Boys lacrosse: Pleasantville survives more drama, advances to NYSPHSAA regional
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS – A little drama was inevitable.
Pleasantville has wiggled out of trouble all season long, so it was fitting the Panthers had to deal with some fourth-quarter stress on the way to a 10-8 win over Briarcliff in the Section 1 Class D championship on Wednesday at Charlie Murphy Field.
There was a sigh of sincere relief before the helmets and sticks went airborne.
“At top speed, I don’t think anyone can stay with us, if we’re all doing our jobs and playing the way we need to play,” Pleasantville midfielder Daniel Picart said. “But we can get a little too comfortable. We need to keep our foot on the gas and keep looking to score more.”
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It’s the Panthers’ first sectional title since a 2018 state championship run.
“Unbelievable,” Pleasantville midfielder Emmet McDermott said. “It’s the first time we’ve been here in a couple of years and to pull this off, I’m almost speechless. It’s such a good feeling to hoist that plaque in the air.”
The Panthers were playing with urgency the entire first half and built an 8-3 cushion on their next-door rivals. Nick Reich and Erik Coleman added to the lead in the opening minutes of the second half and the energy level dropped.
It’s not a recent development.
“There was a lot of time left in the and Briarcliff is always formidable, so I knew something weird might happen,” Pleasantville coach Chris Kear said. “I didn’t know something that weird might happen, but I knew there would be a run there in the second half. Thankfully, we were able to hold on.”
Lucas Proctor and Harrison Winger got the Bears within 10-5 at the end of three.
The Panthers were at least killing time in the fourth quarter before getting too physical with Briarcliff goalie Jameson Wong on a clear. There were multiple flags in the air immediately and more went up when the Bears retaliated.
A pair of ejections negated a potential game-changing advantage.
Instead of playing 6-on-3 for three minutes, Briarcliff was man-up for a minute, 4-on-4 for a minute and man-down for a minute. Even so, James Foy sparked a rally that got serious inside the final two minutes when Alex Kirshenbaum netted a pair of goals.
Pleasantville came up with just enough stops to end the comeback and run out the clock.
“We got those quick goals after halftime and started to feel comfortable,” McDermott added. “You can’t let up in this sport. Lacrosse is a game of runs and they played a hell of a second half.”
What it means
The Panthers only have three seniors on the roster and did a lot of growing up this year. Consistency game-to-game and quarter-to-quarter is the key to another state championship.
“At the beginning of the season, we had to correct a lot of mental mistakes and some of those popped up today,” Kear said. “But for the most part, these guys have come a long way and the captains have become leaders.”
Player of the game
Coleman's enthusiasm was infectious. He finished with four goals and one assist. The junior midfielder also delivered a timely poke check that resulted in a turnover and momentarily stalled Briarcliff's comeback.
By the numbers
No. 6 Briarcliff (9-11): Kirshenbaum finished with a hat trick. ... Foy had one goal and two assists. ... Proctor scored twice. ... Winger and Bobby Colangelo each scored once. ... Luca Meola had a pair of assists. ... Wong made 10 saves.
No. 1 Pleasantville (18-1): Michael Hundzynski added two goals and one assist. ... Picart scored twice. ... Shane Meuller and Reich each had one goal. ... Hank McCourtney handed out a pair of assists. ... Andrew Nessel made five saves.
They said it
“It feels like the job’s not done,” Picart said. “We’re happy we got through this, but this is not where our goals end.”
“My guys left it all out there,” Briarcliff coach Al Meola said. “That’s what I asked for, so I’m proud of them. I’m happy for Pleasantville. I’m hoping they take home a state title. They represent Section 1 now, and I’m a diehard, so I’m a fan of that team now.”
“There is always time to improve and there are things we have to improve on so we’ll get right back to work in practice,” McDermott said.
Up next
Pleasantville takes on Schuylerville at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mahopac High School in a NYSPHSAA regional. The winner is in the state final four.
Mike Dougherty covers boys lacrosse for The Journal News and lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com. Follow along on Twitter @lohudlacrosse.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Pleasantville beat Briarcliff 10-8
