Pleasantville Outlasts Headless Horsemen, Fraylick Garners 50th Win

Pleasantville senior has spent four years guarding the net with efficiency. On Tuesday, Fairfield-bound Fraylick spent four quarters stifling Sleepy Hollow attacks and collecting cerebral saves.

The Panthers' goalie cemented his growing legacy, copping 18 saves and earning his 50th career win as the Panthers posted an emotional 11-6 victory on senior night. It was a choppy affair, with tempers flaring and a slew of four-letter words being exchanged in a one-sided fourth quarter.

The Panthers frittered away an early 5-1 bulge, allowing Sleepy to seize momentum when Horsemen senior John-Micheal Bogusz deposited a one-hopper to knot it up at 5-5 with 10:21 remaining in the third.

The Panthers regained the lead when Sean McKigney scored the go-ahead goal on a fast break layup, supplying Pleasantville with a 7-6 edge with 3:30 remaining in the third stanza.

Swarming for groundballs and navigating Sleepy Hollow's defensive pressure, the Panthers ran away with it. Stetson Bates knocked home an insurance goal 54 seconds into the fourth frame. Skylar Leen nailed a mid-range rip with 4:41 remaining, supplying the Panthers with a 9-6 lead.

"Those were game-changers right there," said Fraylick, who was pleased to attain the 50-win milestone but more happy with his team's fourth quarter spurt.

"We all felt like we came out a little sloppy. We played a solid two quarters and next time we need to play that strong through four quarters. Defensively, we bought in what our scouting report told us about this team. We tried to force their dodgers to go to their off hand, we knew from watching tape of them they were going to try and feed the back-side and we looked to eliminate that as well."

While the two teams were evenly matched in 6-on-6 situations, Pleasantville's transition game helped break Sleepy Hollow's back.

"When we went down 7-6 we were right where we needed to be—honestly I think we just ran out of gas," said Sleepy Hollow coach Gary DiVico, whose only other loss has come against out-of-conference foe Tappan Zee.

"We showed some grit. We went from being down 5-1 to being down 5-3 and eventually 7-6. We were in good shape at that point, they just had a little more in them than we did. If anything, this loss should be motivation for us. We still have the chance to tie for the league title. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves but if we could win our next few games, we'll have the opportunity to tie for the league championship against Pleasantville at our home turf."

A tiebreaker for the league championship is the last thing Pleasantville would imagine.

"We definitely don't want that happening," said Fraylick as he sported a post-game permasmile. "We want sole possession of first place, we want to close out with a league title and get a good seed for the Sectional tournament. We want to go into Sectionals firing high. We want to get a good seed in the tournament and have the chance to play a game here at home, that will make us much more hungry."

Pleasantville nursed their 5-1 lead in a methodical 6-on-6, controlling the ball and skipping passes around the clock . They halted the tempo and made Sleepy Hollow fight valiantly for possession. Chewing up the clock in large bites, Pleasantville disrupted the Horsemen as they sat in a tight zone.

Mike Taurone, who scored four goals, allowed the Panthers to seize the early lead when he deposited crucial back-to-back goals. He popped the go-ahead goal on a dish from Owen Reda. Moments later, Taurone executed a nifty stepback move and fired home a dart to give the Panthers a 3-1 edge. They tacked on two more goals to make it a 4-0 surge.

Sleepy's Tim Rachlin thwarted the run with a point-blank pop by way of a needle-threading dish from Dennis Maloy (three goals, one assist).

Sleepy's run was short-lived. Pleasantville's lethal scorers showed why they've outscored opponents by a whopping 196-38 ratio.

"When we got a lead on them, we turned it off a little bit," said Leen, who popped four goals and doled out an assist. "When they tied it up, we knew we had to turn it on. Our defense was huge. Coach Reitenbach scouted [Sleepy Hollow] well and told us exactly what they were going to do, where they were going to look for shots and where they were going to make passes."

Fraylick said he is slowly realizing that these are the final stages of his stellar four-year career between-the-pipes. He said being honored before the game with the rest of his senior classmates had special value.

"It's very special," said Fraylick, who will join other Section I products such as Shawn Honovich (who starred at Lakeland/Panas last season) at Fairfield next season.

"I never thought my senior day would come."

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