Iona Prep Handles Somers on Grid; Mahopac, P’ville Hot on Boys’ Pitch

Pleasantville Girls Crushing Soccer Foes; Usual Suspects Lakeland/Greeley on FH Greens

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

It was pre-billed as the game of the decade, but reigning CHSAA state champion IONA PREP was having none of it, building a 28-0 halftime line behind four TD passes from QB Julian Guzman — three of which went to Joe Wolf – en route to a 37-7 win over three-time defending NYSPHSA champion SOMERS in Saturday’s Tunnel to Towers Heroes Bowl at the Christian Brothers Academy in Albany.

Iona Prep took the high road to end the second quarter, taking a knee to run out the clock with over a minute remaining in the half: That’s how good the frontrunning Gaels were and are. Guzman is one of the best slingers in the state and the Iona defense featured a ferocious front seven that delivered lick after lick upon the Tuskers, who may have faced the toughest team they will see all season #RyeThough.

YORKTOWN QB Eamon Coney completed 15 of 22 passes for 141 yards while rushing for a score in his varsity debut, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskers took a Week Zero loss on the chin, falling 35-14 to Section 2’s Niskayuna in the Dan O’Connor Foundation game.

Versatile Husker WR/RB Tyler Galente hauled in 10 catches for 77 yards. Tyler Caricati ran for 51 yards and a score on 10 carries.

MAHOPAC made the trek north to Union College for the 2nd annual Upstate-Downstate Classic where the Wolf Pac made the most of its 13-0 Week Zero win over host Queensbury, winning their fourth consecutive season-opening game behind the strength of its defense.

FOX LANE held on for a 12-2 win over GREELEY when senior QB Justin Sarote was named the game’s MVP. He fired a 25-yard TD pass to sophomore Gavin Mammola and sophomore

Andrew Rudolph also connected with streaking Will Broghammer for a 59-yard TD strike to take the lead in the fourth quarter against the Independent League Quakers.

LAKELAND looked surprisingly good in a 21-17 win over visiting Clarkstown South. Hornet QB Joseph LaPeruta figured in all three TDs, passing for two scores, including a leaping 77-yard bomb to Anthony Ray, and rushing for another. Mike Zumatto (15 tackles, 2 catches, 18 yards) was solid on both sides of the ball, and WR Anthony D’Errico (3 grabs, 122 yards, 73-yard TD) was a top target. Mikey Lucia added 11 sticks and a pick on defense.

HEN HUD RB Justin Parkes went off on host PUTNAM VALLEY in the Sailors’ 26-6 win Saturday, delivering 13 carries for 102 yards and a pair of rushing TDs, plus a 59-yard TD catch from QB Joel Rivera-Ojeda.

Bobcat RB Ben Kent had an 11-yard TD run and led the defense with six tackles, but BYRAM HILLS got off to an unexpectedly tough start in a 45-7 loss to Sleepy Hollow.

The rest of the locals will open up this coming weekend…

 

GIRLS SOCCER

FOX LANE hosted HORACE GREELEY Wednesday’s season opener when the Quakers secured a 3-1 victory behind a pair of tallies from senior Hailey Stern and another from senior Gianna Limengello. Fox Lane had tied it up at 1-1 behind a first-half goal from senior captain Amanda Mazzuca. Greeley scored two second-half goals on Fox Lane junior keeper Dylan New (4 saves).

PLEASANTVILLE freshman Sam Schultz, among the most elite prospects in Panther history, scored three goals and set up another score in P’ville’s 6-3 opening-day win over Sleepy Hollow. Natalie Viviano added two goals while Faith Brown (1G, 1A) and Mary Kate Winn (1A) did their part to support G Willa King (8 saves, 1 assist). Schultz was just getting started, though, as she filled the nets with four the next game.

The Panthers were in the Albany area for the 9th Annual NYS Girls Soccer Hall of Fame Tournament & Induction Ceremony where they defeated Nichols High. Schultz (4G) put on a show. Viviano (1G, 2A), Winn (1G, 1A) and Isabel Martinez (1G) also scored. King and the defensive unit pitched the shutout.

The finish to the weekend in Albany was fitting as the Panthers rode Brown (3G, 2A) to a 5-1 win over JDW. Schultz (2G, 2 A) was all over it as well and King (6 saves) fortified the back line.

LAKELAND’s Caroline Daly, Maeve McConnell and Hannah Kiers each scored a goal in the Hornets’ 3-0 win over Carmel.

 

BOYS SOCCER

If you’re a Section 1 soccer fan and this doesn’t wake you up, what will? A MAHOPAC squad with big Class AA goals scored seven and held host GREELEY to just one last Wednesday, opening eyes along the way.  An aggressive Wolf Pac saw goals by Justin Chin, Jeremy Fuentes and Aidan Paris-Devane with assists coming from Michael Oteng, Paris-Devane and Nick Portanova. Paris-Devane, a skillful middie, facilitated the flow, and G Tyler Long made five saves. Quaker Dylan Soloman prevented a shutout with Greeley’s lone goal.

“We were aggressive on defense and clinical in front of the goal, and that stretch of the first half really took Greeley out of the game,” Mahopac coach Chris Mulholland said.

The Wolf Pac (2-0) added a 3-0 win over visiting RCK Saturday when Portanova and Jack Rothmann scored off assists by Oteng and Jeremy Fuentes.

“Another great performance from the boys,” the coach said. “We came out strong and dominated the first half. We moved the ball well, defended as a group, and were hungry to win the ball back when we lost it. Really good intensity from our guys the full 80 minutes.

“They are working hard and want to win something this year real bad,” Mulholland added. “The boys are feeling really good so far. We did well in the summer league, but we finished with a disappointing loss to Carmel in penalties. That helped motivate the boys, and since then, they have had an incredible attitude and have been playing some of the best soccer I have seen in my time at Mahopac. They are motivated, hungry, and ready for the challenges this season will bring to us.”

Class AA is loaded with skillful clubs, including Ossining, which just came in under the cut off and has now dropped down from AAA and has the goods to make some noise.

FOX LANE returns a ton from a sectional final team in 2024, so the Foxes have some big expectations as they open up on Sept. 8 against Clarkstown South.

Three-time sectional champion YORKTOWN returns 7/8 starters, including lengthy Colin Worden, perhaps the most potent scorer in the section. He scored three goals in the opening-round 6-2 win over Arlington (B) in the Husker tourney (the finals were postponed due to weather). The Huskers and then-visiting Foxes likely have Sept. 20 circled on their calendars.

PLEASANTVILLE set the tone for what they hope is a fancy finish in the Panthers’ 4-1 win over SOMERS, which could not prevent a pair of goals each from Garvin Kayizzi (assisted by Danny McInerny and Steven O’Leary) and McInerny (assisted by Nick Tassier and Devin O’Sullivan). Tusker Randy Contreras (PK) scored the lone Somers goal in coach Rob Carreira’s varsity debut. Former Somers coach Brian Lanzetta had spent a decade on the Somers sideline, building a soccer dynasty that churned out sectional and state titles like nobody’s business. Lanzetta is now coaching the red hot Somers girls while his understudy assumes the boys’ program. Contreras and Harper Riston scored for Somers in its 2-0 win over Arlington B in the consolation game of the Yorktown tournament.

The Tuskers lost the opening round, 3-2, to PANAS, which saw JC Ortiz put a pair between the pipes. Panas could make some noise in Class A should they continue to put forth the necessary effort to be consistently good, which they were in a 1-0 win over reigning AA champ Tappan Zee. Michael Thompson scored for the Panthers.

P’ville followed up that win with a 6-0 blanking of Hastings Saturday afternoon when

McInerny (assisted by Jonah Aghen) scored his third of the year. Aghen (2G) and O’Sullivan (2G) continued a torrid stretch and Jose Mejia added a goal for coach Kirk Bamford’s Panthers (2-0).

Collin Lyden scored the game’s lone goal in WESTLAKE’s 1-0 win over BYRAM HILLS, which could not solve Wildcat G Jozsef Varadi (10 saves). Byram recovered somewhat in a scoreless tie with Peekskill, but more is expected of the perennial power Bobcats.

 

FIELD HOCKEY

LAKELAND picked up right where the 16-time reigning Section 1 champs left off, defeating MAHOPAC, 7-1, before a 9-0 win over Carmel, which had no answer for the Waters sisters: Allie and Riley, who each had two goals and an assist. Gabby Goldstein (3G, 1A), Gianna Santini (2G, 1A) and Allie Waters (2G) led the way in the win over Mahopac, which responded well in a 7-0 win over FOX LANE behind two goals from senior M Gabby Bartholdi and two goals and an assist from junior Kayleigh Pontillo. Senior M Anastasia Villani (1G, 1A) and junior M Reese Harney (first varsity goal) also scored for Mahopac. Senior F Sophia Perillo (1G, 2A) filled the stat sheet

GREELEY is taking no prisoners this season. After finishing Class B with a runner-up finish to Lakeland last season, the Quakers opened the 2025 campaign with a 9-0 win over rival Fox Lane. Phoebe Warshaw (2G) and Lilah Tainsky (2G) led a parade of seven different scorers. These two will not see each other in the regular season, but the Class B title game has Greeley vs. Lakeland written all over it again on November 1st at Lakeland.

YORKTOWN took home top honors in the Huskers’ own Westchester Food Pantry Soup Tournament, topping the Sleepy/Briarcliff club 7-0. Alana D’Andraia (2G, 1A), Lily Diaz (1G, 1A), Riley Grieve (1G, 1A), Ava Ryan (1G, 1A), Anna Burns (1G) and Annie Cunneen (1G) spread the scoring wealth. WALTER PANAS  placed third, taking a 2-0 win over Magnus. Katelyn Camarra (1A) and Luna Grunberg scored for the Panthers.

 

Coaches please tag @Directrays on X or Insta when posting game results or email raygallaghersports@gmail.com with results, comments, etc. for inclusion in our weekly sports notebook.

Photo Credits Ray Gallagher, Chris Smajlaj, and David Taber