Sleepy Hollow Outscores Irvington 20-18 in Girls Lacrosse

To have two schools playing that are just three miles and eight minutes apart from each other, one could just imagine how hard it was for either Sleepy Hollow or Irvington to contain their excitement before yesterday's girls lacrosse game.

It was an excitement was clearly evident in the entertaining style of play that both teams brought to the match.

"I wouldn't say they are our rivals but because our towns are so close this game really meant a lot personally to us," Sleepy Hollow junior Jennifer Angevine said. "We were really excited to have the opportunity to play them."

Fortunately for host Sleepy Hollow (5-4), it had the combination of Angevine and junior Andrea Alvarez, who both play attack, on its side.

Angevine tallied a career-high eight goals in addition to three assists while Alvarez registered six goals and three assists in a 20-18 Lady Horsemen triumph.

When the duo of Angevine and Alvarez was mentioned to Sleepy Hollow coach Blair Moynahan after the game, his face lit up with a big smile.

"They are incredible," Moynahan said. "They are a good combination as far as women's lacrosse goes. These two girls can definitely play in college. The fact that they find each other constantly is important for us and I hope it continues."

Besides the scoring exploits of Angevine, who this season surpassed the 100-career goal plateau and Alvarez, the Lady Horsemen also had five other players who got in the box score as well. They were Rachel Swenson (two goals, three assists), Gabrielle Cellante (two goals, two assists), Annelise Birrittella (one goal, two assists), Emily Mottola (one goal and one assist) and Marissa Weissman (one assist).

Having an offense that can produce goals from anywhere was an important factor in Sleepy Hollow's win according to Alvarez.

"We have a strong offense," Alvarez said. "We try to pass it around as much as we can."

Angevine made a big pass late in the game that resulted in a goal by Alvarez that put Sleepy Hollow up 18-15. Angevine then scored herself to put Sleepy Hollow up by four.

"Our coach stressed let's try to break away, break away, we can do better than this," Angevine said.

Irvington scored twice but Alvarez registered a huge unassisted tally with just over one minute left to seal Sleepy Hollow's win.

"I just knew I had to do whatever had I to do to get that goal," Alvarez said. "We needed more goals at that point."

Doing its best to prevent a high-powered Irvington attack from scoring was the goalie combination of Valeria Morales and Sara Rennert, who made six and three saves respectively.

Morales played the first half in goal and Rennert started the second half in-between the pipes. Morales though came back in goal midway through the second half because Moynahan said he needed Rennert back in the field of play.

"Both are willing to do anything that it takes to make this team successful," Moynahan said. "Both have a great attitude and more importantly, they aren't afraid of the ball."