Kudos to Rye Neck as the Panthers won their second consecutive game with a 2-1 win over Carmel in a Briarcliff tournament first-round game. Lizzy Wexler, who had a first-half assist, scored the game-winner in the second half. Aislinn Breslin scored for Carmel. Rye Neck will face Briarcliff in the title game Saturday, 11:30 a.m. after the Bears rode a Melissa Colton second-half goal to a 1-0 victory. Clarkstown North erased  nine years of bitter memories with a 1-0 win over district rival, Clarkstown South. Laura Brennan’s first-half goal was all the Rams needed as the defensive quartet of Jen Reynolds, Alexis Kantor, Carmella Pollicichio and Grace Lee played an excellent second half. This group was under heavy pressure, but didn’t crack.  Brewster continued its fine play under first-year coach Corin Racicot, besting Somers, 3-0 on a pair of Michaela Spannaus goals. Erin Taylor had a goal and an assist. Spannaus, a freshman, has six goals and the Bears are 5-2-1.  Fox Lane won its sixth consecutive game with a 3-1 win over Nyack as Maddy Levine scored twice. … Putnam Valley defeated Pleasantville, 6-1 behind a pair of Amanda Dechent goals and Ashley Morgan had a goal and an assist. … Jenny Califano had two goals and Cara Eichenberger added two assists in Suffern’s 4-1 win over North Rockland. Megan Onderdonk scored for the Red Raiders. … Charlotte Gardiner had a hat trick and Cathleen Smith chipped in three assists in Mamaroneck’s win over White Plains. … John Jay took Ossining, 3-2 on first-half goals by Casey Losee, Shannon McCarthy and Sophie Hasson. Ossining received goals from Katie Malone and Michelle Andoy. … Horace Greeley won its second straight game with a 1-0 triumph over Harrison as Erica Walker scored with 28 seconds remaining in the first half. … Hastings needed a Hannah Murphy goal late in the second half to force a 1-1 draw with Croton. Julia Spencer scored for Croton. … Arlington scored with 12 seconds left in the first half of a 1-0 win over Mahopac. … Kennedy and Edgemont played to a 0-0 game as Kennedy goalie Brianna Sergio made two saves and Edgemont’s Alexandra Piuq stopped four shots. 

I apologize for not posting the past few days. I was involved with my daughter’s birthday and having her friends at the house last weekend.I wanted to take a look at the results from Monday and today so here go: Tuesday — I said it last week and I will repeat myself again, nobody, I repeat, NOBODY is beating Mamaroneck. The Tigers got hat tricks from Charlotte Gardiner and Cathleen Smith to crush Arlington, 7-0. This is the same Arlington team that lost to Mamaroneck in the 2007 sectional semis. Mamaroneck is strong all over the field. … Stephanie Coffman had a hat trick and Lauren Rutledge chipped in two assists in a 5-0 win over Clarkstown North. … Carmel defeated Clarkstown South , 3-0 on a goal and an assist from Sara Rattigan. … Fox Lane won its fourth consecutive game with a 2-1 triumph over Our Lady of Lourdes, on goals by Blythe Crasto and Joanna Coco. … Erin Taylor scored twice and had an assist in Brewster’s 3-0 win over John Jay. Freshman Michaela Spannaus added a goal and an assist. … Lakeland bested Ossining, 4-0 as Chelsea Remling and Shannon Scavelli each had a goal and an assist.   Horace Greeley received a goal and assist apiece from forwards Maddie Hopkins, Gilllian Leitch and Cheryl Cho in a 3-2 win over Nyack, snapping a four-game losing streak. Annmarie Brown and Cristina DeVita (her first varsity goal) scored for Nyack. … North Salem beat Rye Neck, 2-0 on second-half goals by Chrissy Schenkewitz and Liz Raskopf. … Nicolette Conti forged a 2-2 for Panas against Harrison. Melissa Schulman had a goal and assist for Harrison. Monday —  Pleasantville gave rookie coach and former Panther, Kristen Coffey, her first win in a 2-0 victory over Kennedy on goals by Jen Sanduski and Meaghan Butler. … Goals by Lindsay New and Lauren Arnau lifted Valhalla to a 2-0 win over Dover. … Melissa Colton scored Briarcliff’s goals in a 4-0 win over Edgemont. … A Leah Morales goal was all Sleepy Hollow needed in a 1-0 win over Pearl River. … Lauren Rutledge had two goals and three assists in Mahaopac’s 5-2 win over North Rockland, which received goals by Morgan McGowan. … Cara Eichenberger had a hat trick and Allie Califano had a goal and two assists in Suffern’s 7-1 win over White Plains. … Tori Stearns netted two goals and Olivia Nabhan and Casey MacGuire added two assists apiece in Rye’s 6-0 win over Irvington. … Ashley Morgan and Megan Warning each had two goals in Putnam Valley’s 6-0 win over Byram Hills. … Harrison and Hen Hud played to a 1-1 draw as Harrison’s Melissa Schulman and Claire McGuire traded first-half goals. … Charlotte Tierney scored in Holy Child’s 1-1 overtime draw with St. Luke’s. … Rye Country Day School remained undefeated (6-0) with a 5-0 thumping of Horace Mann on goals by Allie Farber, Heidi Alpert, Jane Ostrau, Lucy Braid and Susan Temple. … Gabrielle Veteri had two goals and Brooke Angelo had a goal and an assist in Yorktown’s 5-0 win over Ursuline. … Second-half goals by Elizabeth Allen and Amanda Kost fueled Pelham to a 2-0 win over Nanuet. 

Rye, Harrison players give their take on Å’The Game¹ live tonightWith the anticipation for ³The Game² building, Rye¹s Patrick O¹Callaghan andHarrison¹s Phil Dillulio, who are both senior stars, will be sharing theirthoughts on the annual meeting on Varsity Central Live today at 7:30 p.m.They will join Kevin Devaney Jr., left, and Joe Lombardi. Tune in and postyour comments at “LoHud.com/vclive.”:http://lohud.com/vclive

In my pre-season prognostications, I had Mamaroneck ranked first and the Class A favorite. Nothing has changed my mind on this. In fact, after Mamaroneck’s 3-0 win (two goals by Jocelyn Baumgarten) at John Jay-East Fishkill, on the grass, you can write it down that the Tigers will be the Section 1 Class A champions. Yes, I know, the Tigers still have to play Arlington (Tuesday, Sept. 23, home), but guess what, nobody will shut this team down and the Tigers defense, led by Ellen Williams, is too strong to be scored on once, let alone multiple times. The Tigers have not surrendered a goal in seven games.

In other game Wednesday, Jenny Califano scored in the first half, assisted by sister, Allie Califano, as Suffern overcame a stubborn Ursuline team, 1-0. … Lakeland’s Jillian Caffrey had her first career hat trick and Megan Bozek added three assists as the Hornets remained undefeated with a 6-0 win over Somers. … Brewster received goals from Sarah Hogan, Erin Taylor and freshman Michaela Spannaus in a 3-0 win over Ossining and coach Allison Carl, a former Brewster standout. … Harrison collected its first win of the season – 1-0 over Our Lady of Lourdes – as Lauren Warshauer scored on a feed from Melissa Schulman. … Goals by Lindsay Toppe and Joanna Coco gave Fox Lane a 2-0 win over Horace Greeley as Haley and Nellie Mitchell garnered the assists. … Scarsdale and Mahopac played to a 0-0 game and Nyack and Panas were even at 1-1. Panas’ Nicolette Conti scored in the first half, but Allison Ceresnak answered in the second half. … Caroline Gray scored twice and Charlotte Tierney had a goal and an assist in Holy Child’s 7-0 win over Brearley. … Kim Cunningham tallied a goal and an assist and sister Christine Cunningham added an assist in Rye Country Day School’s 4-0 blanking of Fieldston. … Hackley shut out Riverdale Country Day, 2-0 on goals by Emily Pitkin and Perri Weiss.

I’ll start with Putnam Valley’s 3-0 win over Sleepy Hollow because I covered the game. First of all, this day belonged to senior right wing, Erica Fisher, who celebrated her birthday with a goal and an assist. Forward line mate Megan Warning had two goals. Fisher is known for being a creator on the right wing. Well, today she scored the first goal of the game, then returned to her bread-and-butter, set up Warning for a goal. Her teammates surprised her with a “Happy Birthday” rendition Putnam Valley style. Fisher’s mom provided the post-game snacks, delicious cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Man, did the cupcakes look good. Fisher and Warning did offer me a cupcake, but I had to say no. … Sleepy Hollow played a much better second half. Sleepy Hollow is very young this year with promising players. One such player is sophomore Jennifer Angevine, who can flat-out fly. The team is led by seniors Leah Morales, Valentina Guzzo, Alee Praino, Carol Ann Bender and Dara Brennan.

In other games, Nanuet’s Christine Stocks scored two goals in a game for the second time this season in a 2-0 win over Byram Hills. … Pearl River received goals from Erin Nelson and Jen Lee in a 2-0 victory over Kennedy. Pearl River and Nanuet renew their rivalry next Friday at Nanuet. I expect to see Nanuet AD Frank Mazucca at this game which features Pearl River coach Laurie Mayernik and Nanuet’s Karen Leitner, their respective school’s girls lacrosse coaches also. … One day after beating her alma mater (Nanuet), and sister (Kaitlyn Morr), Valhalla coach Tara Lahm watched Lindsay New have the game-winner for a second consecutive day in a 1-0 win over Croton. … Irvington improved to 2-0 with a 3-0 victory over Edgemont as Regina Bereday scored twice and Lisa Bucci scored her third goal of the season. … Briarcliff topped Pelham, 1-0 on a Melissa Colton goal, assisted by sister Jessica Colton. … North Rockland and Carmel threw me a drop pitch. The game was scheduled for Wednesday and I was covering it, but I saw the the game, a 1-1 draw, was played today. After Aislinn Breslin gave Carmel a 1-0 first-half lead, Jillian Walsh scored the equalizer in the second half and teammate Anna Berman kicked out 21 shots. … Courtney Burke and Torie Stearns scored two goals apiece in Rye’s win over Pleasantville. Olivia Nabhan had a goal and three assists. … Bronxville defeated Hastings, 4-2 behind a pair of goals each from Brooke Gogel and Alex Lynch. Hastings received a goal and an assist from Eliza Blum.

 From late Monday, Ossining defeated Nyack, 1-0 on a Jackie Giusti first-half goal, assisted by Kate Malone.

Remember field hockey fans, Mamaroneck will be playing at John Jay-East Fishkill on Wednesday. This is always a good, tight defensive game.

The game of the day featured a family affair with Valhalla coach Tara Lahm facing her alma mater, Nanuet, and younger sister, Kaitlyn Morr. When it was over, big sister received bragging rights with a 1-0 win as Lindsay New scored in the second half. Lahm caught a little grief from this reporter because Morr was inadvertantly knocked down going for a ball in the second half. Morr bounced right back up though. In the game’s final minute, Nanuet appeared to be on the verge of psossibly tieing it as a pass headed toward Morr standing on left post. However, before the pass got to her, a Valhalla foul in the circle resulted in a penalty corner. The best signs of the day belong with Lahm and Morr’s grandmother, Noreen McDonagh. She had a Go Valhalla, Go Tara sign and a Go Nanuet, Go Kaitlyn sign.In other games, Clarkstown South’s Janell Colon had two goals in a 3-0 win over White Plains. … Cara Eichenberger scored seven minutes into the second half, giving Suffern a 1-0 lead over Scarsdale. … Kelly Casey’s first-half goal was the difference in Somers’ 1-0 victory Horace Greeley. … Putnam Valley received goals from Amanda DeChent, Caitlin White, Dee Andritsopoulos and Megan Warning in a 4-0 win over Pleasantville. Ashley Morgan collected two assists. … Michelle Sapnnaus scored twice, including the game-winner 11 minutes into the second half as Brewster defeated Harrison, 4-2. Sarah Hogan had a goal and two assists for Brewster. … Aileen Kurpis broke a tie seven minutes into the second half as Yorktown defeated Our Lady of Lourdes, 2-1 for its fourth consecutive win. Samantha Veteri had a goal and an assist. … Hen Hud posted its first win of the season, 2-0 over Kennedy, on goals by Claire McGuire and Nina Molinari. … Charlotte Tierney scored two goals in Holy Child’s 3-1 win over Riverdale Country Day. … Kim Cunningham scored twice for the third consecutive game as Rye Country Day School bested Hopkins Grammar, 4-1. … Fox Lane received a Blythe Crasto goal in the first half of a 1-0 win over John Jay. … Behind a pair of goals from Ellen Williams and Cathleen Smith and three assists from Charlotte Gardiner, Mamaroneck crunched Ketcham, 8-0. … Carmel’s Aislinn Breslin and Brianne Chichester had a goal and an assist in a 5-0 win over Ursuline. … Freshman Emma Bozek had her first career hat trick and Megan Bozek added a goal and two assists in Lakeland’s 5-0 win over Panas.

The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but Mamaroneck coach John Savage verified that the John Jay-East Fishkill game has been moved to Wednesday.  

Monday Valhalla at Nanuet Valhalla coach Tara Lahm faces her younger sister, Nanuet junior forward Kaitlyn Morr. Nanuet is off to a good start, winning two of its first three games. With Amanda Mathew in goal, Nanuet is in every game. … Suffern at Scarsdale – These teams met in the Section 1 Class A first round last year with Suffern prevailing. Scarsdale will have its hands full with forwards Cara Eichenberger and Jenny Califano. Scarsdale has a game-changer in midfielder Margaret Souther. … I feel for Pleasantville and new coach Kristen Coffey. The Panthers play Putnam Valley today and come right back to face Rye tomorrow. The schedulemakers were not fair.Tuesday – Briarcliff at Pelham – These teams met twice last year with Pelham winning both, if I remember correctly. It should be another fine game. Briarcliff is a young team with a pair of precocious sophomores in Melissa and Jessica Colton. Pelham answers with the epxerience of Sara Keith and Hayley Serebranksy. … Putnam Valley at Sleepy Hollow – Any time you can see Putnam Valley play it’s a good day. The Tigers have Section 1’s finest all-around player in center midfielder Ashley Morgan, a playmaking, quick right wing in Erica Fisher, a finisher in Megan Warning and a defensive pairing of Nicole Scott and Sara Kastuk that is excellent. And don’t forget goalie Jackie Gallagher. Sleepy Hollow is young, but coach Kelly Jarer, another former Lakeland standout, has done an outstanding job in her two plus years as coach. She should also be commended for being an outstanding person, donating a kidney to her father earlier this year. My colleague Rick Carpiniello wrote a great column about this in Sunday’s paper.Wednesday – Horace Greeley at Fox Lane. I don’t think I need to say anything more. The rivalry between these schools spans all sports. … Mahopac at Scarsdale – A good game between two evenly-matched teams. …  Ossining at Brewster - Ossining coach Allison Panini returns to her alma mater where she was an outstanding player as Allison Carl for retired Brewster coaching legend Ray Corley.Thursday – Pelham at Rye – A good test for Pelham to see where it stands. I’m sure veteran Pelham coach and Section 1 field hockey coordinator will find it strange playing Rye without coach Kevin Kelly, now the Manhattanville field hockey coach. … Briarcliff at Putnam Valley – The impressive youngsters, in Briarcliff, against the veteran Tigers. … Valhalla at Bronxville - A possible preview of the Section 1 Class C final? You never know. … Somers at John Jay – Both teams are off to nice starts. Somers has adjusted, so far, to the loss of three-year starting goalie and current Hofstra goalie, Amanda Heyde, and 2007 leading scorer, Lizzy Russo.Friday – Suffern at Mahopac – A long trip for Suffern, but Mahopac will challenge the Mounties. … Scarsdale at Carmel – A pair of good defensive teams square off. … Pelham at Sleepy Hollow – These teams have met the past two years with Pelham beating Sleepy twice. … Mamaroneck at John Jay-East Fishkill – Mamaroneck coach John Savage and assistant coach Tricia Miller like to challenge their players so John Jay-East Fishkill is on the schedule every year and the game is always a tight, defensive tussle. JJEF will have a difficult task attempting to figure out who to check - Cathleen Smith, Charlotte Gardiner or Anna Reddicliffe.Saturday – Briarcliff at Pleasantville – The Pleasantville Road rivalry is a great way to start your day. …

The first full week is in the book and here are some observations:

 Mamaroneck is downright unreal offensively. They have scored 35 goals in five games and have not allowed one. … Rye is still Rye, even with the loss of eight seniors, the Garnets are still the team to beat in Class B. The trio of Courtney Burke, Torie Stearns and Olivia Nabhan is unstoppable. I missed the big Rye-Putnam Valley game Wednesday (I had Meet the Teacher night for my daughter), but Rye once again found an answer in a 1-0 victory. … Don’t count out Lakeland in Class B. Coach Sharon Sarsen has the Hornets at 4-0. Junior Megan Bozek has established herself as Lakeland’s next outstanding midfielder, following in the footsteps of Caitlin Collins, Caitlin Rooney and Colleen Carney. … Brewster rookie coach Corin Racicot was given her first varsity win in her debut as the Bears rallied with three goals to beat Nyack. … Bronxville rebounded from the 2-0 loss to Rye to beat John Jay-East Fishkill, 3-0. A bittersweet day for Bronxville co-coach Jacquelyn Deppe Frawley as she had to face her mom, John Jay-EF coach Barb Deppe. … Yorktown is off to a 3-1 start under coach and former Lakeland standout Becky Melikian, who guided the Yorktown varsity softball team to its second consecutive Class AA sectional softball title last spring. … If you get a chance, take in a Suffern varsity game and watch the chemistry between senior forwards Cara Eichenberger and Jenny Califano. It is a site to watch. …

Section 1 field hockey fans I apologize for not previewing the week of games. The one game from Monday that would have been highlighted was the John Jay-East Fishkill-Bronxville as JJEF coach Barb Deppe faced a Bronxville team co-coached this season by her daughter, Jacqueline Deppe Frawley. Bronxville won, 3-0 as Jessica Murrer scored two goals. … Somers won its own tournament for the second consecutive year as Morgan Donahue scored with 12 minutes remaining to snap a tie and propel the Tuskers to a 2-1 win over Mahopac.  … In the consolation game, Yorktown trumped Byram Hills, 4-0 as Brooke Angelo had a goal and three assists and Brianna Concialdi scored twice. … Ossining’s Katie O’Hanlon scored twice in Ossining’s 3-1 win over North Rockland, who received a goal from Jillian Walsh. … John Jay bested Pleasantville, 3-1, spoiling new Pleasantville coach Kristen Coffey’s debut. Shannon McCarthy had two assists. … Ursuline played Ketcham to a 1-1 tie on a Casi Lumbar goal and Kennedy and Hen Hud were even at 1-1 as Nina Molinari (Hen Hud) and Lindsay Ferris (Kennedy) traded second-half goals. … Center midfielder Ashley Morgan had a goal and two assists in Putnam Valley’s 4-0 victory over Panas. … An all-Rockland matchup had Clarkstown North and Pearl River playing to a 1-1 draw. North’s Emily Hunt tipped in an Abby Laffer free hit 3:21 into the second half, but Christine Clarke answered at the five-minute mark, redirecting a Katie Scrima free hit. Both defenses played an excellent game, especially the penalty corner defense for each team.

Before I forget, mark Wednesday, Sept. 10 on your calendar as the Class B clash of the titans occurs with part I as Putnam Valley travelling to Rye for a 4:15 pm game. Rye, under the guidance of new coach Emily Fitzgerald, was outstanding in a 2-0 opening win over Bronxville while Putnam Valley handled Panas today. This game will feature five of Section 1’s finest in Putnam Valley do everything center mid Ashley Morgan and creative right wing Erica Fisher, while Rye counters with lethal scorer Torie Stearns, shut-down back/midfielder Courtney Burke, and new center mid Olivia Nabhan. By the way, these five were instrumental in leading Hudson Valley scholastic women’s field hockey to an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2008 Empire State Games. I suggest you make time to get to Nugent Stadium. You don’t want to miss this one. Focus on the Morgan matchup with Nabhan and Burke. This should be outstanding.