Field Hockey: Panthers Victorious Against Bears

After going winless in their first five games (0-4-1), getting a win against any team would have been sweet for the Panthers.

And getting that win against rival made getting into the win column that much sweeter, especially for senior co-captain Amanda Nowacki.

Pleasantville jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead against visiting Briarcliff (1-4) on Wednesday and held on for a 2-1 triumph.

“This win means a lot to us because we have been getting a lot of losses and we finally got a tie yesterday (0-0 at Croton-Harmon), now we progressed to a win today,” Nowacki said. “Me personally, I have been playing varsity field hockey for Pleasantville for three years now and it’s the first time I have beat Briarcliff. This is really exciting. We are picking up a lot of momentum for our team to get going for the rest of the season.”

Pleasantville garnered plenty of momentum early in the game against the Bears when Anne Horton scored nine minutes into the opening half with Katie Hughes registering an assist, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

“We just got a lot of passing down,” Nowacki said. “We are a really young team this year so it’s just a matter of adjusting to each other. We finally started to click with each other, get give and goes. We were really working with each other today.”

Five minutes later, Hughes scored with Alyssa Nagel assisting, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead they would take into the half.

“Offensively, we were moving the ball really well,” Pleasantville Coach Kristen Coffey said. “It was clicking for us at that particular moment. It was just a critical thing for our team, considering that we hadn’t won a game yet. To get such a nice lead was good.”

Briarcliff was determined to cut the Panthers’ lead in half and did just that right after halftime. Briarcliff’s Kristiana Roth scored one minute into the second half, cutting the Panthers lead to 2-1.

“That goal was huge,” Briarcliff Coach Danielle Fiore said. “It brought our intensity level up. It was a big confidence boost. The girls really got into it after that. They played well from then on. They really put the pressure on.”

Unfortunately for the Bears, they were going against a red hot Panthers goalie, Caroline Fraylick, who made 11 saves.

“Caroline is just all-around can do that any day,” Nowacki said. “She is an amazing athlete. She really helps us. She is a confident girl. She is a very aggressive goalie. She always has a lot of saves.”

Fraylick had to make those saves because of the opportunities Briarcliff’s offense was able to create but unfortunately for its sake, it wasn’t able to cash in often enough.

“Offensively, they played strong but I think they could’ve played a lot stronger,” Fiore said. “There were, a bunch of cross balls that we just missed. A lot of opportunities are there, we just aren’t closing. Our intensity level was up, I am glad about that.”

Fiore was also happy about the play of her defense, backed in goal by six saves from Natalie Paulmeno.

“Defensively, they played phenomenal,” Fiore said. “They marked up, there intensity level was up, they were strong. I could not have asked more from my defense.”

The local squads will meet again Oct. 12 at 4:15 p.m. at Briarcliff.

“It’s a huge game,” Fiore said. “Not only are they in our league, they are a mile down the road. Briarcliff and Pleasantville is a pretty big rivalry, this game was pretty big. They are coming to us in a couple of weeks so we definitely will have a second chance at them at our home field.”