 2010, Pearl River swept through its Class AA opponents in the county, and did not suffer a loss to a Rockland opponent.


• Steve Purkis, Tappan Zee — It would be easy to make the argument that the Dutchmen were right on par with Pearl River. They tied Pearl River twice, and knocked off some strong Class AA opponents, putting together the most successful season of Purkis’ tenure.

It seems that the Brandon Curtis fans came out in bunches, as the North Rockland sophomore won our Rockland Player of the Year poll with 53 percent of the vote. I’ve made my final decisions for each player of the year, but I won’t make that announcement until my all-star teams come out on Sunday. Until then, I want to know who you think should be our coaches of the year from each side of the bridge. We’ll start with the four leading candidates in Westchester/Putnam:

• Adam Borman, Horace Greeley — The first-year head coach was the youngest in the section in 2011 at 25 years old, yet managed to led the Quakers to a surprising Class AA section title. After taking over on short notice a few weeks before the season began, Borman guided 13th-seeded Greeley to four straight upset wins to capture the championship.


• Tim Hourahan, Lakeland — In his seventh season at the helm, Hourahan finally got his section title. The seventh-seeded Hornets shocked Section 1 by upsetting heavy favorite Port Chester in the Class A final, with Hourahan pushing all of the right buttons along the way. Lakeland simply found ways to pull out big games.


• Robert Segaloff, Hamilton — Under Segaloff, the Red Raiders won their first section title in 29 years. The Class C champs fielded a tight-knit group of skilled players which could compete with many larger schools. By the time the playoffs came around, Hamilton was playing at an extremely high-level.


• Janet Ryan, Yonkers — The only female coach in Section 1 led the Bulldogs to the best season in school history. Yonkers finished the season with only two losses, despite dealing with limited field space due to the budget crisis in Yonkers. Ryan’s ability to overcome adversity became embedded into the character of her team.

Awards were passed out at the boys soccer all-section dinner on Tuesday, with a couple of postseason stars earning the biggest honors.

Lakeland senior Steven Reiche was named the Large Schools Player of the Year, while Blind Brook senior Lucas McBride was named the Small Schools Player of the Year. Both led their teams to upset wins in their respective section finals.

Port Chester coach John Cafaldo was named the Section 1 Coach of the Year.

Here is the full list of players who made All-section:

League I-A —
MVP: Darren Gomez, John Jay-EF.
All-section: Arun Basuljevic, Mahopac; Brian Casey, North Salem; Spencer Irwin, Somers; Matt Mahoney, RC Ketcham; Chris Pourakis, John Jay-EF; Alex Tolman, RC Ketcham.
Honorable mention: Tyler Costello, North Salem; Nick Fecci, Somers; Joseph Iraola, Mahopac; Tyler Poggiogalle, John Jay-EF; Peter Zambelletti, North Salem.

League I-B —
MVP: Steven Reiche, Lakeland.
All-section: Jeff Greblick, Arlington; David Knight, Panas; Christopher Metz, Lourdes; Mike Nittolo, Arlington; Ryan Roche, Yorktown.
Honorable mention: Arber Balidemaj, Panas; Abe Hannigan, Hen Hud; Collin Illiano, Arlington; Sebastian Marquez, Lakeland; Trey Patterson, Yorktown; Cody Shanz, Lourdes.

League I-C —
MVP: Kevin Davis, Beacon.
All-section: Daniel Aidoo, Poughkeepsie; Steven Arraiano, Putnam Valley; Mike Ennis, Kennedy; Hyun Kyo Jung, Kennedy; TJ Zehner, Beacon.
Honorable mention: R.J. Aprile, Kennedy; Patrick daPonte, Haldane; Jean Paul Fiallo, Dover; Jamie Guevara, Peekskill; Kyle LeClerc, Beacon; Alex Spitzer, Putnam Valley.

League II-A —
MVP: Chris Cruz, Yonkers.
All-section: Steven Artega, Woodlands; Sam Jablansky, Solomon Schechter; Corbyn Pitts, Yonkers.
Honorable mention: Steven Belyansky, Solomon Schechter; Prince Kermo, Woodlands; Robert Maravic, Tuckahoe; Aiden Tansey, Yonkers.

League II-B —
MVP: Fabian Chapparo, Mamaroneck.
All-section: David Alemany, Scarsdale; Jeffrey Coronel, Mamaroneck; Fabian Encina, White Plains; Shaquille Jackson-Lee, Mamaroneck; Jorge Porras, White Plains; Cristofer Saldivar, White Plains; Zach Shabman, Scarsdale.
Honorable mention: Jimmy Calderon, Mamaroneck; Stephen O’Connor, New Rochelle; Jason Peluso, Scarsdale; Cesar Romero, Mamaroneck; Christian Vergara, White Plains.

League II-C —
MVP: Matthew Praino, Sleepy Hollow.
All-section: Luis Andrade, Gorton; Colin Chenel, Irvington; Brandon Melendez, Gorton; Ben Ovetsky, Irvington; Christian Zhinin, Sleepy Hollow.
Honorable mention: Robert Bischof, Sleepy Hollow; Kaz Boschen, Hastings; Drew Cohen, Irvington; Matias Pollevick, Dobbs Ferry; Antonio Soriano, Gorton; Daniel Weber, Ardsley.

League II-D —
MVP: Jack Dennen, Bronxville.
All-section: Matt Browne, Edgemont; Yukinojo Inadome, Eastchester; Augustine Mfodno, Saunders; Luke Szendiuch, Pelham; Brewster Warble, Bronxville.
Honorable mention: Jack Aherne, Bronxville; James Edwards, Pelham; Dardan Jashari, Saunders; Tom Young, Edgemont.

League III-A —
MVP: Lucas McBride, Blind Brook.
All-section: Melvyn Huaman, Hamilton; Angelo Materia, Valhalla; Kei Matsumoto, Keio; Kengo Sawada, Keio; Ben Seguljic, Blind Brook.
Honorable mention: Marco Callisto, Rye Neck; Matthew Christal, Blind Brook; Joseph Lovecchio, Valhalla; Satoshi Morikawa, Keio; Nixon Vacacela, Hamilton.

League III-B —
MVP: Alex Tejera, Ossining.
All-section: Jake Demeglio, Westlake; Yaron Rubin, Briarcliff; John Scorcia, Ossining; Gino Vargado, Ossining.
Honorable mention: Paul Addeo, Croton-Harmon; Ryan Clarke, Croton-Harmon; Dan Greenberg, Briarcliff.

League III-C —
MVP: Kevin Riveros, Port Chester.
All-section: Jeremy Brazda, Byram Hills; Brian Coyt, Port Chester; Henry Gager, Rye; Jeremy Kesselhaut, Horace Greeley; Ian Robinson, Rye; Brad Tannor, Byram Hills.
Honorable mention: Felipe Campos, Port Chester; Mateus Gomes, Rye; Alex Gottlieb, Byram Hills; Josh Kogan, Horace Greeley; Rafael Mandujano, Port Chester.

League IV-A —
MVP: Paulo Menendez, Suffern.
All-section: Jared Chin, Suffern; Brandon Curtis, North Rockland; Keith Diaz-Albertini, Suffern; Kurt Diffley, Clarkstown South; Chris Montera, Clarkstown South.
Honorable mention: Rafael Aquilar, North Rockland; Sean Diffley, Clarkstown South; Rob Kcira, Clarkstown North; Brian Tonelli, Suffern.

League IV-B —
MVP: Giovanni Galvano, Pearl River.
All-section: Sam Berry, Pearl River; Alex Castillo, Pearl River; James Huber, Albertus Magnus; Chris Kane, Tappan Zee; Mike Trinkoff, Tappan Zee.
Honorable mention: Joey Amoia, Tappan Zee; Tim Ehardt, Tappan Zee; Anders Fleming, Nyack; Tim Kelly, Albertus Magnus; Connor McIntyre, Pearl River.

After a week of compiling votes, we just barely have your verdict on the Westchester/Putnam Player of the Year. Lakeland’s Steven Reiche just edged out Sleepy Hollow’s Matthew Praino with 20 percent of the vote. Remember though, this does not necessarily mean that Reiche will be the choice. This is just a neat way to let you all have your say, and it will certainly be taken into consideration.

Now, it’s time for you all to give me your opinions on the Rockland Player of the Year. Just as with Westchester/Putnam, there is no clear choice here. Once again, I’ll give you my top four candidates, but you can add other names to the poll (just to note, Derek Zoolander unfortunately does not play soccer in Rockland county). Here’s the top choices for the award, in my opinion:

• Giovanni Galvano, Pearl River — The junior’s best argument for the award is that he was the best player on the best team in the county. The Pirates did not lose a game in Rockland, and Galvano was the biggest reason why. His numbers aren’t eye-popping (six goals, 14 assists), but his contributions cannot be weighed simply with goals and assists. Galvano was Pearl River’s catalyst from his central midfield position, and set his teammates up with countless opportunities throughout the season.


• Kurt Diffley, Clarkstown South — The leading scorer in the county (18 goals) led the Vikings to the Class AA semifinals, including scoring a header to knock off top-seeded Yorktown in double OT in the quarterfinals. The senior was South’s main finisher all season, and seemed to have a knack for the clutch goal. Diffley formed the best forward duo in Rockland with his twin brother Sean (seven goals, 11 assists).


• Paulo Menendez, Suffern — The senior led his team to a league title by sweeping North Rockland, Clarkstown South, Clarkstown North and Ramapo, which resulted in the No. 4 seed in the Class AA playoffs. He was the leading scorer for the Mounties (13 goals, six assists), and is regarded as one of the best finishers in the county. Suffern’s offense ran through Menendez.


• Brandon Curtis, North Rockland — Most coaches in the county regard the sophomore as the best defender in Rockland. With such a young team, the Red Raiders relied heavily on its defense, and it was Curtis who consistently drew the toughest assignments. Despite a loss to Scarsdale in the first round, Curtis was so effective on stud David Alemany that Scarsdale coach Joseph Cipriano felt the need to point out his performance to me after the game.

Now that the season is officially over for all Section 1 teams, it’s time to begin discussing postseason awards. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be releasing full all-star teams for both Westchester/Putnam and Rockland. Each will include first-team, second-team and honorable mention, as well as a coach of the year and a player of the year. No decisions have been made yet, but I have a pretty good idea of who’s in the mix. I also want to take some time in the next few weeks to gather some opinions from various coaches around the section.

I’m going to give you all a chance to have your say, too. Every week, I’ll put up a new poll question for one of the major awards to see who the fans of this blog believe is most deserving. First up is probably the toughest question of them all: Who should be the Westchester/Putnam player of the year? You can add names on your own, but I’m going to get us started with the four leading candidates:

• Steven Reiche, Lakeland — Undoubtedly the top goalkeeper in the section this season, the senior led the Hornets to a surprising Class A section title. He came up with a school-record 14 shutouts, including blanking previously undefeated Port Chester for the first time all season in the section title game. He finished the season with four straight shutouts, with Lakeland eventually being eliminated on penalty kicks in the regional final.


• Lucas McBride, Blind Brook — The senior emerged as a top contender for this award with his performance in the playoffs. Of the Trojans’ 11 postseason goals, McBride either scored or assisted on all but one — which is even more incredible when you consider he was being marked for just about every minute of each game. He finished the season second in the section with 23 goals, and led Blind Brook to a Class B title by upsetting defending Bronxville in the final.


• Kevin Riveros, Port Chester — Despite the loss to Lakeland in the Class A section final, Riveros led the Rams to one of most dominant regular seasons in recent memory. PC did not lose a game until it ran into a red-hot Hornets team with Reiche in net. With as much talent as the Rams had, the senior was the engine that made the team go. Never was that more apparent than when Lakeland went all out to stop him in the final, and the rest of the team stalled.


• Matthew Praino, Sleepy Hollow — The senior led the section in goals (29) and total points (39), despite consistently being the main focus of opposing defenses. Praino developed a variety of creative ways to score over the course of the season, becoming arguably the most feared goal-scorer in the section. He also led the Headless Horsemen to an upset win over Tappan Zee in the playoffs.

I’ll have more reaction during the week, but I wanted to post links to all of yesterday’s game stories. The Lakeland game in particular I’ll have more details on coming soon.

Class A: Lakeland battles Maine-Endwell to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes, eventually falling on penalty kicks, 6-5.

Class B: Blind Brook’s best players showed up, but the Trojans still went down against Long Island champ Wheatley, 2-1.

Class C: Hamilton controlled possession throughout the game and created more opportunities, but couldn’t finish often enough to avoid a 2-1 double overtime loss to Long Island champ Port Jefferson.

All three Section 1 teams who were in action today were eliminated, but this will still go down as a day to remember for these local squads. Each game went down to the wire, and there were several players who came up big in spite of defeat. Here are brief recaps for each game. I’ll be back later with more:

Class A — Maine-Endwell 0, Lakeland 0, 2OT (Maine-Endwell advances on penalty kicks, 6-5): The Lakeland boys soccer team could only live on the edge for so long, losing to Maine-Endwell in Saturday’s Class A regional final at Hall of Fame Fields in Oneonta, 6-5 on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtimes.

It was the second consecutive game in which the Hornets season came down to penalty kicks. Timmy O’Driscoll scored on theLakeland’s fifth penalty kick opportunity to tie the score at 4-4 and force extra kicks. But Maine-Endwell made two of its next three chances to advance to the state final four.

The shutout was the school-record 14th of the season for Lakeland goalkeeper Steven Reiche, who finished the game with five saves. It was also the fourth consecutive game in which he didn’t allow an opponent to score.

The problem for the Hornets ultimately came down to finishing. Since scoring in the 2nd minute of the Class A section final against Port Chester, Lakeland went on a 298-minute drought.

Class B — Wheatley 2, Blind Brook 1: At Purchase College, Lucas McBride scored off of a free kick from Andrew Chasanoff in the 17th minute. It was McBride’s 23rd goal of the season, capping an incredible run in which he either scored or assisted on all but one of the Trojans’ 11 postseason goals.

But McBride was clearly the focus on Wheatley’s defense in this game, and he did not have nearly the amount of opportunities that we’ve come to expect out of him.

“They put a man on me for the whole game,” McBride said. “That made it harder for me to get the ball as often as I usually do. I got the goal, but I wasn’t able to do what I’ve done in past games.

“We know what they have in McBride, but we said let’s high pressure that midfield,” Wheatley coach Steve Cadet said. “He was making great runs, but they weren’t able to get him the ball.”

Wheatley responded less than two minutes later when Siena-bound senior Jonathan Kowalczyk scored the equalizer on an assist from Alex Butwin. Kowalczyk created several nice opportunities, one of which coming on a pretty bicycle kick in 47th minute.

Wheatley really began to dictate play in the second half, with William Schiela scoring the winning goal in the 49th minute on a penalty kick. Blind Brook keeper Ben Seguljic was outstanding all game, and even though he guessed right on Schiela’s shot, it was perfectly placed in the lower right hand corner.

“He did well with it,” Seguljic said. “He put it right in the corner.”

The Section 8 champions outshot Blind Brook, 25-12, but the Trojans were able to keep the game close due to the outstanding play of Seguljic, who finished with 18 saves. I can’t even begin to describe all of the clutch saves, but he single-handedly kept this game from getting out of hand. Definitely one of the best performances I’ve seen from a goalie all season.

“That’s why he’s so good,” Blind Brook coach Josef Pomoryn said of the junior. “I think he’s going to be even better next year, but he’s been a presence for our team. He’s a big reason why we came so far. He made some incredible saves to keep it close.”

Central midfield Matthew Christal did not play from Blind Brook due to a quad contusion, and his absence left a big hole in the middle of the field.

“He was out of the question,” Pomoryn said. “It hurt because he’s the one who really hustles in the middle and can distribute the ball. We were lacking his presence.”

Class C — Port Jefferson 2, Hamilton 1, 2OT: At Purchase College, if there was a game which should have been won by a Section 1 team, it was this one. The Red Raiders dominated the Section 11 champs, outshooting Port Jefferson 28-15.

Port Jefferson scored early in the 8th minute on a goal from Cihad Akkaya, right after PJ keeper Gave Davis made a nice save on a Marcos Ayala shot to spark the counter attack.

“That firs goal killed us,” Hamilton coach Robert Segaloff said. “We didn’t warm up well and came out a little flat. They came out and wanted it a little more. That was pretty much the difference in the game. Even though we possessed the ball, you still have to put the ball in the net.”

Despite the deficit, Hamilton won the time of possession battle for the rest of the game. The Red Raiders only allowed four shots in the second half, and in the 64th minute Edisson Moscoso came up with the equalizer on a rocket from 25 yards out.

“They dominated us completely in the second half,” Port Jefferson coach John Poulianos said. “I think part of it was fatigue, and part of it was that we broke down in terms of our marking responsibilities.”

“They were tired and exhausted,” Segaloff said. “We were using the whole field, and they couldn’t run with us.”

All of the momentum seemed to be in Hamilton’s favor going into overtime, as Port Jefferson was having difficulty coming up with any quality opportunities. But in the second overtime with nine minutes remaining before penalty kicks, Port Jefferson’s star midfielder Blake Bohlen made a great left-footed shot on the run to give his team the win.

“Even though we were dominated in terms of the middle of the field and possession time, defensively we kept them on the perimeter,” Poulianos said. “With Gabe Davis, I’ll give them 25 yard shots… He made a lot of saves for us tonight.”

I must say, the pace that Hamilton plays at is simply fun to watch. They are one of the shortest teams in the section, but they’re also one of the fastest. The ball movement between Ayala, Moscoso, Giovanni Gutierrez, Melvyn Huaman, Gio Hernandez and Nixon Vacacela is completely in-sync. They’re very crafty, and seem to have a bright future. It’s a very well-balanced team that makes excellent decisions with the ball. This is a team which was skilled enough to compete for a state title.

Huaman in particular was a real standout. He was the man of the match, absolutely doing everything in the midfield. Great with the ball at his feet, creative with finding open men, fast and downright tough.

“He’s amazing,” Segaloff said. “I’ve never coached anybody better than him. You can’t take the ball from him, and he’s gritty.”

After a thrilling round of regional semifinals, three of the four Section 1 champions remain standing. The first round of the state playoffs was all about big names showing up under the bright lights. Lakeland keeper Steven Reiche and Blind Brook senior Lucas McBride have basically turned the player of the year debate into a two-man race.

Reiche pitched his third straight shutout against Goshen, and then came up huge in the penalty kick round, netting his own kick while saving Goshen’s final two attempts. He has now played over 270 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.

McBride scored both of the Trojans’ goals against Burke Catholic, and has now either scored or assisted on all but one of Blind Brook’s 10 postseason goals. He has 22 goals for the season, managing to score at a dizzying pace despite being the clear-cut focus of the opposition.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has some people calling it a legitimate state title contender in Class C. The Red Raiders dominated S.S. Seward, and seem to be peaking at the perfect time. All three teams will be looking to represent Section 1 in their respective classes in the state final four. A win on Saturday gets them them are.

I’ll be at Purchase College to cover the Class B and C games, but I’ll also have details on the Class A game. Follow me on Twitter @vzmercogliano for updates.

Class A: Lakeland vs. Maine Endwell (Section 4) at Hall of Fame Fields in Oneonta, 1 p.m. — The Hornets continue to live life on the edge, yet they continue to find themselves moving on. Once again, Lakeland survived an excruciatingly tight game against Goshen in the regional semis, this time by advancing on penalty kicks. Reiche turned in one of his strongest performances of the season, and the Hornets’ defense kept Goshen at bay.

The concern once again for Lakeland entering the regional final is offense. The Hornets have now played 188 minutes without scoring a goal, and they can’t expect to advance again if that trend continues. As good as Reiche and Co. are in the back, it’s simply too much to ask for them to keep putting up shutouts at this stage. Sebastian Marquez, Timmy O’Driscoll and Gonzalo Prando were active against Goshen, but couldn’t come up with the finish. Those three represent Lakeland’s best options, and one will need to find a way to come up with a goal. O’Driscoll in particular looked very good in the semis.

Coach Tim Hourahan told me that injured striker Andrew Mitgang, who was the team’s second-leading scorer in the regular season, is expected to play. The junior played six minutes against Goshen despite his knee injury, but Hourahan says he should log more time on Saturday. He can’t cut, but Hourahan said his straight-line speed looked good in practice today. Look for him to play about 10 minutes at a time, teaming up top with Marquez.

Maine-Endwell is a perennial power in Section 4. Hourahan described them as a big, physical team which has some scoring punch. Adam Kozecki is their top scorer up top, while it sounds like Matt Swartz is their playmaker in the midfield. Hourahan also said they have some size and toughness in the back. Basically, this should be a well-rounded team that isn’t going to be pushed around by the Lakeland defense.

Another factor will be how the Hornets handle the travel. They will not be staying in a hotel Friday night, but rather taking the bus up to Oneonta early tomorrow morning. Hopefully, that long ride won’t deter Lakeland on the field.

As Hourahan pointed out to me the other day, the Hornets are 13-0 in games in which they score first. If they can do that, I really like the chances of Reiche protecting the lead. But if Lakeland gives up a goal and its defense suddenly looks vulnerable, I don’t know how much I trust the Hornets to have enough firepower to comeback.

Class B: Blind Brook vs. Wheatley (Section 8 ) at Purchase College, noon — How much longer can McBride keep this up? That’s the question that Blind Brook fans have to be asking themselves. Every Class B team remaining in the state tournament has heard McBride’s name at this point, yet he continues to come up with goals. You would assume that teams will be trying to take him out of the game at all costs after another multiple goal performance against Burke Catholic in the semis, but that hasn’t seemed to make a difference so far.

At some point, it’s safe to say that other players are going to need to take on some of McBride’s burden. He can’t be expected to score every single goal if the Trojans are going to compete for a state title. Matthew Christal seems to be the most viable option, as he was the player who scored Blind Brook’s only goal that didn’t involve McBride in this postseason (the winner against Bronxville in the title game).

The other thing working in the Trojans’ favor is the play of keeper Ben Seguljic. He’s been lights out, pitching shutouts in two of Blind Brook’s last three games. Having an elite scorer and a strong goalie is a good winning formula at this time of the year.

Wheatley emerged as the Long Island champ in Class B, which always makes for a dangerous adversary. The last time Wheatley won a LI title in 2004, they went on to win a state title. They beat Mattituck in double overtime in the regional semis on a goal from Jonathan Kowalyczk. My understanding is that Wheatley dominated that game, though, only allowing two shots on goal.

This will be a tall order for Blind Brook, as Wheatley seems to have the pieces in place to limit McBride’s chances. It’s going to take a collective effort from the Trojans, which they’ve shown that they’re capable of. A win paves a nice path to a state title.

Class C: Hamilton vs. Port Jefferson (Section 11) at Purchase College, 2 p.m. — The Red Raiders are clicking on all cylinders right now. They were in complete control the entire game against S.S. Seward, and are starting to show the type of cohesion that could lead to a nice run.

According to coach Robert Segaloff, the key has been the play in the midfield. Melvyn Huaman and Nixon Vacacela serve as the catalysts, dictating the pace and controlling possession. They set up Giovanni Gutierrez and the rest of Hamilton’s lightning quick bunch.

Speed has been one of the characteristics of Segaloff’s team, and that’s why the field at Purchase has been such an advantage for them. They have the skill to put together long touches, and the quickness to breakaway in the open field.

Port Jefferson is also said to be very strong in the midfield. All-state selection Blake Bohlen is their best player in the middle of the field, and he’s very good with the ball in the air. Vincent Antonelli has been the main finisher, as he scored twice in PJ’s 3-0 win over Friends Academy in the Long Island Class C championship game. The title was Port Jefferson’s third in a row.

As Segalhoff points out, the winner of this game will probably be considered the favorite for a state title. Port Jefferson is expected to win, but Hamilton should be able to keep things interesting.

After gathering the opinions of several coaches and sources, I’ve put together my All-tournament team for this season’s sectional playoffs. These teams are based strictly on how individual players performed over the course of the Section 1 tournaments in each class — from the outbracket rounds to the finals on Saturday at Purchase College. This does not take into account the regular season. Those all-star teams will be coming out in the next few weeks.

I put these teams together using my own opinions from the games that I saw, while taking into account the names which came up most often when I talked to many of the coaches whose teams advanced in the tournament. I took some liberties when it came to formations and positions in order to get the most worthy players recognized. Obviously, there are many, many other players who played well but might not be listed here…

1st team —

GK: Steven Reiche, Lakeland — The senior came up big in the biggest games. He shutout Pelham in the semis, then a Port Chester that hadn’t been blanked all season in the finals. The Hornets simply don’t win a Class A title without him.
D: Jeremy Brazda, Byram Hills — The big senior is the Bobcats’ best player, and came up huge in semis to push top-seeded Port Chester to the brink.
D: Jack Dennen, Bronxville — The senior was the most consistent player on a defense that didn’t allow a goal in three out of four playoff games.
D: Chris Monteferante, Lakeland — “Monte” was a rock for a Hornets’ defense that spent nearly the entire postseason protecting one-goal leads.
M: Giovanni Gutierrez, Hamilton — The Columbian-born sophomore has emerged as the Red Raiders’ go-to player, assisting on both goals in the Class C semis and scoring the winner over Solomon Schechter in the final.
M: Lucas McBride, Blind Brook — Arguably the MVP of the entire tournament, McBride had a four-goal performance in quarters against Briarcliff, and either scored or assisted on all but one of the Trojans’ goals in sectional play. All this while constantly dealing with double and triple teams.
M: Kevin Riveros, Port Chester — Despite being shutout by Lakeland in the Class A final, Riveros is the Rams’ best player and was a catalyst throughout the playoffs.
M: Alex Tejera, Ossining — The sensational sophomore scored all three of the Pride’s goals in the playoffs, including the winner in 75th minute in a first round upset over White Plains.
F: Kurt Diffley, Clarkstown South — The senior scored go-ahead goals in both the first round and quarterfinals, including a header with 2:20 remaining in the second OT against top-seeded Yorktown.
F: Jeremy Kesselhaut, Horace Greeley — The senior sparked the 13th-seeded Quakers to a surprising Class AA title, leading the way with four goals and an assist.
F: Aiden Murray, Pelham — The speedster put himself on the map this postseason, scoring the tying and winning goals in a first-round upset over Rye, and adding another goal in the quarters against Spring Valley to lead the Pelicans to the semis.

2nd team —

GK: Harris Pollack, Horace Greeley
D: Otavio Basso, Pelham
D: Preston Higgins, Port Chester
D: Josh Kogan, Horace Greeley
M: Brian Casey, North Salem
M: Matthew Christal, Blind Brook
M: Ryan Roche, Yorktown
F: Sebastian Marquez, Lakeland
F: Ben Ovetsky, Irvington
F: Matthew Praino, Sleepy Hollow
F: Brewster Warble, Bronxville

Lakeland found itself on the winning end of another squeaker on Wednesday, advancing to the regional final on penalty kicks, 3-2, after a 0-0 tie through regulation and two overtimes with Section 9 champ Goshen. Goalkeeper Steven Reiche (pictured above) was the man again, coming up with his school-record 13th shutout of the season (11 saves), and then playing a huge role in the PK round. Coach Tim Hourahan used Reiche first in his penalty kick lineup (which he netted), and then he stopped Goshen’s final two shots to render the Hornets’ fifth attempt meaningless. Lakeland played a strong first half, but got caught back on their heals a bit in the second half. Reiche, Chris Monteferante and the rest of the Hornets’ defense was up to the task, which led to a scoreless 110 minutes. Thanks to its effort on PKs, Lakeland’s improbable run continues despite having now played 188 minutes without scoring a goal. Here is my live blog from the game. And here is my game story from today’s paper.

I’ll be posting my All-tournament team from sectionals in the next few hours. I’ll also be back tomorrow with a look at Saturday’s regional finals. Here is the updated schedule:

Saturday’s regional finals schedule

Class A — Lakeland vs. Maine-Endwell (Section 4) at Hall of Fame Fields in Oneonta, 1 p.m.

Class B — Blind Brook vs. Wheatley (Section 8 ) at Purchase College, noon

Class C — Hamilton vs. Port Jefferson (Section 11) at Purchase College, 2 p.m.

Photo by Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News 

Hey soccer fans! I’m just checking in from Middletown HS as we’re about 20 minutes away from the start of Lakeland’s Class A regional semifinal against Section 9 champ Goshen. I’ll be updating here throughout the game as long as the internet holds out, so be sure to stay tuned and refresh the page often. Leave comments if you have any questions for me…

UPDATE, 6:17PM: We’re just about to get underway here at Faller Field. I was just talking with Byram Hills coach Matty Allen, whose team beat Goshen 4-0 earlier in the season. He told me he’s not sure if Goshen played all of its starters in that one. Last season, Byram beat them in the regular season, but then got knocked out by them in the playoffs. We’ll see what kind of team Goshen really is momentarily…

UPDATE, 6:27PM: Sebastian Marquez made a great individual effort to set up Timmy O’Driscoll near the Goshen net in the 7th minute, but O’Driscoll was shoved to the ground on a mysterious no call. Less than a minute later, Goshen had a beautiful opportunity on a loose ball in front of the Lakeland, but the shot went high. Pretty evenly played 10 minutes in.

UPDATE, 6:48PM: It’s basically a guarantee that the internet gives out every 20 minutes here, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Both keepers have been impressive with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Goshen keeper Devin Valencia has been matching Steven Reiche punt for punt with 60-70 yarders, and he just made the toughest save of the game in the 30th minute. Lakeland’s Shane McDonald broke free down the right sideline and lofted a ball towards the Goshen net, but Valencia made a leaping save.

UPDATE, 6:55PM: O’Driscoll’s header off of a Chris Monteferante throw-in in the 35th minute barely misses near the right post. Closest call of the game for Lakeland. On the counter attack, Monte makes a great tackle to cut down a streaking Goshen player.

UPDATE, 7:01PM: It’s 0-0 at the half. That was pretty evenly played. Both teams had opportunities, and both keepers have been rock solid. Goshen has outshot Lakeland, 9-8. Both teams have two corner kicks. Valencia has four saves, while Reiche has three.

UPDATE, 7:16PM: Goshen’s Jonathan Crana just had the best opportunity so far in the second half on a point blank shot in the 45th minute, but Reiche was there for the save.

UPDATE, 7:36PM: Down goes the internet again. I thought I posted something 10 minutes ago, but obviously not. We’re still scoreless with 15 minutes to play, and it’s been a very even game. Goshen probably has a bit more speed, but Lakeland’s defense looks a bit stronger. Neither has had many quality chances yet in the half, but the Hornets have yet to put a shot on goal. O’Driscoll just came out with an injury as things have begun to get chippy. It’s simply a matter of who is going to step up and make a play in the big moment?

UPDATE, 7:46PM: I may have to take back what I said about Goshen’s defense. They’ve been very pesky, poking balls away before any Lakeland players can get off a shot. Still no saves in the second half for Valencia with six minutes to go.

UPDATE, 7:53PM: And we’re going to OT. It’s 0-0 at the end of the regulation.

UPDATE, 8:03PM: Lakeland coach Tim Hourahan puts in the injured Andrew Mitgang early in the first OT. I can’t imagine he’ll be very effective, but Hourahan is probably looking for an emotional boost. In the 90th minute, O’Driscoll has a great chance, but his shot goes high.

UPDATE, 8:13PM: We’re at the end of the first OT, still tied at 0-0. Corey Smith had the best chance maybe all game for Lakeland in the 92nd minute off of a corner kick to the far post, but his shot seemed to just graze the post and slide into the side of the net.

UPDATE, 8:20PM: Interesting note. Goshen beat Byram Hills 1-0 last season in the very same game on a goal with six minutes remaining in the second OT.

UPDATE, 8:29PM: Reiche makes a clutch, leaping save on high shot from Gansrow in the 107th minute. Best opportunity of OT for Goshen. This one looks like it’s headed for penalty kicks.

UPDATE, 8:31PM: And here come the penalty kicks…

UPDATE. 8:34PM: Landy Lopez, O’Driscoll, Prando, Marquez and Reiche are on the field to take PKs for Lakeland.

UPDATE, 8:36PM: Winski’s kick is good for Goshen. Reiche matches it. 1-1.

UPDATE, 8:37PM: Kyle Somers’ kick sails high for Goshen, and then Lopez gives Lakeland a 2-1 lead.

UPDATE, 8:39PM: Gansrow’s kick is good for Goshen, but Prando matches it. 3-2.

UPDATE, 8:40PM: Huge diving save to his left from Reiche stops Kyle O’Brien’s shot. But Valencia responds by stopping Marquez’s shot. Reiche responds with a punch save on Matt Munge’s shot, and Lakeland advances, 3-2 on PKs.

Lakeland will play Section 4 champion Maine-Endwell at SUNY Oneonta on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regional final.

Two out of the three Section 1 teams that played on Tuesday moved onto the regional finals, which will be played on Saturday. I’m heading back up to Middletown HS today to see Lakeland take on Goshen (Section 9) in the only remaining regional semi. Follow me on Twitter @vzmercogliano for updates. I’ll also keep a live blog right here as long as the internet service cooperates.

Here’s all of Tuesday’s game stories:

Class AA — Horace Greeley’s magical run came to a halt in a 1-0 loss to Newburgh Free Academy. The Quakers actually controlled the run of play for the majority of the game and outshot NFA, but Noel Alexander scored in the 57th minute on a perfectly placed near post corner kick from Christian Cuervo. Here is my game story.

Class B — Lucas McBride (pictured above) did it again, scoring twice in Blind Brook’s 2-0 win over Burke Catholic. This was the game that most felt was the best chance for a Section 9 team to win, but McBride would have none of that. He now has 22 goals on the season, as the Trojans are moving onto the regional final at Purchase College on Saturday at noon against Section 8’s Wheatley. Keeper Ben Seguljic also had a big game for Blind Brook, saving 11 shots. Here is Yaron Weitzman’s game story.

Class C — Hamilton dominated throughout in a 2-0 win over S.S. Seward. The Red Raiders had several close calls in the first half, before Ayala Marcos broke through with a goal to begin the second half. Giovanni Gutierrez scored the second goal. Hamilton will play Port Jefferson in the regional final at Purchase College on Saturday at 2 p.m. Here is Mike Dougherty’s game story.

Photo by Matthew Brown/The Journal News

I just got to Middletown HS for today’s regional Class AA semifinal between Section 1 champ Horace Greeley and Section 9 champ Newburgh. This is one of the nicest high school facilities that you’ll come across, and the most beautiful part about it (besides a heated press box) is that you access wireless internet service. That enables me to keep a running blog throughout the game.

I’ll still post updates and random thoughts on Twitter @vzmercogliano. Yaron Weitzman is covering the Class B semi featuring Blind Brook and Burke Catholic, and Mike Dougherty is handling the Class C semi between Hamilton and S.S. Seward. I’ll have updates on those games as well.

Stay tuned (be sure to refresh this page for updates)…

UPDATE, 4:16PM: About 10 minutes into the game, Greeley’s Zach Miller barely misfires from point blank. Wide left. So far, the Quakers have outshot NFA, 5-0. This looks like a very winnable game.

UPDATE, 4:52PM: Sorry for the lack of updates there. I spoke too soon about that internet connection. It kicked me off early in the first half, but I’m back on now. We’re tied 0-0 at the half. Greeley controlled most of the runs in the first half and looked like the better team. Miller’s shot in the ninth minute was probably the Quakers best opportunity, but they outshot NFA 9-5. NFA has some speed, but hasn’t put together many threatening opportunities. The Greeley defense has been very solid.

UPDATE, 5:05PM: Jeremy Kesselhaut blows by the NFA defense early in the second half, but pushes the ball a bit too much and NFA keeper is able to cover it up. He had a good look.

UPDATE, 5:09PM: NFA keeper Mike Demshick just made a goal-saving play on a diving save to just barely tap Robby Attia’s shot wide left in the 50th minute. Play was set up by a steal and a beautiful pass from Kesselhaut. I think that ball was going in if not for Demshick’s fingertip.

UPDATE, 5:13PM: Things are starting to heat up for Greeley. In the 54th minute, Matt Statman’s long throw-in gets to Miller’s feet, but his shot is just wide left. Big opportunity missed, but a lot of positive signs. Statman’s throw-ins have been impressive.

UPDATE, 5:16PM: And momentum shifts just like that. In the 57th minute, Christian Cuervo’s perfectly placed corner kick finds Noel Alexander’s head to give NFA a 1-0 lead. Very disappointing for Greeley, who has had more opportunities.

UPDATE, 5:34PM: The internet went down again. Greeley keeper Harris Pollack has a couple of huge saves since NFA scored to keep the deficit at 1-0. There’s five minutes to go in the Quakers season.

UPDATE, 5:37PM: Kesselhaut just broke free in the 77th minute (he has a great knack for getting behind the defense with the ball at his feet), but Demshick comes out to make a sliding tackle and knock the shot away. He’s been impressive in goal.

UPDATE, 5:40PM: Greeley’s Mitch Silver has his header attempt go wide in the 79th minute, and that’s all she wrote. The Quakers incredible run is over. Newburgh wins, 1-0.

CLASS B UPDATE: Blind Brook defeated Burke Catholic, 2-0. Lucas McBride put the Trojans ahead in the first half with his 21st goal of the season, and then scored his 22nd in the 61st minute. He’s making a strong push for player of the year. The win is one of the more surprising of the day, with Burke having made it all the way to the state championship game last season.

Blind Brook will play the winner of a regional semifinal between the Section 7 champ and Section 11 champ on Saturday.

CLASS C UPDATE: Hamilton defeated S.S. Seward, 2-0. The Red Raiders dominated possession in a scoreless first half, and then Marcos Ayala scored right out of the gate in the 42nd minute. Giovanni Gutierrez added an insurance goal in the 68th minute.

Hamilton will play the winner of a regional semifinal between the Section 7 champ and Section 11 champ on Saturday.

I’ve spoken to various coaches and done some research on the Section 9 teams that will be matched up with all of the local section champions in the regional semifinals, which begin tomorrow. Traditionally, Section 1 usually handles Section 9, but the teams from Orange county seem to be a bit stronger than usual this season.

I’ll be in Middletown for the Class AA game tomorrow and the Class A game on Wednesday. My colleagues Mike Dougherty and Yaron Weitzman will be at Purchase to cover the Class B and C games. Follow me on Twitter @vzmercogliano for live updates.

In the next few days, I’ll be releasing an All-tournament team, which will highlight the players who stepped up in this year’s postseason. I’ve asked all coaches whose teams made it to the quarterfinals or beyond to submit their nominations, and I’m still sorting through all of the names.

Lastly, I wanted to update the condition of Bronxville sophomore goalkeeper Jack Connors. As I reported on Saturday, he broke his tibia, but coach Don Lucas said that he is doing well now. He’s got a hard cast on, and should be off of his feet for 10-14 weeks. He’ll unfortunately miss basketball season (he plays for the Broncos team), but should be fine with plenty of time to spare for next year’s soccer season. He was taken to White Plains hospital on Saturday night, and the team went to visit him on Sunday before the girls team played in their final. No surgery is required. I wish Jack a speedy recovery.

For some insight into all of the Section 9 teams, check out the capsules from the Times Herald-Record. Here’s my thoughts on each regional qualifier:

Class AA: Horace Greeley vs. Newburgh (Section 9) at Middletown High School on Tuesday at 4 p.m. — There’s no denying how good the Quakers are at this point. Everyone kept waiting for them to lose as they continued to knock off higher seeded teams, but it just never happened. Saturday’s 2-1 win over John Jay-East Fishkill could have been 4-1 — that’s how well Greeley played.

It’s difficult to put your finger on exactly why the Quakers finished the regular season at only 7-7-1, yet found this second gear in the postseason. Coach Adam Borman points to most obvious answer, which is the difficulty of their league schedule. Two losses apiece to Rye, Port Chester and Byram Hills accounted for all but one of those seven losses, and Borman believes that toughened his team up. That really is a brutal league.

The other factor is that Greeley is fully healthy now. The Quakers dealt with some injuries in the middle of the season, but they’re now operating at full strength. Jeremy Kesselhaut has been the leader up top, while Josh Kogan and keeper Harris Pollack have held things down in the back, but there is plenty of skill up and down the roster.

The little that I know about Newburgh is that it is pulled off a major upset in the section title game over Monroe-Woodbury, who was the top-ranked team in the state. Their keeper, Mike Demshick, is supposed to be top-notch. From what Borman told me, they’re a very fast team who possesses the ball well, but they don’t have much size. It will be another tall task for Greeley, but it has proven that it can handle those just fine.

Class A: Lakeland vs. Goshen (Section 9) at Middletown High School on Wednesday at 6 p.m. — Although Greeley was a lower seed, I would still call Lakeland’s 1-0 win over Port Chester the most shocking of any final. The Rams looked like a strong bet for a state title, but the Hornets never bought into the hype. This is a confident bunch that obviously handles the big stage well.

Lakeland has pitched 12 shutouts this season, and only gave up two goals in four postseason games. More impressively, the Hornets didn’t allow a goal in the two biggest games of the year — in the semis against Pelham and in the final against Port Chester (PC had not been shutout all season). Goalie Steven Reiche is making his case for player of the year — “If there was any doubt that this kid was the best keeper in the section, he kind of sealed it today,” coach Tim Hourahan said on Saturday — while Chris Monteferante and Jon Pinto have led a stellar defensive unit in front of him. Between Sebastian Marquez, Gonzalo Prando and Timmy O’Driscoll, Lakeland has managed to create enough offense to get W’s, but that’s got to be Hourahan’s biggest concern. The Hornets won every playoff game by a one-goal margin, and that’s a dangerous way to live.

Lakeland should be without junior Andrew Mitgang for this one after he suffered a left knee injury in the Pelham game. He played sparingly in the title game, but was clearly severely limited. He went for X-rays today, which showed that there is no bone damage. He’s on crutches, though, and has an MRI upcoming, so Hourahan isn’t expecting much out of him moving forward. He was the team’s second-leading scorer after Marquez, so that’s a big blow.

Goshen has won four consecutive section titles, so they’re used to this stage. The good news for the Hornets is that Goshen got smoked by Byram when they played them this season, which is why I like Lakeland’s chances. The name I’ve heard come up for Goshen is Ryan Winski, so he’s a guy to keep an eye on.

Interestingly, Hourahan told me that he specifically took his team up to Middletown in the preseason to scrimmage on the field that he hoped they would be eventually playing this very game on. In an almost Rex Ryan-like manner (without so much trash-talking, and probably less of an attraction to feet), Hourahan has not been shy about openly stating his team’s expectations. Eleven-five (the date of the section finals) was on the back of their shirts all season, and they accomplished that goal. As long as the Hornets can refocus and stay level-headed after the big upset over Port Chester, I like their chances in this one.

Class B: Blind Brook vs. Burke Catholic (Section 9) at Purchase College on Tuesday at 5 p.m. — The Trojans really impressed me on Saturday by showing that they are much more than a one-man show in a 2-1 double overtime win over Bronxville. They did a great job of possessing the ball early, and as good as Lucas McBride and his 20 goals are, there were other players who were just as pivotal to Blind Brook’s success. Matthew Christal, who scored the winning goal in the second OT, did an excellent job of controlling things in the midfield. He won a ton of 50-50 balls, and served as the point man to set up the Trojans’ runs. Goalie Ben Seguljic has also stepped up during this postseason run.

This is a game that’s a bit harder to predict than the other classes. Burke Catholic made it all the way to the state championship game last season, so this isn’t your typical one-and-done Section 9 team. My understanding is that most of the key pieces from last season’s run are back, so they have the experience on this stage that Blind Brook lacks.

Burke will probably focus most of its attention on McBride, as many other teams have, so it will be up to the supporting cast to once again come up big. The same thing basically goes for all of the team’s in this round, but coach Josef Pomoryn is going to have to guard against the letdown. After pulling off the upset over defending section champion Bronxville on Saturday, the Trojans are probably feeling pretty good about themselves. If they take Burke lightly, their season could end abruptly.

Class C: Hamilton vs. S.S. Seward (Section 9) at Purchase College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. — I was a bit surprised that the Red Raiders went to overtime against Solomon Schechter in the section final, being that Hamilton was the only team in that class with a winning record (12-5-1). The Red Raiders pulled out the win thanks to a goal from Colombian-import Giovanni Gutierrez. The sophomore has been the man for them, also assisting on both of Hamilton’s goals in the semis.

The Red Raiders controlled play in the midfield against Schechter, and have a talented group of skilled players led by Gutierrez. They are a small group that relies on quickness, which will be needed against Seward. The Section 9 champs had lost twice to heavily-favored Tuxedo in the regular season, but came through over the weekend when it mattered most with a 2-1 win. At 17-3, this a team that comes in looking like the favorite against a Hamilton team that hasn’t been on this stage in 29 years.

By all accounts, the Red Raiders will need to play a near flawless game to win this one. They have the advantage of playing close to home, while Seward has a long ride ahead of them, but all of the numbers point to a very difficult challenge.

A thrilling Saturday left us with four resilient and deserving champions. Here are the game stories from each game. I’ll be back on Monday with a wrap-up and a look ahead to the regional semifinals.

Class AA: No. 13 Horace Greeley completed an improbable run by upsetting third-seeded John Jay-East Fishkill. Jeremy Kesselhaut scored twice for the Quakers, who only gave up five shots on goal. Greeley singled-handedly knocked off four of the top eight seeds in the tournament on its way to the section title. Here is Rob Cristino’s story.

Class A: No. 7 Lakeland shocked Section 1 by shutting out top-seeded Port Chester for the first time all season in 1-0 win. Sebastian Marquez scored in the first two minutes, and Steven Reiche pitched his school-record 12th shutout of the season. In probably the biggest upset on a day full of them, the Hornets used the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII win over the Patriots as motivation. Here is my story.

Class B: No. 3 Blind Brook upset defending champ Bronxville 2-1 in double overtime in what turned out to be the wackiest game of the day. Lucas McBride gave the Trojans the lead in the 63rd minute, but Ned Carpenter tied the game on a dramatic goal with 45 seconds to send the game to overtime. After a terrible injury to Broncos goalie Jack Connors, Matthew Christal scored the winning goal in the second OT. Here is my story.

Class C: No. 1 Hamilton captured its first section title in 29 years with a 1-0 overtime win over No. 3 Solomon Schechter. Giovanni Gutierrez scored the winning goal 49 seconds into the first overtime. The sophomore moved to the U.S. this year from Colombia. Here is Rob Cristino’s story.

Here is the schedule for the regional qualifiers. All of the games will be played on Tuesday, except for the Class A game, which will be played on Wednesday.

Tuesday

Class AA — Horace Greeley vs. Newburgh (Section 9) at Middletown High School, 4 p.m.
Class B — Blind Brook vs. Burke Catholic (Section 9) at Purchase College, 5 p.m.
Class C — Hamilton vs. S.S. Seward (Section 9) at Purchase College, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Class A — Lakeland vs. Goshen (Section 9) at Middletown High School, 4 p.m.

Unfortunately, there is no internet service near the turf field at Purchase College, so I’m a local Starbucks right now. I covered the shocking Class A final, in which No. 7 Lakeland stunned No. 1 Port Chester, 1-0. Rob Cristino is covering the Class AA final, where No. 13 Horace Greeley currently has a 2-1 lead over No. 3 John Jay-East Fishkill. Upsets are becoming the theme of the day, especially if Greeley can hold on. I’ll be covering the Class B final between No. 3 Blind Brook and No. 1 Bronxville, while Rob will do the Class C game featuring No. 3 Solomon Schechter and No. 1 Hamilton.

The bottom line is that due to the lack of internet service, I won’t be blogging much today. The best place for thoughts and updates is Twitter, where you can follow me @vzmercogliano.

A few quick thoughts on Lakeland’s incredible win:

• In just the second minute of the game, Gonzalo Prando’s free kick found Sebastian Marquez’s head for an early goal. It felt like the game hadn’t even started yet, and the Port Chester section of the crowd went silent. That put PC in an uncomfortable position from the get-go.


• PC outshot Lakeland, 26-9, and took 11 corner kicks to just three for the Hornets, but it didn’t matter. Lakeland’s defense was physical and did not break. Goalkeeper Steven Reiche was excellent, making 10 saves for his school-record 12th shutout of the season.


• Lakeland’s Jon Pinto might have been the man of the match. He marked PC senior Kevin Riveros for the entire game, shadowing him as well as anyone has all season. It was a big risk with all of the other weapons that the Rams have, but it paid off. Riveros was never heavily involved, and the PC offense sputtered. They made their runs, but couldn’t finish.

Here’s capsules for each of tomorrow’s section finals. Each of the games will be played at Purchase College. I’ll be there all day. Follow me on Twitter @vzmercogliano for live updates.

Class AA

No. 13 Horace Greeley vs. No. 3 John Jay-East Fishkill, 3:30 p.m. — The Quakers have been on a tremendous run of late, and are really playing their best soccer at the perfect time. After beating the defending champs (Scarsdale) 3-0 in the quarterfinals, they defeated Clarkstown South by the same score in the semis. You’re not supposed to be beating teams by three goals at this time of the year — especially not when you’re seeded 13th. Jeremy Kesselhaut (13 goals) has emerged as a go-to player for Greeley, but they have an extremely effective mix of talent and size. Freshman Oliver Harris had a huge game against South, and should be a big-time player for the next three years. Mitch Silver and Josh Miller are also names to watch, and Harris Pollack has been great in goal. The Quakers like to use their size in the box, and have come up with several goals in this postseason by sending balls in there and creating havoc. As for JJEF, they’re the team that’s supposed to be here. The Patriots made it to the finals and lost to Scarsdale last season, and returned the majority of their key components. Forward Ryan Young is JJEF’s top scorer (13 goals), but he has plenty of help with Blake Kozlowski, Kyle Cost and Mike Corbi. The real player to watch for JJEF is center back Darren Gomez. I’ve had more than one coach tell me that he may be the best at his position in the section, and with him playing in front of senior keeper Tyler Poggiogalle, who has pitched 11 shutouts this season, this defense is also very stout. At this point, nothing would surprise me. Greeley has shown that it can play with anyone, and anything can happen on this stage. But JJEF has seemed like the team to beat all season, and I think they’re ready to seize their title. Plus, I picked them in my predictions.

Class A

No. 7 Lakeland vs. No. 1 Port Chester, 1:30 p.m. — The big concern for the Rams here has to be a letdown. After an emotionally draining win over Byram Hills on penalty kicks, the team who had won four of the past five section titles, Port Chester might already feel like it won a championship. If they take the Hornets lightly, they’re going to be in trouble. But if they bring their A-game, we know dangerous the Rams can be. No team in the section can create offense within the flow of the game as well as Port Chester does. Kevin Riveros (11 goals, eight assists) is the catalyst, but list of weapons goes on and on. Brian Coyt (12 goals, nine assists), Winston Arroyo, Felipe Campos (five goals, nine assists), Andres Martinez, Rafael Mandujano and Preston Higgins form the most talented core of players I’ve seen all season. And to top it all off, goalkeeper Jose Gonzalez showed yesterday that he’s also capable of stealing the show. When they’re all clicking, this team looks like a potential state champ. But the silver lining for Lakeland is that, if you take anything away from yesterday’s semifinal between PC and Byram, it’s that the Rams can be beat if you do everything right. The Bobcats were aggressive pressuring Port Chester with its on ball defense, and used its size in the back to thwart the runs that the Rams inevitably made. Holding Port Chester to just one goal is an accomplishment in and of itself, and the Hornets are a team that prides themselves on defense. They don’t have the size that Byram has, but they have the type of physical defenders who could frustrate the Rams if they don’t sit back and allow them to attack. They also have Steven Reiche, one of the top keepers in the section. If I’m Lakeland coach Tim Hourahan, I’d put the pressure on my defense to show up big. PC has the tendency to push an extra player from the back up when it has possession, which can leave them vulnerable to a counter attack. Reiche might have the strongest punt around, which is ideal for this game. If Hourahan moves an extra player up top it will leave his defense shorthanded, but it could generate offense if they catch the Rams cheating up field. They’re going to need at least two goals in this one if they’re going to have a chance, so they’re going to have to take some risks. Look for Reiche to get rid of the ball very quickly after making a save. With all of that said, I find it hard to see Lakeland pulling off the upset. Port Chester showed it can respond to adversity in the semis, and seems to be the team of destiny.

Class B

No. 3 Blind Brook v. No. 1 Bronxville, 5:30 p.m. — Just as Port Chester has to be concerned about a letdown after the huge win over Byram Hills, the Broncos need to guard against the same in their final. North Salem was considered the biggest threat to the champs, but Bronxville will be in trouble if it takes Blind Brook too lightly. The Trojans have gotten hot at the right time, winning seven in a row to get to this point. This game kind of reminds me of last season’s title game, in which Bronxville beat Rye Neck. Rye Neck had Ivan Martinez, who was considered one of most lethal scoring threats in the section. Lucas McBride (19 goals, eight assists) has been the man for Blind Brook, as he has emerged as one of the top scorers in the section. He went off for four goals in the Trojans quarterfinal against Briarcliff, so he’s more than capable of a big-time performance. He’ll have the full attention of Bronxville’s vaunted defense, which has not allowed a goal so far this postseason. It’s interesting how coach Don Lucas has seen his team morph from a potent offensive powerhouse last season to a team that now relies on its defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Jack Connors. Yet, they still look the elite team in Class B. If Blind Brook can find a way to beat that defense, they can probably limit Bronxville’s opportunities on the other side of the field. The Broncos rely on set pieces to generate goals most of the time, with Jack Aherne having one of the strongest throw-ins in the section. As North Salem coach Ron Hendrie told me after the game yesterday, those throws are like corner kicks because he can place them just about anywhere in the box. Junior Brewster Warble (14 goals, six assists) is Bronxville’s biggest scoring threat in the open field, but goals haven’t always come easy for the Broncos. If Blind Brook can put them in an early hole and make them play catch up, I really like their chances. But I think Bronxville will be able to contain McBride, and find enough ways to score to hold on for their second consecutive title.

Class C

No. 3 Solomon Schechter vs. No. 1 Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. — Schechter surprised everybody by knocking off the defending champs (Haldane) to get here. But Hamilton has been in a different class all season. The common opponents should tell the story here. Schechter lost to Rye Neck, who Hamilton beat twice by a combined score of 6-0. Schechter tied Tuckahoe, who Hamilton beat twice by a combined score of 12-2. It pretty much goes on like that. I’d be shocked if Hamilton doesn’t win this one.