Sports Recap: Fox Lane Girls Lax Wins Playoff Opener

Fox Lane beats Rye

Improving their play as the game went on, No. 1 Fox Lane (17-0) took care of visiting No. 8 Rye (9-8-1) 14-6 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class B girls lacrosse tournament on Saturday.

Fox Lane outscored the Garnets 8-4 in the opening half and 6-2 in the second half.

Fox Lane's Lindsay Toppe said that because of the team’s preparation before and during the season, it has come into this postseason stronger than last year, when it made it all the way to the state Class B finals.  

“We actually played better in the second half than we did in the first,” Toppe said. “We made a few more errors in the first than we would’ve liked so we have to make sure to make smart decisions because against teams like Brewster and Yorktown, that’s not going to work.”

Toppe explained why in the second half the Foxes play improved.

“In the second half we actually did a much better job of cleaning it up and maintaining possession,” Toppe said.

Keying the win for the Foxes besides improved play after halftime was a well-balanced attack as Toppe, Sammy Jo Tracy and Lexi Cannon all registered four goals for the Foxes.

“The majority of the reason why our attack is successful is because we have a lot of firepower,” Toppe said. “If our opponents start guarding one of us tightly or double team, we are able to dish it off and the other players are able to put it away.”

Fox Lane will host No. 4 Brewster in the semifinals today at 4:30 p.m. If the Foxes win, they will play the winner of No. 3 Nyack and No. 2 Yorktown in the championship game at Yorktown High School at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 25.

Foxes tourney champs

Led by a fine performance on the mound from winning pitcher Andrew Rosenbaum and timely hitting in the fifth and sixth innings, Fox Lane (15-3) beat host Mahopac 7-3 in the 11th annual Chris Dean Tantalos Memorial Baseball Tournament Championship game Saturday.

“Our coach (Matt Hillis) loves this tournament,” Rosenbaum said. “He wants to come and win it, especially being close to the sectionals, which starts next week (out-bracket starts Wednesday, May 25). He wanted to get another win and get our confidence up.”

One of the players whose confidence has to be up is Rosenbaum, who allowed just three runs in six innings pitched to earn the victory.

“Getting the first strike was key,” Rosenbaum said. “I stayed within myself, I kept my composure. I knew I could get them out. I didn’t walk anyone, which was also big. I just felt good out there.”

Rosenbaum’s pitching helped keep the Foxes in the game, trailing just 2-0, before Fox Lane took control of the game with three runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth.

“I wasn’t nervous, I knew we had a good offense, I knew it would come around,” Rosenbaum said. “Once they got me the lead, I knew that I had to be good enough to not blow the lead. They battled back and got me what I wanted.”

Rosenbaum and his teammates got a good taste of what to expect in this year’s Section 1 Class AA tournament when they traveled to Ketcham (13-3) on Sunday and lost a tough contest 4-2.

“It was a close game all-around,” Rosenbaum said. “This game shows us what we are going to need to do to win the sectionals if we face them again or any other team of their caliber.”

Fox Lane will host Keio in its regular-season finale today at 4:30 p.m.

Greeley lax falls

No. 8 Horace Greeley (7-10) played an outstanding game but fell in overtime 7-6 to No. 9 Hendrick Hudson in the opening round of the Section 1 Class B boys lacrosse tournament.

“It was a back and forth game the whole time,” Horace Greeley’s Jack Gladstone said. “We are similar teams. We have strong attacks and strong defenses. At the end, things just didn’t go our way, it went their way.”

Greeley had taken a 6-5 lead late in the third quarter on a goal by Gladstone.

“That play was Alex Scott’s,” Gladstone said. “He was riding his man really hard and tipped the pass off. He did all the hard work.”