Here are your Westchester/Putnam all-star and Rockland all-county girls lacrosse teams. Those pages will also link to the second teams, honorable mentions and the coaches panels. It’s always an incredibly difficult process to narrow down the field, but that’s good, since it shows how much talent is out there. Remember, the coaches had 50 all-section spots and decided that wasn’t enough, so they made a bigger all-Elite team. Well, I only had 24 spots (12 on each team).

The big news in Rockland was that Nyack’s Caroline Chesterman not only won girls lacrosse player of the year, she was also selected as the county’s athlete of the season. Anyone who saw her limping through a five-goal performance against Rye in the sectional final, including the winner in triple-overtime, will never forget it. Also congratulations to Jaimie Morrison of Yorktown, who was the unanimous pick for player of the year in Westchester/Putnam.

The Journal News all-star team for Westchester/Putnam and all-county team for Rockland will be appearing in a special section in Friday’s newspaper. I’ll also post them on the blog and provide the the links as soon as I can.

Here are this year’s all-Elites. Girls in italics were all-Elite honorable mentions.

Division I League I
Nanuet: Lauren Kahn, Courtney McGrath, Becky Torres, K.C. Jentzen
Nyack: Caroline Chesterman, Karis Walborn, Chloe Soukas, Katie O’Gorman, Hanna Brotherhood, Erin McCabe
Pearl River: Molly Davin, Kelly Mastrovito, Julie McBrien, Shannon Howe, Kelly Mulligan
Suffern: Micaela Desimone, Kelsey Rehain, Maggie Sharp, Meg McNally, Lely Desimone, Karla Mendoza   
North Rockland: Taylor Moore, Morgan McGowan, Anna Berman, Karly O’Brien

Division I League II
Yorktown: Jaimie Morrison, Amanda Trendell, Brittany Mabus, Brianna Concialdi, Lindsay Scott, Sarah Scott, Lauren Hayes, Patricia Kaishian, Bridget Sickles, Gabrielle Veteri
Lakeland/Panas: Alex Fitzpatrick, Casandra Honovich, Anna Jeszeck, Kelsey Bub, Bridget McGovern 
John Jay: Emma Sheeran, Casey Bocklet, Hannah Lang, Lauren Murray, Courtney McCarthy
Mahopac: Emily Pfaffenbach, Mackenzy Ryan, Caitlin Karner, Gina Molfetta, Jillian Maloney, Megan Doyle
Brewster: Emily Biondi, Sarah Hogan, Lindsay Biondi

Division I League III
Scarsdale: Margaret Souther, Jennie Pechman, Kim Leone, Nicole Rafajac, Kathleen O’Hara 
Rye: Emma Tucci, Molly O’Brien, Juliana Kennedy, Kerry O’Callaghan, Lauren McRedmond, Madeleine Kinker
Mamaroneck: Amanda Tuck, Charlotte Gardiner, Abby Baigelman, Lauren Rush, Erika Romagnoli
Greeley: Kelsey Hill, Elizabeth O’Brien, Ariel Birnberg
Bronxville: Christie Bonfiglio

Division II League I
Clarkstown South: Molly McGroary
Clarkstown North: Mallori Seliger
Albertus Magnus: Casey Silvestri
Tappan Zee: Aileen Lennon

Division II League II
Fox Lane: Lindsay Toppe, Sammy Jo Tracy
Putnam Valley: Ashley Morgan, Hannah Tavella
Somers: Katie Marasco
Ossining: Caitlin Malone
North Salem: Marissa Dale

Division II League III
Pleasantville: Kathleen Bathon, Lindsay Gilfeather
Harrison: Sara Misisco, Melissa Shulman
Byram Hills: Sam Beresdof
Edgemont: Alex Lugovina

Division III
Arlington: Kelsey Horton
Briarcliff: Carly Dumas
Wappingers: Melissa Mahoney, Keara Hunt, Caroline Kaplan
Hastings: Kari McWalters, Dana Borelli, Kelsey deCourcey
Sleepy Hollow: Leah Morales
White Plains: Emily Masseo

There has been some confusion about the difference between all-section and all-Elite. Lakeland/Panas coach Sharon Sarsen provides this explanation:

All Elite is the award that is given by the Coaches Association to honor our players. These players plus the alternates were invited (to the banquet) and recognized by the Coaches Association. Our Coaches Association decides how many players they want to recognize. This has always been the award given to our most talented players (with the exception of All American). I believe this year we recognized 66 All Elites along with 35 Honorable Mention All Elites.

All Section is a NEW award given by Section I.  This is the first spring that they have sponsored this award. They gave us 50 picks. We decided to keep our award going with the All Elites. We also supported Section I and selected the top 50 players as well.

Moonlight Lacrosse is running a Section 1 All Star Showcase this coming Sunday at John Jay High School. There will be over 60 girls from Section 1 attending (who were nominated by their respective HS coaches), and the players will be split into teams and play a round-robin format.

College coaching staffs have also been invited, and Moonlight will be videotaping the games and mailing DVD’s to colleges that have requested them. Unlike other sports, there’s no exceptional senior game in girls lacrosse, so this sounds the next best thing. The boys had a successful showcase last weekend at John Jay.

Jaimie Morrison and Amanda Trendell of Yorktown, Lauren Kahn of Nanuet, Caroline Chesterman of Nyack, Alex Fitzpatrick of Lakeland/Panas and Anna Berman of North Rockland are the all-America selections from Hudson Valley this year.

The honorable mention selections were Molly O’Brien and Emma Tucci of Rye, Molly Davin of Pearl RIver, Margaret Souther of Scarsdale, Lauren Hayes of Yorktown and Courtney McGrath of Nanuet.

As you can see, the Hudson Valley got two more selections this year. Chairperson Laurie Mayernik said it’s based on a formula from U.S. Lacrosse and takes into account how many coaches from the area are members. The selection process is detailed here. Mayernik said she wasn’t allowed to tell me which coaches were on the Hudson Valley chapter’s selection committee.

Next we have the Lower Hudson Girls Lacrosse Coaches Association Golden Dozen-Scholar Athlete Award winners. These are seniors who combine ability and teamwork on the lacrosse field with success in the classroom and outstanding contribution to the community. Some of these contributions include: President of the Mid-Night Run Club, Volunteer with Alzheimer’s patients, Girl Scout Gold Medal Award, Youth Sports Volunteer, Peer Leadership and Civic Education Advisor, senior class Valedictorian.

Scarsdale coach CeCe Berger is the chairperson for this one. Here are the winners (and no, I didn’t leave out two. There were only 10):

Julie McBrien, Pearl River
Kelly Mastrovito, Pearl River
Liz Gordon, Harrison
Sara Misisco, Harrison
Margaret Souther, Scarsdale
Julianna Kennedy, Rye
Charlotte Gardiner, Mamaroneck
Katie Bathon, Pleasantville
Meaghan Butler, Pleasantville
Janelle Santiago, North Rockland

Yorktown’s undefeated season and state-title hopes were dashed on the final day of the season as the ‘Huskers fell to Garden City 12-7 at SUNY Cortland. Lauren Hayes (right) made 16 saves, but Yorktown’s offense went scoreless for 23 minutes and was held to seven goals (four less than its previous season low) by a tenacious zone defense that featured constant double-teams.

Hayes, Amanda Trendell and sophomore Lindsay Scott were named to the all-tournament team. 

Tomorrow I should be posting the remaining all-everything honors (all-league, all-America, all-section honorable mention), though The Journal News Westchester/Putnam all-star and Rockland all-county teams won’t be published for a few weeks.

Yorktown will face Garden City in the Class B championship game today at 2:30 p.m. at SUNY Cortland. I’ll be posting scoring updates in the comments section below so stay tuned.

In the meantime, click on the teams to read about Yorktown and Nyack’s experiences in the semifinals. Here’s five things to watch for today:

1. Who will step up for Yorktown? In yesterday’s semifinals, it was sophomore Lindsay Scott who had a career-high five goals and seven points. Which Yorktown player will break out on the biggest stage today?

2. Two powers collide. Yorktown could win its fifth state title, which would match West Genesee for second on the all-time list in girls lacrosse. The leader? Garden City, which has won nine since the tournament began in 1995. The Cornhuskers titles came in 1996 (Division II), 1997 and ‘98 (Division I) and 2006 (Class A).
 
3. Is Garden City vulnerable? The Tronjans have lost four games this season – matching their loss total from the last four seasons combined. But none of Garden City’s losses were against Class B teams, and the Trojans won their two state playoff games by a combined score of 32-7.

4. There’s lots of Division I talent. Yorktown has five players headed to Division I programs next season. Garden City also is loaded, led by midfielder Caroline McTiernan (Virginia) and attacker Lauren Terracciano (Massachusetts).

5. Don’t forget the depth factor. This is the first time Yorktown will have to play two tough opponents back-to-back. The Cornhuskers are well-conditioned, and the timeframe is the same for both teams, though Garden City had a 10-goal lead at halftime yesterday and could rest its starters in the second half.

Brittney Mabus and Jaimie Morrison each had two goals and an assist for the ‘Huskers (20-0), who continued their steak of winning each game by at least three despite facing the top-ranked Class B team in the state.

Yorktown will face Garden City (Section eight tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at SUNY Cortland. Garden City has won nine state titles, including three straight in Class B. Yorktown has four state titles.

Sophomore Lindsay Scott has three goals and an assist, Jaimie Morrison has two goals and Amanda Trendell has two assists for Yorktown, which leads Canandaigua 6-5 at halftime.

Yorktown led 2-0 and 4-2, Canandaigua scored three straight to take the lead, Morrison tied it with 4:50 left and Bridget Sickles gave Yorktown the lead with 2:57 left.

Check the comments below for second-half updates. Three-time defending champion Garden City (Section 8 ) leads Watertown (Section 3) 9-1 in the other semifinal. The final will be tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.

Yorktown’s chances of winning just got a lot better. Canandaigua star Abbey Friend, a junior who verbally committed to Johns Hopkins North Carolina, is not on the roster and the rumor from my colleague in Rochester is that she quit the team. I think that makes this a 50/50 game, so stay tuned for updates (I’ll make them the comments section below this post).

Right now everything is on schedule so I expect the game to start at 2:30 p.m.

Here’s the Class C scoreboard:
Honeoye Falls-Lima 18, Nyack 6
Shoreham-Wading River 21, Carthage 11

Nyack is playing at 9:30 a.m. and Yorktown is playing at 2:30 p.m. at SUNY Cortland. I’ll be posting updates as often as possible—every 10 minutes or so if I have a good internet connection, or every half hour if I have to call them in to an editor.

The good news for Nyack is that I’m picking against them, just like in the sectional semis and finals. So they have that going for them. I just think HFL is more experienced (state semifinalist last year; this is Nyack’s first state tournament appearance since ‘91), older, healthier, played tougher competition, and has more depth. The Indians have proved doubters wrong before, but they have their work cut out for them this morning. I give them a 5 percent chance.

Yorktown-Canandaigua should be a lot closer, though again I’m giving the edge to Section 5. Here’s my reasoning—the Cornhuskers aren’t blowing Canandaigua out. So if they win, it will be in a tough, back-and-forth game decided in the final minutes, and that’s something Yorktown hasn’t faced all season. I know they practice those situations, but it’s not the same as being a game like that. Still, Yorktown is experienced, senior-laden and very talented, so I put their chances at 40 percent.

What does everyone else think?

UPDATE, 11 A.M.:The final score is Honeoye Falls-Lima 18, Nyack 6. Caroline Chesterman had two goals and two assists to lead the Indians. Katie O’Gorman scored twice, and Tina Chesterman had a goal and an assist.

Lindsey Powell had six goals and an assist for HFL, who led 17-3 with 10:30 remaining.

You can read more about how the game played out in the comments section.

Yorktown led the way with seven of the 50 all-section girls lacrosse players. Pearl River, Suffern, Nanuet, Nyack, Mahopac, Lakeland/Panas, Mamaroneck and Scarsdale all had three players honored. Here’s the complete list:

Yorktown: Jaimie Morrison, Amanda Trendell, Lauren Hayes, Lindsay Scott, Sarah Scott, Brianna Concialdi, Brittney Mabus
Pearl River: Molly Davin, Kelly Mastrovito, Julie McBrien
North Rockland: Taylor Moore, Anna Berman
Suffern: Micaela Desimone, Kelsey Rehain, Maggie Sharp
Nanuet: Lauren Kahn, Courtney McGrath, Becky Torres
Nyack: Caroline Chesterman, Karis Walborn, Chloe Soukas
Mahopac: Mackeney Ryan, Emily Pfafferbach, Caitlin Karner
Brewster: Emily Biondi, Sarah Hogan
Lakeland/Panas: Alex Fitzpatrick, Casandra Honovich, Anna Jeszeck
John Jay: Casey Bocklet, Emma Sheeran
Rye: Emma Tucci, Molly O’Brien
Mamaroneck: Amanda Tuck, Charlotte Gardiner, Abby Baigelman
Scarsdale: Margaret Souther, Jennie Pechman, Kim Leone
Greeley: Kelsey Hill
Bronxville: Christie Bonfiglio
Wappingers: Melissa Mahoney
Hastings: Kari McWalters
Clarkstown South: Molly McGroary
Tappan Zee: Aileen Lennon
Fox Lane: Lindsay Toppe
Ossining: Caitlin Malone
Somers: Katie Marasco
Pleasantville: Katie Bathon
Harrison: Sara Misisco
Hastings: Dana Borelli

Yorktown and Nyack will both be facing their toughest opponents of the season on Friday. Here are some more details:

Class B Canandaigua is in the state tournament for the first time, but this isn’t a team that’s just happy to be there. The Braves are ranked sixth nationally in the Laxpower computer ratings (Yorktown is 41st). The reason is its trip to Maryland, where the Braves beat two teams that were ranked in the nation’s top 10 and lost by one goal to St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes, which was No. 1 in the country at the time. The team’s only other loss is 13-11 to West Genesee, which is currently No. 1.

Canandaigua scored the first 18 goals in a 24-2 win over Section 6’s West Seneca on Saturday and beat 11-time defending Section 5 champion Brighton in overtime in the sectional final.

Class C Honeoye Falls-Lima is 8th in the Laxpower national rankings (Nyack is No. 225). Its only losses were to West Genesee and Brighton. HFL, which lost in the state semifinals last year, beat Penn Yan 14-7 to defend its Section 5 title. The Cougars are led by Syracuse-bound Amanda Willison and Hofstra-bound Jill Maier, and speedy junior midfielder Lindsey Powell scored six goals as HFL beat Amherst 17-6 in the regional final.

I’ll post my official predictions on Thursday, but let’s hear your thoughts. Will a Section 1 team make the state finals for the first time since 2006?

Section 1 went 2 for 3 in the regional finals on Saturday, so we’ll have two teams at SUNY Cortland this weekend. Click on the teams to read the stories on Yorktown, Nyack and Lakeland/Panas, and thanks to Mike Dougherty and Ernie Palladino for posting updates to the blog while I was on furlough.

Here is the schedule at SUNY Cortland. There are two adjacent fields, so the semifinals in each class will be played at the same time. I have no idea, however, why they have to start so early.

Semifinals, Friday
Class C, 9:30 a.m.
Carthage (3) vs. Shoreham/Wading River (8)
Honeoye Falls-Lima (5) vs. Nyack (1)

Class A, noon
West Genesee (3) vs. Farmingdale (8)
Fairport (5) vs. Guilderland (2)

Class B, 2:30 p.m.
Watertown (3) vs. Garden City (8)
Canandaigua (5) vs. Yorktown (1)

Finals, Saturday
Class C 9:30 a.m, Class A noon, Class B 2:30 p.m.

I’ll have more in a bit about Section 1’s opponents, and later this week I’ll post the all-section team.

And they’re off and running at Lakeland High!

It didn’t take long. Just 52 seconds for Jaimie Morrison to score from Bridget Sickles.

Morrison again from Amanda Trendell on a nice feed outside-in. 2-0 Yorktown with 22:24 to go in the half. But Kayla Treanor came back with an unassisted goal to tighten things at 2-1.

Brittany Mabus scored from behind the goal for a 3-1 lead. Scoring is fast and furious right now, with Yorktown fans screaming their heads off. This is the team that knocked them offf last year, so many “Revenge” signs in evidence in the stands.

Niskayuna’s Caleigh O’Brien scored with Morrison right in front of her to tighten things at 3-2 with under 20 remaining.

Shannon Pfohl scores to tie it at 17:37, assist from O’Brien.

Morrison scored her third after Brittany Mabus picked up a loose ball close to the goal, and Morrison fired it in to give Yorktown a 4-3 lead. There’s going to be about a hundred goals in this game at this rate.

Hey, four minutes without a goal. But Lindsay Scott put an end to that when she took Jaimie Morrison’s pass and put it in for a 5-3 lead.

Lead goes to 6-3 as Gabrielle Veteri puts it in from Sara Scott.

Jenna Foote ust got around Jaimie Morrison to sneak in a goal to tighten things at 6-4 with unde 10 minutes to go.

Morrison scored her fourth on a feed from Sickles. 7-4 at 6:15.

Brittany Mabus just went down injured at 4:12 and was helped off by Sara Scott. Looked like she got clipped on the head as she went low on a shot after Morrison swiped the ball near the sideline.

Yorktown’s none the worse for it. Lindsay Scott came in and made it 8-4 on an unassisted goal. Now they’re just stalling, and Morrison finally gets it for the final shot that she can’t get out of her stick.

We’re at the half, 8-4 Yorktown.

Second half

Mabus strikes again, it’s 9-4 now.

Kayla Treanor gets one back for Nisky.

The answer comes from Lindsay Scott, making it 10-5 with 10:44 to go. Perfect angle. Perfect shot.

Shannon Pfohl makes it 10-6. They aren’t done yet.

There is no run materializing. Yorktown gets another, Morrison to Bridget Sickles.

Yorktown goalie Lauren Hayes just just stuffed two shots at one end, then Amanda Trendell finishes in transition to make it a 12-6 Huskers lead.

Kayla Treanor keeps it interesting, 12-7.

We’re not done yet. Emily Ryan scores for Nisky, making it 12-8 with 15:15 to play.

Jamie Morrison scores her fifth goal of the contest.

Brittney Mabus again, it’s 14-8 Yorktown with 12:12 to go.

The Huskers are finishing strong. Morrison finds the net again.

Scott makes it a 16-8 lead.

Emily Ryan makes it 16-9 with 5:21 left.

Yorktown has its revenge, 16-9 final.

They’re off and running, and Megan Bozek gets the scoring started, 1-0 Lakeland/Panas.

Guilderland responds in a hurry, winning draws and scoring to go in front 2-1. Danielle Tetreault and Amanda Best get the goals.

The Lady Dutch are the aggressors, Best scores again, making it 3-1. Guilderland is playing great defense, ending the last two L/P possessions quickly.

Make that 4-1, Jenna Crupi slips inside, takes a pass from Bridget Daley and finishes. Rebels call time with 17:59 to play.

Best and Crupi each get another goal. Now the lead is 6-1 with 15 minutes to go.

Guilderland was in front 7-1 before Bozek stopped the run with 5:23 to go.  The Rebels are getting better possessions, now they need some defense.

Davis from Daley, who’s got three assists. The Lady Dutch are up 8-2.

Kelsey Bub gets L/P one goal closer. Casandra Honovich gets her second assists of the game.

Second half

Guilderland’s Jen Madsen just scored a tough goal on Alex Fitzpatrick as she raced in and took a shot Fitzpatrick initially stopped. But the ball went in as Fitzpatrick tried to control it.

Lakeland/Panas got one from Kate Gregorio right after that to get the score to 9-4.

The score just went to 10-4 as Amanda Best put one past Fitzpatrick. No surprise this is a highly-regarded team. They move well, have a fluid offense, and control the ball well.

Not well enough, however, to stop Kelsey Bub on a free position shot to make it 10-5 Guilderland.

Courtney Davis scored her third goal off a free position play; 11-5 with 18 minutes left.

That’s four for Davis as Giulderland goes up 12-5.

Erin Mossop made it 13-5 after Guilderland created a turnover in front of their own goal. 11:02 remaining.

13-6 as Kelsey Bub took a feed from Casandra Honovich.

Jen Madsen just scored off a feed from Kelly Camardo after a Rebels turnover deep in their end. 14-6 Guilderland, with 7:35 left. Lakeland/Panas needs a miracle finish right now.

Danielle Tetreault put her second past Fitzpatrick for a 15-6 lead. 6:40 left. Don’t know if it’s possible for a team to score nine goals in that little a span.

Courtney Davis leaped and put in her fifth goal for a 16-6 lead. Lakeland/Panas is falling to a clearly superior opponent. Virtually every one of Guilderland’s passes is on the mark, and taken in full stride. Fitzpatrick has no chance on most of the shots.

That’s it. Final score 16-6 Guilderland.

The game is under way, and Nyack has the early lead. Katie O’Gorman scores on a nice feed from Karly Walborn. Hanna Brotherhood made a couple of nice saves at the other end before the Indians took the 1-0 lead with six minutes in.

Albany Academy ties it up, Kaitlin Pericak on a free position.

Caroline Chesterman, who sprained an ankle celebrating Nyack’s sectional title, just took a shot and went down in a heap. She got up and hobbled off the field, though. Stay tuned.

The Indians are in front again. Cloe Soukas walks in on a free position and scores, 2-1 with 11:51 to go in the half. And whoever thought white-on-white number schemes looked cool needs to sit in a press box and identify the players down on the field.

Soukas gets a step on the defense, making it 3-1 for the Indians.

A little ball movement sets Erin McCabe for a Nyack score. It’s 4-1 with 8:36 to go in the half, Albany takes a timeout.

Caroline Gersuk bursts in off a free position and scores to get Albany within 4-2.

Nyack is playing a lot of defense now. Too much. Julia Baldwin scores with 4:31 to go in the half and makes it 4-3. On a positive note for the Indians, Chesterman is back in the game. She is clearly struggling on the ankle, though.

O’Gorman ends the Albany run on a pass from Chesterman. It’s 5-3 with 3:03 to go in the half.

It’s halftime and Nyack is leading 5-3.

Second half

The Indians win the draw, run down and score. O’Gorman gets her third of the game with the assist to Tina Chesterman. That makes it 6-3.

Albany gets the answer in a hurry. Pericack again. It’s 6-4. Make it 6-5. Bridget Malicki goes top shelf after Albany wins another draw. We’re less than two minutes into the half.

It’s a 3-0 run now. Pericack get her third off a Malicki pass, making it 6-6 with 22:21 to go. Timeout Nyack. Chesterman appears to be on the sideline.

Albany goes up 7-6, Alexa Kurchner scores. It’s the first lead for the Section 2 title-winner. The Indians have not had a decent possession this half and turnovers are proving costly.

It’s getting worse in a hurry for Nyack, Gersuk scores a man-up goal with 20 minutes to go. That makes it 8-6 in favor of Albany.

The run was finally halted on a Gina Miele goal. She put on some pressure and forced a free position, so it’s 8-7 with 14:38 left in the game.

Karis Walborn makes it 8-8.

The Indians get another goal, Kate Delaney from Tina Chesterman with 11:21 left to play.

Caroline Chesterman is back in the game, and she just wheeled in (sort of) to make it 10-8 Nyack with 10:50 left in the game.

Talk about momentum shifts, Caroline Chesterman sets up Tina Chesterman to make it 11-8.

Nyack is looking to finish, Miele comes clean on a curl move and finishes. It’s 12-8.

The Indians ran some clock, then Caroline Chesterman gets an easy one, 13-8, after Tina Chesterman beats a double with a quick pass. We have less than two minutes remaining. It’s seven unanswered goals if you’re scoring at home.

And give the Nyack goalie some credit, too, for three killer saves during the run.

We’re done, somebody get Caroline Chesterman a bag of ice.

Nyack moves on and will play the winner of a regional championship between Section 5 and Section 6 on Friday at 9:30 a.m.

There are five girls lacrosse players in the running for the Gameday Central Gameface of the Week. Erin McCabe from Class C champion Nyack, Jaimie Morrison of Class B champion Yorktown, and Anna Jeszeck, of Class A champion Lakeland/Panas are going for their second title in a week. Also in the competition are Casey Bocklet of John Jay and Margaret Souther of Scarsdale.

Visit the Gameday Central blog to cast your vote

Matthew Brown was on hand to see Lakeland/Panas, Yorktown and Nyack crowned as Section 1 champions. It was the fourth straight title for Yorktown and the third straight for Lakeland/Panas, and the first for Nyack since the Indians won five in a row from 1997-2001. 

There were five articles in today’s newspaper about the tripleheader at Fox Lane. First, here’s my scene-setter from A1 (Section 1 title games packed with tension) with thoughts from players, siblings and parents on the six hours of excitement, nervousness, intensity and pressure from the three games.

Columnist Rick Carpiniello said of the Suffern-Lakeland/Panas rivalry: “There may be nothing else like it in Section 1 athletics.” (Rebels-Mounties as good as it gets), while Ernie Palladino wrote about the latest chapter, another one-goal win for the Rebels (Fitzpatrick saves it for Lakeland/Panas)

I saw Yorktown continue its undefeated season in an unexpected way. Scarsdale’s defense held Yorktown’s top-ranked offense in check for most of the game, but the Cornhuskers defense was up to the challenge and the team never trailed (Yorktown captures fourth straight title).

But in terms of sheer drama, nothing tops the Nyack-Rye game (Nyack prevails in triple overtime). Caroline Chesterman was a game-time decision after spraining her ankle in Thursday’s semifinal-win celebration, but she won the last two draws in overtime and scored her fifth goal in sudden victory to give fourth-seeded Nyack its first sectional title in eight years. On the other side was Rye, which came back from six goals down in the second half and scored with seven seconds left in the second mandatory overtime session, but has now lost the sectional final in triple overtime twice in the past three years.

Section 1 has a bye in the regional semifinals, so the next step is the regional final Saturday at Lakeland against the winner of the games between Section 2 and Section 9 (which will, barring a major upset, be Section 2). Win that, and it’s off to Cortland for the state semifinals and finals June 12-13.

So what are each team’s chances for getting to Cortland? The Rebels will probably face Guilderland, which is ranked third in the Laxpower and sportswriters rankings. Also Guilderland beat a much stronger L/P team 13-4 last year. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Yorktown, which will probably face Niskayuna. Nisky beat Yorktown by 1 last year but was completely senior-dominated. This year they’re a .500 team, though they did beat John Jay 16-13. In the middle is Nyack, who would probably face Albany Academy. A lot will depend on the status of Chesterman, who will have a week to work on her ankle but I doubt will be 100 percent. But Nanuet didn’t have much trouble the past two years, beating Albany Academy 19-6 and Emma Willard 15-4. 

So without knowing opponents yet, I would say Yorktown is 90-95 percent to win, Nyack is 60-70 percent, and Lakeland/Panas is 5-10 percent. That brings us to the semifinals, where Section 1/2/9 would face the winner of the Section 5/6 (Buffalo/Rochester) region. In Class A, that means avoiding Long Island and Syracuse-area teams West Genesee (two-time defending champ) and Baldwinsville, the top two teams in Laxpower’s national rankings. For Class C, that means avoiding two-time defending champ Shoreham-Wading River.

But Yorktown doesn’t get that lucky, since even though Garden City (L.I.) has won three straight, the Class B favorites are probably in Section 5, Brighton and Canindaigua. Both are in the top 8 in the Laxpower national rankings and the top 2 in the sportswriters poll (Yorktown is 60th and 6th, respectively). You can read more about Canindaigua on my blog post from April 17. If Yorktown got past that, then it would probably face a Long Island team (9-time champ Garden City?) in the finals. 

Here’s the full state tournament schedule for Section 1:

Regional finals vs. Section 2/9 winner at Lakeland High School, June 6
Class C 4 p.m., Class A 6 p.m., Class B 8 p.m.

State semifinals vs. Section 5/6 winner at SUNY Cortland, June 12
Class C 9:30 a.m., Class A noon, Class B 2:30 p.m.

State finals at SUNY Cortland, June 13
Class C 9:30 a.m., Class A noon, Class B 2:30 p.m.

Note: I will be on company-mandated furlough from June 1-7. It’s basically a week of unpaid leave that every employee must take, in the hopes that it avoids layoffs down the road. It also means, by law, I cannot post on the blog or check my work e-mail or phone messages. To reach someone at the office, please contact sports editor Susie Arth (sarth@lohud.com or 914-694-5061) or assistant sports editor Joe Erwin (jerwin@lohud.com or 914-696-8516). I look forward to being back on June 8.

Here are semifinal stories from Yorktown, Lakeland and Rye. Now on to the finals. Since this is such a big day, I’m predicting the entire score. Let’s hear what everyone else thinks.

Remember, the games can be seen live by clicking here.  You will also see the up-to-the-minute score scrolling on the bottom of the video feed.

Class C: No. 4 Nyack (11-5-2) vs. No. 2 Rye (9-6-2), 3 p.m.

Both teams are coming off huge wins — Nyack knocked off two-time defending champion Nanuet, while Rye avenged last year’s semifinal loss to Pearl River. The Garnets won in ‘06 and lost in OT in the ‘07 final, so a few players have championship-game experience. Both teams have plenty of scoring options, though Nyack has a dominant force in Caroline Chesterman. Normally that would make me lean toward Indians, but Rye has so many solid players (including four ESG selections) that I’m going with the Garnets. Rye 13-12. (poll prediction as of midnight Saturday: Nyack 39-13)

Class A: No. 2 Lakeland/Panas (10-5-2) vs. No. 1 Suffern (11-8), 5 p.m.

Suffern beat Lakeland/Panas 5-4 on April 6, but both young teams have improved so much since then that it’s hardly worth mentioning. Since there was so much turnover from last year, I also don’t know how much the Rebels’ wins in the past two Class A championship games matter — and if it did, would that make Suffern more likely to win because of the revenge factor, or does it show that Lakeland/Panas knows how to win the big game? Neither team has a player in the top 50 in scoring, so the question will be who steps up and scores the big goal today. Lakeland/Panas 8-7. (poll prediction: Lakeland/Panas 27-25)

Class B: No. 2 Scarsdale (10-2-3) vs. No. 1 Yorktown (17-0), 7 p.m.

Scarsdale is the second-hottest team in the section, having dominated its last nine games (all won by at least three goals). Unfortunately for the Raiders, Yorktown has won every game this season by at least three goals. I said at the beginning of the year that Yorktown would go undefeated against Section 1, and nothing has happened in the past month that would change my mind. My only concern is how they would fare if the game was ever tied or within one in the final minutes, since that’s a situation they haven’t had to face. If Scarsdale can keep it close late, it has a chance, but I think Yorktown has the game in hand well before then. Yorktown 17-12. (poll prediction: Yorktown 49-3)

Sectional finals at Fox Lane High School
Class C: No. 4 Nyack vs. No. 2 Rye, 3 p.m.
Class A: No. 2 Lakeland/Panas vs. No. 1 Suffern, 5 p.m.
Class B: No. 2 Scarsdale vs. No. 1 Yorktown, 7 p.m.

All games will be broadcast live on LoHud.com.

Here were the semifinal scores:
Class A
Suffern 10, North Rockland 9
Lakeland/Panas 9, Mahopac 8, OT

Class B
Yorktown 18, John Jay 15
Scarsdale 19, Mamaroneck 11

Class C
Nyack 10, Nanuet 9
Rye 14, Pearl River 13

Both teams lost two All-Americans and a bunch more starters, but Lakeland/Panas and Suffern will meet in the Class a final for the third straight year after both teams won by one goal today.

Lakeland/Panas’ Anna Jeszeck scored off a pass with Melissa Hanson with eight seconds left in the first overtime, and Alex Fitzpatrick (19 saves) and the Rebels held the Indians scoreless after regulation in a 9-8 win. The Rebels led 5-1 and 8-6 but Mahopac scored twice in the final eight minutes to send the game into overtime. Kelsey Rehain had four goals for the Mounties, who beat North Rockland 10-9, while Taylor Moore had four goals for the Red Raiders. 

Over at Yorktown, John Jay actually led 3-0 before the Cornhuskers made a 7-1 run. It was still just 11-9 midway through the second half Yorktown scored three straight to take command. Jaimie Morrison (right), who had six goals and one assist, and hit the 200-goal landmark.

Unlike Suffern and Lakeland/Panas, Yorktown will face its fourth different sectional final opponent (following Lakeland/Panas, John Jay and Greeley). Scarsdale beat Mamaroneck for the sixth time in two years, 19-11. Kimberley Leone scored eight goals and Jennie Pechman added six goals. Amanda Tuck scored four goals for the Tigers.

Katie O’Gorman scored with 1:30 left as No. 4 Nyack defeated two-time defending champion and top seed Nanuet 10-9. Caroline Chesterman completed her hat trick with 4:18 left to tie the game at nine. Courtney McGrath had four goals and as assist) and Amanda Matthew made 15 saves for Nanuet.

Nyack’s opponent in Saturday’s final will be No. 2 Rye. Molly O’Brien (right) scored on an 8-meter shot with 34 seconds left to give the Garnets a 14-13 win over No. 3 Pearl River. Kelly Mulligan had tied the game for the Pirates with 47 seconds left. O’Brien had seven goals for Rye, while senior Julie McBrien had seven goals for Pearl River, including her 100th varsity goal with 6:51 remaining.