money Boys lacrosse: Pleasantville rides the highs, survives the lows and turns away Bronxville
PLEASANTVILLE – Some games inspire more emotion than others.
Each time Pleasantville has gone head-to-head with a marquee opponent this spring, the Panthers have met the moment with playoff intensity and purpose.
When the adrenaline isn’t flowing, games suddenly get interesting.
Pleasantville quickly built a comfortable lead against Bronxville and was on the verge of making a statement Thursday when the urgency faded. With only two seniors on the roster, the Panthers’ ups and downs are natural.
And they have plenty of resources to recover.
Pleasantville scored four unanswered goals after the Broncos made it a one-possession game, keeping an undefeated season intact with a 10-5 win.
“They embarrassed us last year and the year before,” Panthers goalie Andrew Nessel said. “We talked about that at halftime. They ended our season both years. We aren’t going to let that happen again. I’m proud of the way we responded. We’re only going to play with this kind of intensity from here. No more letting up.”
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Daniel Picart confidently dispatched a pair of Bronxville defenders with 5:32 to play in the opening half and put the Broncos in a 6-0 hole.
There was plenty of hooting and hollering.
“When you have a target on your back you have to play with precision and when you don’t, it becomes a one-goal, two-goal game,” Pleasantville midfielder Erik Coleman said.
That’s exactly what happened.
Jack Reilly began to heat up for the Broncos and it was suddenly a 6-5 contest with 10:55 to go. Coleman turned a miscue into a goal when he flipped a ground ball just outside the crease into the cage to spark the rally. Nick Reich added wiggle room when he exploited a mismatch with 4:49 remaining.
Coleman then set up Shane Miller and scored one more for good measure in the final minute.
“It’s all mentality,” Nessel said. “I think today was humbling when they came back. I’m confident the mentality is shifting and we’re going to play like underdogs from here.”
What it means
Bronxville might only win five games this season, but the highly ambitious schedule will likely result in them getting enough bonus points to qualify for the playoffs. And there’s a chance the Broncos could run into Pleasantville early in the Section 1 Class D tournament. After overcoming first-quarter turnovers and narrowing the gap to a single goal, Bronxville now has to believe it can upend the Panthers.
“Year in and year out we play a difficult schedule and we take pride in that,” Broncos goalie Luke Arrighi said. “We know we’re going to be in every game. We fight hard. We’re making little mental mistakes. We have a really young team with a lot of kids who never saw the field last season in big roles, but every day in practice we have the right mentality knowing these games will get us ready for the playoffs.”
Player of the game
Coleman was busy, collecting three goals and two assists.
By the numbers
Bronxville (4-8): Reilly finished with three goals. … Chris Patterson and Owen Atheson each scored once. … Luke Stephens had two assists. … Sean McGrath and Teddy Gramins each had one assist. … Arrighi made 17 saves.
Pleasantville (13-0): Daniel Picart also scored three times. … Reich had a pair of goals. … Muller and Hank McCourtney each netted one goal. … Emmet McDermott handed out a pair of assists. … Michael Hundzyski finished with one assist. … Nessel made 17 saves, including three in short order after the Broncos closed within 6-5.
They said it
“When you have coaches like these and so many plays we can run, it’s almost impossible for us not to get a good shot,” Coleman said. “We just have to stick those shots when we get those looks.”
“I don’t think we ever fully adjusted to being the favorite and I think it’s probably why some of these games have been close,” Nessel said. “We’ve been humbled by our coaching staff and each other and we’ve played some close games that have been humbling, too. We let up on the gas sometimes but I’m confident today was the last time.”
Mike Dougherty covers lacrosse for The Journal News and lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com. Follow along on Twitter @lohudlacrosse.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Pleasantville boys lacrosse tops Bronxville 10-5, stays undefeated
