Blazing Comets
Fallsburg Gets Its First League Win Of The Season And The First Under The Watch Of Coach Carlye Hyde As They Erupt For An 18-Run Inning En Route To a Five-Inning Shortened Route Of Tri-Valley
Fallsburg 27, Tri-Valley 10
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Fallsburg wins! (clockwise) Southpaw Kirsten Jacobsen fires a strike. Kierra Miller blasts a three-run homer as part of her five RBI day. Tri-Valley's Emily DiToro follows up a complete game outing against Ellenville with a relief performance as the day's third pitcher for the Lady Bears. Fallsburg's Sami Wiles steals home.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—Given the law of averages, one of these days it was bound to happen: Fallsburg would record a league win and in the process pay back one of the Division V teams that has had their way with them for what seems like forever.
One of those teams that has battered them from pillar to post is Tri-Valley. Consider their first meeting this year, a 19-3 affair that afforded the Lady Bears one of its two league wins to date and one of its overall three wins up to this juncture.
As for Fallsburg which had lost all four prior league outings and had only two wins against Family School against five losses overall, the time seemed right to reverse the curse so to speak and turn the tables on their hosts at long last.
With left handed hurler Kirsten Jacobsen on the hill, the same pitcher Tri-Valley had faced in the first outing with the Lady Comets, it seemed as if the Lady Bears would have little trouble stringing together hits for the usual outcome.
But lo and behold, this was not the same Lady Comets team by any stretch.
This time they really came to play.
Coach Mary Feusner sent righty Jessica Kinney to the mound. Kinney would last just two innings as Feusner had to lift her in the third inning, a frame in which Fallsburg would send 20 batters to the plate. The first five were Kinney’s responsibility. Following that it was Amanda TerBush who got the call with precious little time to warm up.
That inning would yield 18 runs as walks and errors abetted the already lively bats of the blazing Comets who seemed as if they’d be up until the end of days.
Actually though, the game started out rather sedately. Fallsburg got a run in the top of the first on an RBI single by Sami Wiles. Kinney struck out big bat Nyasia Blakney to end the threat of further damage.
Jacobsen worked around an E-3 to put Tri-Valley away in the first.
The Lady Comets added two runs in the second behind an RBI double from Jordan Reichenbaugh and an E-6 throw which allowed her to score.
The Lady Bears failed to score in the second and now trailed 3-0.
Then it happened.
Wiles led off with a single and and E-4 put runners on the corners. A walk to Christina Beatty loaded the bases (it wouldn’t be the last time by a long shot that the bases were filled). Another run scored on an E-1 before Kinney loaded them up with another bases on balls.
Feusner had seen enough and she summoned TerBush to take the ball. She walked in a run as Celia Garcia showed patience at the plate. A single and a couple of errors allowed Jewelisa Trujillo’s at bat to plate three runs and on and on it went. TerBush faced nine batters before Emily DiToro took the ball. Four walks in the inning were yielded by the trio of pitchers and two batters were hit by pitches to add to the miasma.
When the dust cleared, Fallsburg led 21-0.
Tri-Valley finally got on the board in the bottom of the third as Rachel Adriaans led off with a walk and scored on a passed ball and errant throw. Erin Smith hit a double and scored on a sac fly from Ashley Exner but that was it.
To avoid a five-run shortened game, Tri-Valley would have to shave Fallsburg’s lead down below 15 runs. But the Lady Comets had other ideas as they added to their lead with two runs in the fourth to make it 23-6.
Tri-Valley came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to 23-6. Kinney walked to start the inning and a single by Nicole Bradley gave the Lady Bears runners at the corners. With DiToro at the plate, Kinney scored on a passed ball and the other run came in on a dropped third strike throw to first. TerBush doubled in a Smith sent in another on with a sac fly.
Kiera Miller followed an RBI single from Jacobsen in the top of the fifth with a three-run homer that just sailed by the glove of Nicole Bradley as it rocketed down the line. Those four runs would provide the insurance needed to stop the game after Tri-Valley scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, just two runs short of prolonging the game.
Fallsburg improved to 3-5 (1-4 OCIAA), while Tri-Valley fell to 3-8 (2-5 OCIAA).
Miller was two-for-three with 5 RBI. Wiles had two hits and two RBI for Fallsburg. TerBush and Smith were both two-for-four with one RBI.
Hyde was delighted with her team’s showing. “This was a lot of fun and two years in the making,” she noted. Hyde felt this was a great payback for the earlier 19-3 loss. “I really thought we could have won that game and that we could have played way more competitively and we proved that here tonight.”
Aside from Miller’s blast, Fallsburg kept the line going with base hits. “A single is a single and if gets the job done that’s all we need,” said Hyde. This was special. I’m really proud of these girls. Hyde gave props to her entire team but cited senior Celia Garcia who has been playing with her since she started her coaching tenure.
Coach Feusner laughed when this writer quipped, “Mama said there’d be days like this.” It seemed as if everything went awry for the Lady Bears including the issuance of walks, yanked throws etc.
“We tip our hats to them. They were a different team today. They played with a lot of confidence and when we were issuing up those walks and hit batters and we didn’t have our act together, they continued to function.”
Feusner credited her team with trying to extend the game in the bottom of the fifth. “We weren’t going to give up the ship,” she said. Tri-Valley seniors include Erin Smith, Rachel Adriaans and Liz Bracken. Aside from those veterans, the Lady Bears are young and up-and-coming.
It’s a learning curve for both of these squads, that’s for sure. But for the Lady Comets, this game will no doubt reside in their collective memory for awhile to come.
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Fourth Term
Livingston Manor Captures Its Fourth Consecutive Benny Chesnick Tournament Title With Wins Over Monticello and Tri-Valley; Two-Time Defending State Champs Look Strong In Post-Diescher Era As Effective Pitching, Timely Hitting and Fielding Combine To Marshal Early Season Victories; Monties Beat T-V In Opener Of Annual SCSO Tourney Renamed For Dearly Departed Umpire; Sullivan West Sweeps Family In Liberty To Earn Share Of Tourney Title.
Monticello 11, Tri-Valley 6
Livingston Manor 10, Monticello 7
Livingston Manor 25, Tri-Valley 5
Sullivan West 15, Family 0
Sullivan West 7, Family 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Scenes from the Benny Chesnick Memorial Softball Tournament Officiated by the Sullivan County Softball Officials (Clockwise): Monticello senior hurler Sam Cohn, Livingston Manor junior Samantha Scott, Monticello senior Emily Morey smacks a three run homer vs. Tri-Valley, Samantha Scott blasts a triple in the first inning vs. Monticello. Tri-Valley sophomore Emily DiToro gets the start in game one. The late Benny Chesnick, Sullivan West ace Hannah Schwatz, Sullivan West's Bethanii Padu lays down a bunt versus Family, Monticello senior Becca Wood fires a strike versus the Lady Bears.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—When it comes to annual events like the Benny Chesnick Memorial Softball Tournament, it is natural to hearken back to prior years in the context of trying to frame the current year’s proceedings.
Things do change from year to year but lately in terms of the Sullivan County Softball Official’s tournament which was renamed a few years back for the late Benny Chesnick, that iconic umpire who spent the lion share of his 80 year tenure on this earth behind the plate, it seems as if at least one thing has remained the same.
And that would be the dominance of Livingston Manor which with this year’s sweep of Monticello (last year’s co-champion by dint of its two wins versus Liberty) and host Tri-Valley, afforded the Lady Wildcats and their coaches Kevin Clifford and Charlie Hicks a chance to pose with the tournament trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
So what was different this year? Well for one thing the sky was bright blue and the weather balmy as opposed to last year’s chilly drizzle. But more importantly, the two-time defending Class D state champs were entering this tournament without the services of Marissa Diescher who is now hurling for Penn State.
Diescher’s high school legacy brought a state record 27 no hitters, 1,345 strike outs for fourth best in state history and last year’s stingy 0.14 ERA. Pitchers of that caliber come along once in a blue moon so for Manor, a new way of winning will have to evolve if the Lady Wildcats are to continue their storied success.
That said, when it comes to softball, pitching is still the name of the game. With her graduation, Diescher turned the ball over to Samantha Scott who was 3-0 in her three starts a year ago with an ERA of 1.65. Scott, a highly competitive junior is clearly enjoying her role as Manor’s number one starter.
She showed her mettle against Monticello by garnering the win and lacing four hits. She’d go on to score four runs in the second game. Her first at bat of the day evinced a booming triple and her second time up she blasted a three-run double.
As I was on call to emcee my 25th consecutive year at the Hortonville Talent Show, I had to leave the game after the third inning so how the game evolved from the 5-0 LM lead to the eventual 10-7 Lady Wildcats win will remain a mystery to me until someone fills in the gaps. (Facebook friends feel free to message me with your version!). Needless to say I wasn’t there for the Lady Wildcats second game wherein Manor eighth grader Kaitlin Rau got a win in her mound debut in the 25-5 landslide victory over the Lady Bears.
I was however present for the tourney opener as Tri-Valley hosted Monticello. But prior to running through the details of that first encounter, it is apropos to offer some words about the tournament itself and though I am not usually given to quoting my own prior writing of sporting events, I do make exceptions when I feel that what I’ve said before remains timely and thoughtful. So with that in mind I am paraphrasing from last year’s article on this tournament , entitled “Wonders Never Cease.”
That piece reiterated an elegy to the man for whom the Sullivan County Softball Officials decided to name their longstanding tournament. The event which is held each spring serves as a training ground for their newest officials to better learn the ropes in overseeing the games.
Umpiring is an art form unto itself and no one in local history was more of an artisan of the craft than Benny Chesnick. I often think about him as I sometimes find myself standing under the blazing sun in the sweltering heat. I used to marvel at his ability to stand in behind that plate for hours on end and never utter a word of complaint. He did that right up to the ripe age of 80.
Chesnick was a beloved icon and an embodiment of Americana itself. Starting out at age ten playing baseball, seventy years later he was still around the plate. For 45 years he umpired games, an arbiter of calls and strikes, an unwavering local ambassador of America’s pastime. I felt privileged to make his acquaintance, to listen to him recall iconic moments from that storehouse of memories he had from so many years around the game.
Benny’s life wasn’t an easy one. But he had his love of umpiring , and to him that was both a blessing and a raison d’ ètre (French for a reason to be).
Chesnick is gone now, but the game he embraced so reverently goes forward each year with new ranks of players to follow behind the legions who have gone before them. Chesnick would have smiled broadly to see such an array of talent, enthusiasm and competiveness being played in a tournament that will forever bear his name.
I like to think he continues to look down on these games, and unlike the rest of us limited by our mortal incapacity to be in more than one place at a time, able to hover over the two towns in which the tournament is unfolding simultaneously to revel in it all. As the fledgling umpires took their turns calling balls and strikes and ruling runners out or safe on the basepaths, they were following in the footsteps of one of the greats.
As promised now, the salient details of the opener which featured a pitching match up between Tri-Valley tenth grader Emily DiToro and Monticello senior Rebecca Wood. The Lady Monties wasted no time in getting on the board as they scored a trio of runs in the top of the first behind a three run jack from senior Emily Morey. The two-out blast scored Wood and Lacey Bray who had arrived on base via a walk and a single.
Tri-Valley got one of those runs back in the bottom of the stanza as Rachel Adriaans scored on a passed ball with Kayla Yager at the plate. An E-6 then loaded the bases but Wood got DiToro to ground out to prevent any further damage.
The second inning was Tri-Valley’s undoing as it allowed eight runs to cross the plate as the Monties batted around. It began with an E-6 that allowed sophomore Ashley Falu to arrive safely at first before DiToro plunked Yami Reyes and walked Wood to load the bases with no outs. An RBI single by Bray and an E-6 off the bat of Sam Cohn plated the first two runs. A passed ball sent another home. A walk to Paulina Pavese loaded them up again setting the table for an RBI single by Catitlin Radlein.
Falu’s stroke of the bat produced another error allowing two more runs in and a double by Reyes sent home two more. When the dust cleared, Monticello held an 11-1 lead. Tri-Valley went scoreless in the bottom of the second as did Monticello in the top of the third. Tri-Valley got its second run of the game in the third inning via an RBI single from Ashley Exner.
Wood drew a bases loaded walk and Cohn produced two runs on a fly out as Tri-Valley misplayed the ball sending it home instead of to third thereby failing to get the runner who tagged up from the hot corner and allowing a second run to score on a throwing error back to third. The Monties now led 14-2.
Neither team scored in the fifth and both added a run in the sixth. Monticello scored on an RBI single by Wood. Tri-Valley manufactured a run as Exner led off with a double, Nicole Bradley walked . Exner stole third and scored as DiToro hit into a double play.
Tri-Valley cut into Monticello’s 15-3 lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Erin Smith had an RBI single , a stolen base and an RBI single by Exner accounted for the final two runs.
Monticello Coach Shannon Dietrich was pleased with the win. “Rebecca is our number two pitcher. She came out and got ahead of batters. Unfortunately she got away from it a little bit and walked a few people. An error happens and that kind of took her out of it mentally. But overall she was able to come back and get the win. The second half of the game she definitely got better as the game went on and that was what I was glad to see. The run support is nice too,” she noted.
On the downside, “We have to work to do in execution. The effort is there. We’re trying and working hard but it’s the little things, the fundamentals that we’re not executing such as covering a base, fielding ground balls, calling for a ball. We missed a sign. Little things like that should be automatic at this level,” noted Dietrich.
“Thank goodness we were able to get the run support early,” she concluded. Dietrich planned on using a flex lineup in the second game as she prepared to send veteran Sam Cohn to the mound. Dietrich brought up freshman Brianna Bennet from the J.V and wanted to get her into the game as well.
Tri-Valley Coach Mary Feusner, now in her 35th year of coaching with 33 of those as head softball coach had this to say about the first game: “We came on hitting pretty decently towards the end of the game. Erin Smith did a great job running the bases effectively and communicating out there. We had first game jitters and our pitching wasn’ t as sharp as it needed to be and our miscues in the field meant we hurt ourselves more than Monticello hurt us,” she noted.
“That happens with the first game out and lots of kids not here during practice because of spring break,” she added.
Game two featured a pitching clash between Manor’s Samantha Scott and Monticello’s Sam Cohn. Cohn did allow the aforementioned triple to Scott in the top of the first but escaped damage by inducing an inning-ending pop up to first off the bat of Victoria Davis.
Scott issued three walks in the second inning but escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Wood to ground out from short to second. After retiring the Monties in order in the top of the second, Livingston Manor scored five in the bottom of the frame as Cohn walked Jordan Miller and Jordyne Shaver before Nina Zheng dropped a perfect bunt down to load the bases . An RBI single by Jamie Sedlacek got the Lady Wildcats on the board. Magi Calo drew a bases loaded walk and Scott then cleared the bases with a a double.
So at the time of my departure, as I mentioned it was 5-0. When I get the details of what happened next I’ll come back and fill them in. As noted, Livingston Manor held on for the 10-7 win as Monticello fell to 2-2. The Lady Wildcats would improve to 3-1 over the as yet winless Lady Bears in the tourney finale.
According to T-V Coach Mary Feusner, “In the final contest of the day, Tri-Valley was plagued with the inability to throw strikes from the circle. Three different pitchers issued 18 walks in a shortened game due to the 15 run rule. It was 3-3 after the first frame and then Manor never looked back as they tallied 7 runs in the second, 8 runs in the fourth and 6 more runs in the fifth frame. Manor had 11 hits. The only extra base hit came from the bat of Megan Edwards. An RBI triple in the fifth. Manor’s pitcher Katie Rau, an eighth grader, picked up her first varsity win.
For the Lady Bears Rachel Adriaans scored twice. Adriaans, Amanda TerBush, Erin Smith, Kayla Yager, Jessica Kinney and Ashley Exner had one hit apiece. Exner’s double in the first plated two teammates.
T-V moves into division play this week with home contests versus Chester and Seward. The Lady Bears venture to Fallsburg on Friday.
Over in Liberty Sullivan West (2-2) beat Family School, 15-0 and won by forfeit 7-0. Hannah Schwatz tossed a no-hitter in the opener, striking out 14, and added two doubles, a triple and single. Katie Taylor went 3-for-4. Schwatz had two hits.
Nick Piatek took photos of one of the Sullivan West game and those pictures along with the albums of the Tri-Valley/Monticello and Monticello/Livingston Manor game (first three innings) can be viewed at www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Fall Bears Extraordinaire
Tri-Valley Fall Sports Athletes Are Extolled For Their Outstanding Efforts
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Tri-Valley athletes enjoy a rare and special relationship with their coaches, a fact tearfully expressed by senior cross-country Co-MVP Olivia Rehm as she offers a tribute to coach Missy Iatauro (center). The Most Valuable Players from this fall appear in clockwise fashion from left to right: Greg Swarthout-football, Jim Bernstein-boys cross-country, Olivia Rehm and Autumn Bender-girls cross-country, Anthony Beale-boys soccer; Heidi Furman-girls tennis; Sarah Schneyer-girls soccer; Josue Ramos-boys soccer; Rachel Adriaans-girls soccer and Ali Reynolds-cheerleading
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—Seasons change and time moves on apace. But memories linger on, especially for young men and women who have given their all to a particular sports endeavor. For the Tri-Valley athletes, this past fall was a wellspring for many such
memories.
So it was that on the evening of November 14, coaches called forth their teams to the stage and extolled their efforts in addition to presenting awards to several outstanding individuals.
By evening’s end, a slide show that chronicled the accomplishments of cheerleaders, cross-country harriers, soccer, football and tennis players flashed across the screen to the strains of uplifting music to reinforce the words of praise that had been spoken all evening long.
Athletic Director Derek Adams welcomed the audience and extended thanks to the parents, administration, building and grounds crew and the Board of Education for their great support. Quoting Nolan Ryan, Adams referenced the idea of enjoying success by virtue of adapting. Clearly this autumn with its surfeit of rainfall required that and more.
Cheerleading coach Leighanne Walsh lauded her team. This was her second year of coaching football cheerleading while all the while preparing routines for the upcoming basketball season. Walsh had great words of praise for seniors Brittany
Rennison, Jessica Lee, Stephanie Hyzer, Jackie Wallace, Amber Watch and AmberBuley. Dorothy Monforte was the team’s
MIP. Ali Reynolds was named as the Most Valuable Cheerleader and Schuyler Kraus won the Coach’s Award.
Junior varsity girls soccer coach Ryan Ahl had words of praise for his team and noted that several of the young women would soon be filling in the rank of the varsity squad next fall.
Varsity girls soccer Coach Mary Feusner started by averring what a privilege it was to work with her team. Challenged by the loss of 12 of last year’s players including nine to graduation, the Lady Bears fielded a team of 13 dedicated players this season bolstered by a few call ups from the junior varsity. Nine of Feusner’s 16 players were first timers. Feusner was assisted this season by Kayla
Connelly, one of her former players who brought her high school and college experience to bear on helping the squad.
The team made it to sectionals and improved on their pair of 7-0 losses to dominant S.S. Seward with a more competitive 3-1 defeat in the Class C quarterfinals.
The team scored 49 goals and had 27 assists while finishing the season at 8-9 and 4-8 in its division. They registered six shutouts and had ten goals against Chapel Field. They allowed 43 goals.
Megan Tyndell was selected as the team’s Most Improved Player. Rachel Adriaans was named as the Offensive MVP, while Sarah Schneyer won the honors as the Defensive MVP. Erin Smith won the Coach’s Award.
Cross-Country Coach Joe Iatauro called forth the boys and girls teams to the stage and proceeded to praise them for their outstanding efforts. The girls were donned in t-shirts that spelled out TEAM IATAURO! The relationship that Joe and Missy
Iatauro have fostered with their teams over the years is an integral part of the storied history the program has recorded.
Evincing strong performances at invitationals from coast to coast including the legendary Mt. Sac race in California was great preparation for the divisional championships recorded by the girls (12th consecutive) and the boys (second year in a row). The girls finished first at Mt. Sac in their division, the first time since 1992. The boys were fourth there out of 30 schools.
The girls won the Section Nine championship, while the boys finished second. The girls competed at this year’s state meet and did admirably despite unspeakably muddy conditions. It was Tri-Valley’s 19th appearance at the state meet.
Brendon Hasbrouck was named as the boys MIP. Jim Bernstein was awarded the honor as the MVP. Bernstein was the
Section Nine Class C champion and a state qualifier for the second consecutive year. He finished 29th in the state meet. Omar Lopez was the recipient of the Coach’s Award.
The girls team had an exceptional season. They were led by eighth grader Autumn Bender, who was named as Co-MVP along with Olivia Rehm. Iatauro lauded the intensive training regimen of his runners, in particular Rehm and Bernstein who logged 400 and 500 miles respectively this past summer. Danielle Graham was named as the girls team MIP.
Varsity football coach John Rusin was up next and literally gushed with pride as he recounted the heart and resolve of the Bears who started their season at 1-5, but could have easily been 5-1. The team had 14 seniors and Rusin praised each one including soccer converts Josue Ramos and Anthony Beale along with gridders Andrew Malone, Fred Dumond, Jon Edwards, Tyler Lopez, Shawn Markle, John Monforte, Rafael Ramos before awarding four other seniors with trophies and more words of praise.
Conor Walsh was named as the team’s MIP. “He played any position we asked him to,” noted Rusin. Troy Rossi was
the team’s Outstanding Defensive Player. He was second on the team in tackles and recorded 3 ½ sacks. “He is an
outstanding defensive player,” said Rusin.
Rusin extolled the courage, grit and success of Joe Mickelson, the team’s Outstanding Offensive Player. Mickelson had a mammoth season a year ago and despite a hairline fracture that kept him out of a couple of game this season, he morphed
from quarterback to fullback and had 53 carries for 391 yards bringing his career total to 508 yards. He also was outstanding on defense as middle linebacker.
“The best of the best,” is what Rusin had to say about MVP Greg Swarthout, a player who never leaves the field. “Durable,” was a word Rusin used to describe the stalwart senior who took over at quarterback when Mickelson went down. “He just gets it,” said Rusin about Swarthout’s intelligent and adept play. The Bears made it to the playoffs but lost to eventual Section Nine champion O’Neill. Winning two key league games including a homecoming thriller against Millbrook proved to be the ticket to this year’s
postseason berth.
Boys varsity soccer Coach Jason Closs lauded his team as a group of special individuals who showed vast improvement this season. Emphasizing rigorous conditioning, the Bears were determined to be in every game. The team had ten seniors including Anthony Beale, Dan Lederman, Hunter Kennedy, Christian Reynolds, Mike DeVault, Josue Ramos, Patrick McHugh, Eugene Morton, Tom Monforte and Ryan Erts.
Josue Ramos and Anthony Beale were named as Offensive MVP’s, while Tom Monforte received the honors as Defensive MVP.
Girls varsity tennis coach Janet Carey capped off the team presentations as she described the challenges of the merging of three divisions into two this season. That change meant playing bigger schools and tougher opponents. The team graduated its
entire roster last year except for its number-one singles player Heidi Furman who was joined on the team this season by fellow senior throwing cohort Dominique Darby.
Jennifer Sheeley was named as the team’s MIP, while veteran Heidi Furman was the obvious choice for MVP.
This writer spoke about the outstanding character evinced by Tri-Valley athletes and their impeccable sportsmanship. Benefiting from a supportive school and community and in particular affirming parents and coaches who serve as mentors and role models,
T-V athletes are making a valuable investment in their future through their efforts on the playing fields, courts and race venues.
Last winter was an exceptional one and as kids now move on to basketball, skiing, wrestling, cheerleading and indoor track, this year may well be dubbed “Tri-umphant Valley II.
For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
On The Rebound
Seward Puts Stinging Loss To Tuxedo In Rearview Mirror With Rhythmic Romp Over Tri-Valley; Lady Spartans and Lady Bears Slated To Play In Sectional Opener As Seward Looks To Begin Another Storied Postseason Run; Loyas Edges Closer To 100-Career Goal Milestone; Stam Scores The Hat Trick
S.S. Seward 7, Tri-Valley 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
Scenes from a sectional preview between Tri-Valley and S.S. Seward (Clockwise): T-V's Vicky Tingley throws the ball in. Tri-Valley seniors Rachel Adriaans, Sarah Schneyer, Hope Costa and Erin Smith. Rachel Adriaans leaps as she looks to control the ball. Seward's Sinead Brosnan moves ahead as she is marked by T-V's Colleen Jones, T-V's Mareena DiMilia sends the ball forward.Gladys Loyas sends in a corner kick. Vicky Tingley begins a run up the sideline as she is pursued by Seward's Allison Morgan. Danielle Stam works to move the ball between T-V's Kaitlynn Greffrath and Megan Tyndell, Gladys Loyas sends the ball by Sarah Coney and Seward's Cassi Martin and T-V's Kaitlynn Greffrath vie for a ball.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” goes the oft-quoted line.
Imagine then the pent-up rage of a dozen or more young females who have felt their honor compromised and beware of the revenge they vow to exact.
I’m referencing here the damaged egos of the S.S. Seward Lady Spartans from a stinging defeat the prior day to league rival Tuxedo. The resultant impact would fall first on guiltless Tri-Valley as the orange-clad whirlwind vowed to get the wind back in their sails for the coming “C” wars by playing their special brand of soccer with a renewed fervor.
Seward senior striker Danielle Stam scores the first of her three goals on the day as the ball veers by Erin Smith just over four minutes into the game.
For the immensely talented Lady Spartans of S.S. Seward, it wasn’t their first loss of the season, a 3-0 blanking to Class A Goshen on October 18 in the Middletown Tournament that got the girls from the storied program and their iconic coach Joe DiMattina in a tizzy.
Rather it was the stunning 5-3 league loss to Tuxedo on October 25 that turned the Orange Crush into the temporarily crushed orange.
To say that DiMattina and his girls were disappointed by the defeat which marred their up-to-then undefeated league record would be a ridiculous understatement.
In their two prior outings, the Lady Spartans had shut out the Lady Tornadoes to the tune of 4-0 in their first league set-to on October 11 and to the harmonious strains of 5-0 in the consolation game of the Middie Tourney.
They say it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season and that may be true. But when you come from a pedigree like Seward’s where success is far more the rule than the exception, such adages seem rather irrelevant as applied to a school that has won ten straight Section Nine girls soccer titles, seven of which have come since DiMattina’s arrival in 2004 from Tuxedo (no less).
Moreover, Seward has reached the state final four every year under his watch and won state championships in 2007 and 2008.
Tri-Valley's Collen Jones passes the ball to Rachel Adriaans in one of the instances that the Lady Bears were heeding Coach Mary Feusner's counsel to keep the passes short.
So what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Consequently, losing to Tuxedo may not be the worst thing for Seward, the Institute of impeccable consistency in the realm of athletic excellence, but rather an infusion of a jolting tonic that will get Seward right back on track. Time will tell.
Tri-Valley had the daunting task of trying to contain Seward, while attempting to author a viable attack that would put some pressure on the defending champs.
To get them the day after their loss to Tuxedo was an unfortunate case of bad timing if they wanted to reverse the tone of their prior 7-0 loss to Seward on September 19 down in the cornfield, the very place they are slated to play them as sectionals begin on October 29.
Having recently garnered a sectional berth by dint of their then 8-7 league mark with a win over Fallsburg, T-V locked up the bottom seed in the Class C dance and drew number-two Seward for the coming sectional opener.
Millbrook is the top seed, Seward’s opponent in the sectional finals the past two years. The Lady Spartans advanced to regional play by getting past the Lady Blazers with one-goal wins in 2009 and 2010.
This was senior day for Tri-Valley, playing its last home game of the season. Rachel Adriaans, Sarah Schneyer, Hope Costa and Erin Smith posed for a group shot before they and then all the other Lady Bears got to hand flowers to their loved ones. That took place at halftime and the girls were all smiles despite being down 5-0 to Seward at that juncture.
Intimidated perhaps by the aura surrounding Seward, T-V had spent far too much time watching rather than running to the ball. Its offensive runs were few and far between, and rarely sustained. Credit Seward’s fine defensive prowess sustained by its flat four back line defense for that ,and its fine passing skills that enabled them to reverse the polarity of the ball once they had wrested control of it mostly in the midfield.
When the Lady Bears did get a speedy run up the sideline by either Mareena DiMilia, Kaitlynn Greffrath or Rachel Adrianns, rarely was there someone positioned in the box to take the cross. To put it succinctly, Tri-Valley’s hesitancy was making it look easy for Seward despite the repeated admonitions of Coach Mary Feusner.
Gladys Loyas had two goals on the day, bringing this season's total to 34 as the leading scorer in Section Nine. Coupled with 60 goals amassed over the past three years, including 31 a year ago, 26 as a freshman and three as a defensive eighth grader, the talented potential Olympian is just six shy of the 100-goal career miletsone formerly reached by Lady Spartans Theresa Space and Jillian Collova.
Seward senior standout Danielle Stam and Elizabeth Gorshack immediately marshaled control of the ball in the T-V end.
At 4:30 in Stam sent one by T-V’s agile keeper Erin Smith on an assist from Gorshack.
Seward nearly had another goal on a corner kick from Gladys Loyas as Sinead Brosnan just missed a chance in the box.
At ten minutes in Stam struck again to make it 2-0.
At 19:10 in it was junior Alyssa McLaughlin’s turn as she scored off a jumble in front of the box following yet another Seward corner kick. Trailing 3-0 just about halfway through the first half, T-V tried to fight back.
Their physical intensity was there but they were missing that kind of aggressive edge they marshal against teams they know they can beat.
Smith had a nice save on a shot by Brosnan just past the 20-minute mark. By game’s end she’d tally 16.
“Where are we on the attack?” barked T-V Coach Mary Feusner. “We’re standing around and watching!”
Tri-Valley’s first viable run soon came about resulting in a shot by Sarah Coney. Heather Fraser hung on for the save.
Stam picked up her third goal on an assist from Loyas at 33:00 minutes in. It was her 22nd of the season. For her part, Loyas had five shots in the first half, none of which found their mark. She’d alter that in the second period.
Just one minute after Stam’s latest strike, Brosnan scored to make it five-zip.
That would be it for first half scoring as Seward had outgunned Tri-Valley 27-1 enroute to a 31-4 margin in shots on goal by game’s end.
Loyas got on the board at 28:24 of the second period on the first of two unassisted goals. Those two goals gave her 34 this season, which coupled with her 60 which she amassed over the past three season leaves her just six goals shy of the 100-goal milestone. She would be the third Lady Spartan to reach that storied achievement, following in the footsteps of Theresa Space (157 goals) and Jillian Collova (119 goals).
Loyas got three goals as a defensive eighth grader. As a striker during her freshman and sophomore years she amassed 26 and 31 respectively. She is now positioned as a midfielder.
Erin Smith sends the ball safely over the top of the cage in one of her 16 saves on the day.
Loyas is also running cross-country again this season. Last year she qualified for states with her fifth place finish in the Section Nine Class D championships.
Scoring two goals in Seward’s quarterfinal win over Friends Academy the day before the state race left her without a full tank in the gas for that event.
Last winter Loyas played basketball too, but soccer is clearly her forte.
This past summer she made the Olympic Development Program Regional Team which means that she has been identified as one of the 30 best players in the 13 Northeast states.
She will fly to California in February to compete for a spot to represent the USA. Only about 120 girls from across the country have been identified and invited.
She has also received D1 offers from St Bonaventure and Monmouth University to play soccer in college on an athletic scholarship.
In addition,, she is waiting on offers from American University, Manhattan College, West Point, University of Arkansas, Stony Brook University, Lafayette College and Hofstra, while talking to about a dozen others including Swarthmore and Amherst.
DiMattina responded to this writer’s assertion that the level of soccer his team plays is markedly above what I normally get to cover. “It is… as long as they do what they’re supposed to do,” he answered. “You saw that here today. They all know they didn’t play well yesterday and it definitely showed. I’m glad we got back into our rhythm here and never, ever, ever take anybody lightly.”
Seward plays a different array defensively. “Most teams do play with a sweeper but I play a flat four. The only reason why I do that is because I think the girls can do it. It all depends on the personnel. This year we have three new girls back there as senior Kari Ward is the only returnee to that backline array. We had to convert a midfielder back to defender and we brought up a player from J.V. It seems to be working pretty nicely. At times we do struggle because we’re still learning.”
As to the offensive firepower provided by Stam and Loyas, the coach observed, “People do try to mark them and that’s fine. Then we’ll just use the outside players. They are a very good one-two punch,” he said referencing Stam and Loyas.
With the expected pressure on those two, the rest of the team is very good at passing the ball away from them to relieve the pressure and then getting it back to them, something they didn’t do in the loss to Tuxedo.
“We kind of played a kickball game. I told the girls on the bus coming over here today if it’s not there, it’s not there. Use the outside forwards and then they’ll get it back eventually,” he noted. `
Sarah Coney authors T-V's most viable run in the first half.
Coach Feusner admitted that her team looked timid. “We told them you have to initiate the play. Instead they were sitting back and reacting to everything.
You can’t do that against a team like that. You’ve got to take control of the ball and that was not happening. We asked them to use the short passing game because the long pass just doesn’t go with their deep backs.
I kept reminding them, go back to the game plan..go back to the short passes,” she averred.
“We have to have our numbers up to do something but I think the girls are waiting for Mareena DiMilia or Rachel Adriaans to do something. They knew they would have to play defense today but sometimes they don’t understand how quickly they have to get into the transition to move on the attack.”
Erin played a wonderful game today,” she added noting that at times when trying to clear the ball, T-V passed it right to orange feet. Then it’s one touch and go for them.”
Feusner hopes she’ll be able to get her team’s psyche ready for a more competitive outing against Seward in the sectional game on October 29. “We’re going to practice getting to the ball, a mantra she repeated three times and we’re going to accentuate the short passing game. I’m not going to allow those long passes,” she vowed.
Goalie saves: S – Heather Fraser 4; TV – Erin Smith 16.
Records: Seward 14-2-0 (11-1-0 OCIAA); T-V 8-8-0 (4-8-0 OCIAA).
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
The Next Wave
Tri-Valley And Eldred Work Assiduously To Improve As Teams Look To Fill In For Grads And Injured Players; Lady Bears Come Away With A League Win As Offense Comes On Strong In Second Half
Tri-Valley 3, Eldred 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
Scenes from a league clash between host Tri-Valley and visiting Eldred (clockwise): Tri-Valley junior Mareena DiMilia controls the ball before heading upfield to score on a breakaway. Eldred junior keeper Julia Wilk goes airborne to punch a ball out of harm's way. Wilk is filling in for Kayla Flieger who was injured and out for the season. Eldred's Shannon Brucher fires a ball by a ducking Rachel Adriaans in a heated encounter. T-V senior Sarah Schneyer throws in. As sweeper, Schneyer is a great defensive asset for the Lady Bears.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—For the first time in my ten years of sports coverage, I didn’t begin my fall season with a visit to Tri-Valley in the first week of September for the annual Tri-Valley tournament. That first-week view of Tri-Valley, Monticello, Eldred and Ellenville always struck me as a great way to begin my fall.
Coach Mary Feusner’s tournament had history and class and it was always competitive, impeccably well-run and a great opportunity to see four fine teams in one fell swoop.
Tri-Valley senior Rachel Adriaans heads upfield as Eldred' senior Caitlin Hallock shadows her.
But sadly this year there was no tourney due to the burgeoning size of Division V with its seven teams. That left Class D Family School and Chapel Field with fewer league games as Livingston Manor/Roscoe now joined Eldred, Tuxedo, S.S. Seward, Fallsburg, Chester and Tri-Valley as part of the new “C” scape.
Consequently the vaunted tourney went by the wayside to accommodate the demands of the changing array. I for one, hope to see it return in coming years.
September came and went and racing around trying to keep up with all varsity sports primarily in the five school districts I blanket, I realized that here it was October and that I had yet to see either T-V or Eldred play.
So apologetically I crossed the field as the teams were warming up to say hello Coaches Mary Feusner and Kelly Robertson of T-V and Eldred respectively and to convey my regrets on my tardy arrival to their seasons now at their midpoint.
One quick glance around the field apprised me of just how much talent went out the door last June and the preponderance of younger players inhabiting the pitch. For Eldred the loss of icons like Kim Elvin, Meaghan Hazen, Diana Schombs and Sam Ferguson were made worse this fall by a spate of injuries that have seen season-ending injuries to senior starting keeper Kayla Flieger, junior Kayln Drasher, sophomore Nicole Elvin and freshman Angie Schadt. Another freshman, Lauren Frey is out for a couple of weeks leaving Robertson with a paper thin bench.
“Angie and Lauren played forward in the early part of the season and now we have other people filling in those spots, “Robertson noted.
Luckily Eldred has junior Jackie Terry back now. She was out with an injury too.
Back in action following an injury, Eldred junior Jackie Terry is doing her part to make things happen. Here she sends a ball destined to go out of bounds back up the field.
While a number of Eldred’s current players were on varsity last year, they saw little playing time I the upper-class dominated array of Lady Yellow Jackets. To make matters worse, there is no junior varsity team this year so that valuable training is now being undergone in varsity games against much-more seasoned opponents , especially in schools like Tuxedo, Seward and LMR.
As for Tri-Valley, graduation marked the exit of great talent in Jakki Pugh, Emma Tingley, Kathryn Schneyer and Agnes Pompeii, just to name a few. MIP Caroline Martin transferred to Monticello and did return to T-V, but too late to play this year.
For Feusner, losing dynamic striker/midfielder Katlynn Greffrath to a knee injury has certainly hurt a team already struggling on offense.
But as is the case with all teams, players left in the fold must step up and form the next vanguard. There is no looking back.
Tri-Valley kicked off and Eldred looked to be aggressive early on. Eldred was doing a good job of keeping it in the T-V end. For her part, Schneyer was busy turning it right back upfield. For the first few minutes the ball remained in the T-V end until the Lady Bears made a brief run up the right side that Eldred turned back.
“Nobody’s making runs out there,” barked Feusner. “This is not a game to stand still. Make the runs!”
Around and through: T-V's Mareena DiMilia gets the ball by eldred's Abigail Ellert on her way towards making a breakaway shot on goal.
Eldred senior Breanna Brucher’s shot went wide left. T-V pushed it back and a shot off of the back of Rachel Adriaans was saved by Wilk. The ball went into the Eldred end and they were unable to clear it. A minute later Amanda Tyndell buried one inside the right post at 12:17 for the 1-0 Lady Bears’ lead. The goal was unassisted.
T-V junior Mareena DiMilia had a nice shot but Wilk made a great deflection of the ball for the save.
The Lady Bears kept up the pressure but crosses to Tara Kaplan and Emily DiToro failed to register. When Eldred did advance the ball now, it was quickly turned back. Eldred breakaways up the middle of the field were missing players on the wing and conversely, runs up the sideline were not supported by players in the middle to take the cross.
“We’ve been trying to work on Breanna and Alexis sending balls to the flags and getting our forwards to work it back in but it did not work for us today. I thought we really started out strong today especially with Hannah Bisland going up the line but she had trouble finishing today,” Coach Robertson would later note.
DiMilia began to work a number of breakaways where she would pick up the ball at her own 15 or 20 and use her speed to go around and Eldred defender. Other Lady Yellow Jackets were not coming over to cut off her advance and it was only a matter of time before she would score.
The first half ended with T-V leading 1-0 but DiMilia picked right up where she left off and scored at 4:17 to make it two-zip.
DiToro made it three-nothing with a goal at 28:03 as Tri-Valley appeared far fresher in the second half versus an Eldred team that was showing signs of fatigue.
Eldred senior Breanna Brucher uses her speed to get by Tri-Valley's Tara Kaplan but the Lady Yellowjackets failed to support such runs which faltered throughout the afternoon.
Robertson agree that fatigue was a factor. “They’re running a full 90 minutes without a strong sub for them. With all the rain we’ve been running indoor practices,” she added.
“I am happy with the play that the girls gave their all,” she said though she had told her team at the game’s conclusion that they had failed to capitalize on upwards of 20 shots on goal. Julia Wilk served as keeper the first half and Heather Hallock took over in the second half. “Julia has been my main goalie since Kayla Flieger got hurt. This is Julia’s first year being our main goalie and even though Heather is a ninth grader she seems to have really good skills too. Julia gets pretty big in the goal and our defenders know to back off when she’s got it,” she added.
Eldred is now 1-6-1 (0-6-1 OCIAA).Their win came against Family School and they tied Fallsburg. Tri-Valley improved to 4-6 (2-6 OCIAA). Prior wins came against Family School, Fallsburg and Chapel Field.
Feusner noted, “We played a better second half today. We were down a sub or two so we got everyone involved. I was pleased with the opportunities we had in the box. We didn’t always put the ball in the back of the net but we had lots of opportunities in both halves and we haven’t always had that this year.”
Feusner went on to say, “We’ve been in the defensive end way too much.” Speaking of defense, Feusner had great praise for senior sweeper Sarah Sc hneyer. “You need a strong player at that position and Sarah fits the bill. We tried her at flatback earlier this season and it was working. We were getting a lot of offsides traps but they were telling me they were not comfortable with it if someone got past they didn’t have the confidence to be back there without Sarah.”
Feusner felt her team played well and noted that Mareena DiMilia had one of her best games of the season. Keeper duties were shared by Ashley Exner and Erin Smith. Exner had four saves and Smith had three.
Tri-Valley will host Family School on October 7, while Eldred visits S.S. Seward. T-V and Eldred will meet again under the lights on the Lady Yellow Jackets’ pitch on October 19.
For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
