Girls lacrosse Class D final set as Bronxville and Magnus win close semifinal games

PLEASANTVILLE — If Friday’s Section 1 Class D championship girls lacrosse game at Lakeland High lives up to the semifinals, fans will be in for treat.

On Tuesday, No. 3 Bronxville, a young team that played a tough regular-season schedule, defeated up-and-coming No. 2 Pleasantville 6-5 on a freshman’s fourth-quarter goal.

In fact, much of the game was a back-and-forth starring underclassmen.

Across the Hudson, coach Alyssa Sanchez guided her No 1 Albertus Magnus Falcons to a close 11-9 win over No. 4 Irvington.

That sets up Friday’s championship showdown between what amounts to girls lacrosse royalty in 2022 state champion and 2023 state runner-up Bronxville — despite its coach calling this as a “rebuilding year” — and a team in 14-2 Magnus that seems to have grown by leaps and bounds and whose 2024 victories include a win over Class A finalist Wappingers.

Friday's game is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Lakeland High.

How Bronxville got here

Bronxville entered the Section 1 tournament with a ho-hum 9-6 record but with a wealth of experience gained playing the likes of, among others, Class A finalist Suffern, Class B finalists Yorktown and Horace Greeley and Class C finalists Nyack and Rye.

But, for all that, Pleasantville hung tough.

That might have been in part because of Pleasantville's lopsided 9-3 advantage on ball controls off the draw.

In most games, that disparity would almost certainly guarantee a win.

But defense ruled the day for both teams Tuesday.

“Pleasantville was killer on draws,” said second-year head Bronxville skipper Gianni Maffei. “But our defense was unbelievable. To hold them to five goals was absolutely amazing.”

She cited the play of sophomore backer Atti Pulkkinen as a key, noting she excelled at backing up plays, allowing her teammates to pressure high.

“She makes up for a lot of mistakes,” said Maffei, whose team is so young it will return almost its entire starting lineup next year and 11 kids overall.

One of those kids is freshman Mabel Arrighi, who, running right on goal, took a perfect feed from sophomore Ellie Garafalo and buried a high shot in the net.

That score, coming with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter broke a 5-5 tie and proved to be the difference in the game after senior goalie Gabbi Bicci made a tremendous stop on a shot in close two minutes later and then stopped freshman phenom Faith Brown’s strong bid for a game-tying goal off an 8-meter free shot after that.

Trying to pressure to get the ball back late in the game, Pleasantville went down two players. The Panthers were twice able to knock the ball away from the Broncos but Arrighi and teammate Linnea Hentschel successfully scrambled for the ball and Bronxville retained possession.

Pleasantville coach Hannah Tiso was happy with her team’s “grit on draws,” noting Brown, who gained all-section honors last year as an eighth-grader, had done a good job getting the ball to teammates.

She also pointed to senior Jess Beck, noting she’d been able to run up the field on multiple possessions, in part because she was able to beat Bronxville to five balls off the draw.

Arrighi, who noted her goal came off a broken play with Garafalo driving inside,which freed space for Arrighi to go down the middle, said her goal was the biggest of her Bronco varsity career, which began with her being pulled up during last year as an eighth-grader.

“At the end of the day, we ended up with the win and we worked hard for it,” said Arrighi, who also had an assist.

Maffei was also largely happy but noted a focus of pre-finals practices would be draws.

Who scored

Rose Woolery and Garofalo both scored twice for the Broncos. Woolery also got one ball off the draw.

Amy Villanueva had Bronxville’s other goal.

Linnea Hentschel recorded two assists.

Bicci was credited with four saves.

Eighth-grader Maddie Becerra and Brown, who beat Bronxville to five balls off the draw, both scored twice for the Panthers. Sophomore Ella McCourtney netted the Panthers’ other goal.

Ella Collins and senior Erin Drillock each had an assist with Collins, McCourtney and senior Rowan Capko each grabbing one ball off the draw.

Ciara McCarthy had three saves for the Panthers, who finished the season 14-4.

Magnus-Irvington stats

As will be the case in the final and was the case with Bronxville-Pleasantville, Albertus Magnus hadn’t faced its semifinal foe, Irvington, during the regular season.

And, led by Saide McRae’s and Carleigh Taylor’s hat tricks, Irvington battled.

But Magnus, paced by Julia Pope, whose four goals put her over 100 for her varsity career, had just a bit too much offense for the Bulldogs.

Aleix Diaz netted three goals for the Falcons and Cassidy Deierlein and Kristen Travaglini each had a pair

Falcon keeper Kate O’Leary also played a big role in the win, stopping nine shots.

Isi Doncov, Emmaline Lebuhn and Aly Raimondo each had a solo tally and Doncov had an assist for Irvington.

Mia Cantillana had three saves for Irvington, which finished its season 14-5.

Sanchez liked what she saw from her team, which amounted to it staying calm and playing its game.

“We knew we were capable of winning. The girls needed to trust themselves, as well as their teammates, play smart and take care of the bal,” Sanchez said.

She indicated the approach would be similar vs. Bronxville.

“Just keep it simple and trust the work they put in this season and leave it all on the field,” she explained.

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, Magnus win close games, reach final