I just got back from watching Rockland’s only two power league representatives –North Rockland and Suffern. Suffern overpowered the unexperienced Red Raiders 16-7 in the first of two matchups this season.
It was clear from the first couple of minutes that Suffern was the more balanced and flat out better team. Their execution on offense was impressive but their defensive pressure was fascinating to me.
They hounded the Red Raiders all over the field. They did a great job of trying to frustrate North Rockland’s star senior Chrissy Gutenberger. Suffern’s head coach John Callanan did a great job of switching up the defenses and putting the pressure on. Micaela DeSimone, Joanna Johnson, Amanda Lambert, and the rest of the Mounties defense was tremendous.
The Red Raiders inexperience showed as they made too many turnovers and allowed the Mounties to capitalize on them. North Rockland’s goalie Anna Berman, who is just a sophomore, can flat out play. She’s amazing in the net and I think she’s one of the best in the section. She kept the Red Raiders from even more punishment with her timely stops.
From watching I could tell that Suffern is very confident but yet hungry and they truely believe they have what it takes to go far. The Red Raiders are sort of learning on the job but I do expect them to get better as the season goes on. Losing to Suffern is no bad loss by any stretch of the imagination and a lot of good can come from it especially this early in the season.
If you were there feel free to post your thoughts and analysis. Also be on the lookout for my story tomorrow both in the paper and online.
