Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch Weekly Sports Report

L/P dynasty continues

To win one sectional title is quite an accomplishment but to win five in a row is legendary. Legendary is what the No. 1 Lakeland/Panas girls lacrosse squad accomplished as it won its fifth consecutive Section 1 Class A crown with a 14-12 victory against No. 2 Suffern in the title game.

“It just gets better and better,” Lakeland/Panas senior Anna Jeszeck said. “You can’t even explain it. It’s awesome. Especially as a senior to come out on top. It’s just great.”

After the game, Rebel coach Sharon Sarsen put in perspective the achievement of winning five straight sectional titles.

“It’s amazing,” Sarsen said. “Never would I have thought we would be able to sustain excellence for five years. We have some phenomenal athletes in this program and year after year, they model what it takes to be a champion and this year was no different. I am proud of them all.”

One of those players was Jeszeck, the Rebels’ leading scorer on the year, who was held to one goal and one assist against Suffern because the Mounties simply were not going to let the Richmond-bound Walter Panas student beat them.

“It’s definitely frustrating but we almost use it to our advantage,” Jeszeck said. “They weren’t fighting off of me so girls would go at my girl and they would  have wide open space, they could just go at the goal, which is where a lot of girls scored. Our team stepped up and that’s great to see.”

Someone who is used to stepping up in the clutch was Emma Bozek, who scored a game-high five goals.

“Lately I had been struggling on attack,” Bozek said. “I stayed after a few practices this week to get myself back where I used to be at the first half of the season.”

Rebel boys fall

No. 5 Lakeland/Panas led 4-3 going into the fourth quarter of the Section 1 Class A boys lacrosse championship game against No. 2 Mahopac but fell to the Indians 7-5.

“I think they came up with a good game plan, they wanted to keep the ball away from me and Conor (Prunty),” Lakeland/Panas senior Robert Caffrey said. “They took care of the ball on offense, they really slowed down the game. There were a lot of stall calls. They just killed a lot of clock. They knew our type of play was push the ball and go for scoring opportunities. They took their time and they took good, quality shots. That is what helped them win the game.”

That and the Rebels letting down in the fourth quarter.

“We just let our guard down a little bit later on,” Caffrey said. “We slipped, we made a few minor mistakes, dropped some balls, we didn’t finish our shots. When they got the ball, they just capitalized on it and that was the difference in the game.”

Standing out for the Rebels was goalie Mike Zingaro with 11 saves.

“He’s a really good goalie,” Caffrey said. “He’s sees the ball well, he clears well. Our whole team had their ups and downs but Mike consistently has been playing great. He has a big future ahead of him, he’s only a freshman. Hopefully, he will just continue to get better in the next couple of years for the team and the team can be great when he gets older.”

Caffrey scored late in the fourth quarter but said he wished he had scored earlier.

“I scored, it was like 11 seconds left,” Caffrey said. “It wasn’t really a factor, it was a little bit too late.”

Briggi shuts out Saunders

No. 20 Hendrick Hudson beat No. 13 Saunders 2-0 in an out-bracket game of the Section 1 Class A baseball tournament.

Standing out for the Sailors was winning pitcher Dan Briggi, who struck out nine, allowed four hits and walked just one in a complete-game effort.

“I had the velocity,” Briggi said. “The velocity was the key because I didn’t have the curveball so I threw fastballs for strike one.”

Brian Juliano hit a sacrifice fly to left center, that scored Kurt Picarelli to the put the Sailors up 2-0 in the second after an RBI single from Kyle Altman brought home Ryan Brennan, who got on by an error, in the opening inning.

“To get those runs early was big,” Briggi said. The other pitcher  (Javier De La Crux) was doing well so I had to focus a little bit more. I just was able to keep it together.”

Hen Hud’s season came to an end when it traveled to No. 4 Yonkers and lost 6-5 in the opening round. Greg Graziani had a hit and three RBI for the Sailors.

LHS’ hurler shines

Lakeland senior Katie Champagne was terrific in 1-0 loss at No. 7 Tappan Zee in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A Softball Tournament, as she struck out six in a complete game effort for the No. 10 Hornets.

“Last year we were seeded even lower so we had to play in a play-in game,” Champagne said. “We had a better seed this year. We had a fun team to play on this year, it was a good team, we were able to play in the sectionals. We (graduating seniors) hope they make the sectionals next year, continue to grow and make the program stronger.”