No. 1 Bronxville 4, No. 4 Pawling o: Brooke Gogel had a hat trick and Alex Lynch added a goal and two assists as the Broncos return to the Section 1 Class C final. The Broncos (16-3) will play No. 7 North Salem (5-8-7) Saturday, 5 p.m at Lakeland.

No. 7 North Salem 1, No. 6 Rye Neck 0 (strokes): The Tigers advance to their first final since 2003, when, led by Jenn Howley and Jess Redzinski, they won the title and played for a state championship. North Salem did so by outscoring Rye Neck, 2-1 in strokes.

I covered this game and it was very entertaining for a scoreless game through regulation and two overtimes. Both goalies, North Salem’s Lizetta Solarik and Rye Neck’s Amy Carelli were outstanding. They were both aggressive in that they both came out of the net to make kick saves or clears. Solarik, along with her teammates, kept the game scoreless with a fine play in the waning seconds of regulation. Liz Tucci ripped a side-line free hit into the circle. Solarik dove to her right, and when she did, her teammates did the same in an effort to keep Rye Neck from scoring. The overtime periods produced a couple of penalty corners for each team before going to strokes. 

North Salem’s Liz Raskopf and Megan Palotta converted on the Tigers’ first two shots before Carelli stopped two of the next three strokes, with one going wide. North Salem’s fifth attempt went wide. Solarik handled the first three Rye Neck corners, but Lizzy Wexler scored on the fourth stroke. Trailing 2-1, Rye Neck’s final stroke was right on but went over the net.

Congratulations to North Salem, coach Jen Frohman and assistant coach, and former North Salem great, Carly DeMartis for returning to a sectional final. From 1999-2001 North Salem and Bronxville played for the Section 1 Class D title with the Broncos winning all three. North Salem won the 2003 sectional Class C title, led by Jenn Howley and Jess Redzinski, and went on to play for a state championship.

Congratulations to the Rye Neck players and first-year coach Niki Berman, a former Lakeland all-state player, for a fine season. The players and Berman have revived a Rye Neck program that dominated Section 1 under legendary coach Gail Stevenson and then Barbara Lorys, a former Rye Neck great. The Panthers went 6-7-5 and reached the sectional semis for the first time in quite some time. More importantly though, Berman pointed out to me after the game that the players are excited, once again, about field hockey, which was one of her goals. Based on this season, Rye Neck is heading toward an upswing.