Girls lacrosse Class D: Defending state champion Bronxville routs top-seed Briarcliff 13-3

NYACK — If Thursday's Section 1 Class D girls lacrosse championship game at Nyack High School confirmed anything it's that won/loss records should be viewed in context and playing top teams can only make you better.

Oh, and it doesn't seem to matter how much talent Bronxville graduates, Bronxville is always pretty much Bronxville.

That certainly seemed to be the case as the No. 2-seed Broncos, the defending state Class D champions, routed No. 1-seed Briarcliff 13-3 after opening up a 9-1 lead at the half.

What it means

With the win, Bronxville, now 12-7, will play the Section 2 Class D winner Tuesday at Schuylerville High School in a semi-final state regional game.

Briarcliff ended its season 17-2.

Player of the game

Bronxville entered this season having graduated players from its 2022 state championship team who'd collectively scored more than 200 goals.

But one of the key players who returned was Catherine Berkery.

Thursday she showed how key she has remained.

Berkery had three goals and four assists before the first half had ended and added one more goal late in the game to earn top player honors.

She was simply dominant.

The Broncos' ninth goal came with her coming out from behind Briarcliff's net and cutting inside a Bear defender to put herself smack dab in front of the net.

The game's prettiest play — and one of the prettiest of the season — belonged to Berkery and Anna Becker.

After Becker won the ball off the draw, she hoisted a perfect, long feed down the field, hitting a rabbiting Berkery in stride.

Berkery went in on goal all alone and scored Bronxville's final goal..

"It was just a natural connection," Berkery said of that score, noting she and Becker have played together for years.

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By the numbers

Linnea Hentschel also had a big game for the Broncos with four goals, two coming off Berkery feeds

Aiden Martinelli scored twice, Rose Woolery, Amy Villanueva (off her own rebound) and Becker each scored once and Charlotte Murray had one assist.

Becker had a great all-around game, grabbing multiple loose balls and picking off Briarcliff passes.

Nicky Einhorn had the Bears' first goal. That score cut Bronxville's lead to 2-1 with 20:27 left in the first half.

Adrianna Scanga ripped in an 8-meter free shot for Briarcliff with 13:04 left in the second half. Her goal made the score 11-2.

And Margot Flores scored off a Diana Jones assist with 3:14 to play before Berkery netted the last goal.

Bronxville dominated on the draw and the score would have been more lopsided if not for the play of Bear keeper Dani Siegel.

The freshman had 14 saves, including stopping two 8-meter free shots with Bronxville up 6-1. She also made a terrific save as Berkery ripped a shot high on the net midway through the second half.

Bronxville's Olivia Shinsato was credited with four saves, including a tough stop after saving an 8-meter try early in the second half.

They said it

Bronxville lost only one game last year en route to its state title, so this season was starkly different with seven setbacks, although only three were to Section 1 opponents with the remainder to out-of-area powerhouses.

Shinsato, who has been on varsity for five years and will play next year for Division I Georgetown, said falling by a goal to eventual Class C semifinalist Hen Hud in mid-April, which put Bronxville at 2-4 on the season, was a "wakeup call."

"We needed to find the pieces to the puzzle. When our defense gelled, then our offense clicked," said Shinsato, who added Bronxville knew it couldn't replace the players it lost but had to try to build on the talent it had.

The team isn't as fast as last year's, according to Berkery, who'll play next year for Division I Penn.

But Bronxville has found ways to make up for that.

Berkery pointed to Bronxville's three-goal loss early this month to New Canaan (Connecticut) High as being a big positive for the Broncos, given New Canaan's high national ranking. (Bronxville's only loss during a 21-1 2022 was also to New Canaan, by one goal.)

"The issue had been we didn't believe in ourselves," Berkery said, explaining the game made Bronxville believe, "We can hang with everyone."

"I think that was a big turning point. We started to believe more in ourselves," Berkery said, adding the game was particularly bolstered the team's younger players.

Briarcliff coach Dan Perito cited two factors in his team's loss.

"Their defense is tough. It's tough to break through their backer," he said.

"And they've won 10 straight (Section 1 titles). This is our first time ever being here," Perito noted.

But he added, "I told the girls I'm very proud of everything they've done. They just ran into a very good team."

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Girls lacrosse Class D: Bronxville routs Briarcliff for section crown