Sleepy Hollow's Boys LAX Season Ends

Sleepy Hollow knew that the odds would be against them when they traveled to defending Section 1 Class C champion Putnam Valley in the Class C quarterfinals yesterday afternoon.    

However, No. 12 Sleepy Hollow (9-9) already had pulled off one upset, winning at No. 5 Nanuet 7-5 in the opening round.    

"Beating Nanuet gave us the confidence that we could play with anyone," Sleepy Hollow senior John Bucci said. "Nobody in the section really expected us to beat Nanuet or even give these guys a game. Just beating Nanuet made us realize that we could play with anyone. It gave us motivation to go out and play hard."    

Play hard they did. Under the hot sun bouncing on the Astroturf at Putnam Valley High School, Sleepy Hollow was within 5-3 of the Tigers with 5:16 to go in the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the Headless Horsemen, the defending champs showed why they are champs and pulled away for an 11-6 victory, ending Sleepy Hollow's season.   

After giving up the first four goals of the game, Sleepy Hollow answered with Dennis Maloy scoring and Jorge Berenguer assisting. Then, Bucci, who registered four goals and an assist, tallied an unassisted goal with just 52 seconds left in the opening quarter that cut Putnam Valley's lead in half.   

"When we put a few goals in, we realized that while these guys are a much higher seed than us, we could play with these guys," Bucci said. "It really gave us some motivation."   

Of course, anyone who knows Bucci knows that he personally doesn't need much motivation to play. Whether it's the sectionals or a preseason scrimmage, Bucci has given his all to the Headless Horsemen lacrosse program and will be missed come next spring.   

"John is an unbelievable player," Sleepy Hollow coach Gary DiVico said. "He's got the heart of a lion. He never gives up. He's our leader. He's our leading scorer. He's a leader on the field, off the field. He directs the younger kids. He has matured a lot in his three years."   

No. 4 Putnam Valley (14-4) though showed it has a lot of maturity as well and scored the last three goals of the first half to take a 8-3 halftime lead.   

Bucci though did everything in his power to keep his squad in the game by finding the right-hand corner of the goal with 6:35 in the third quarter to cut the Tigers' lead to four.   

The Tigers though scored three straight goals to increase their lead to 11-4 but Bucci, who believed his squad could win right until the final horn, scored the last two goals of the game.   

"I was just fighting until the end, I did what I had to do to try and keep my team in it," Bucci said. "I just left it all out on the field."   

The field is one that the Horsemen were not used to playing on and may have contributed to their slow start.   

"Our field is dirt and grass field so this is definetly a home-field advantage for them," Bucci said. "I think in the beginning it took a little adjustment for handling the way the ball bounced. It was fine in the end."   

In addition to Bucci and Maloy, Kyle McGovern also scored for Sleepy Hollow with Jay Ramirez making 21 saves for the Headless Horsemen.   

"I thought we gave an excellent effort," DiVico said. "We played a very good team who I expect will be in the finals. I am positive of that."