Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch Weekly Sports Report

Sailors enjoy winning start

Hendrick Hudson's boys lacrosse squad has gotten off to a 3-2 start and one reason for their success is senior attackmen Kyle Fanning and Mike Bertoline playing. Fanning and Bertoline were particularly hot in the Sailors' 16-5 triumph against visiting North Salem on April 7.

Fanning registered five goals and two assists while Bertoline tallied four goals and four assists.

"These two have been playing varsity for so long, that they know what to expect, they both are going to play in college," Hen Hud coach Craig Solomon said. "You expect them to perform to those expectations. They each have a great understanding of the game and ability. So when they are working together nicely, seeing the field well and being unselfish, a lot of good things happen."

Tyler Seger (three goals, one assist), Phil Siegel (one goal, three assists), Vinny Laureti (one goal, one assist), Matt Ryan (one goal), Kevin McDermott (one goal) and Eddie Gilman (10 saves) also contributed to the victory.

"With the limited numbers (16 players on the roster) and guys having to step in and do different things, I thought we really did a nice job," Solomon said. "Matt Ledwin with the faceoffs was outstanding, he won almost every single one of them. Him able to possess the ball as much as he did helped us with our limited numbers as kids don't have to go up and down the field and we can control the game and dictate what happens. It was a nice team effort."

Fanning and senior defenseman A.J. Small have shown that their efforts have paid off as both will be playing lacrosse next year at Nazareth College in Rochester.

"I think it's great," Solomon said. "My assistant coach, Jordan Hirsch, played there, he had a great career, played in a national championship game. To play at top-notch program at the Division III level and get a quality education is something that these kids are going to benefit from."

Montesarchio back in area

While in college, 2005 Walter Panas graduate Mary Montesarchio played girls lacrosse at Sacred Heart. She is now back in the area, coaching the Hendrick Hudson girls lacrosse squad.

Montesarchio, who was an honorable-mention All-American while playing for Lakeland/Panas and coach Sharon Sarsen, said she is owes a lot to Sarsen.

“Sarsen is one of the reasons why I played lacrosse in college," Montesarchio said. "She is a great coach. She has a great reputation. She is so cool, calm and collective on the sideline. She just knows so much about the game. When you play for her, you want to do good and make her proud. She just puts so much time into it, you want to repay her by playing well.”

One of the more important things she learned from Sarsen about coaching is the time you have to put into it in order to be successful.

“She gives up everything to have good teams," Montesarchio said. "She is very dedicated to the sport and makes her players dedicated.”

As for the team she coaches at Hen Hud (1-2), Montesarchio said the backbone of the defense is senior goalie Kelsey Rosenblum.

“She is a great goalie," Rosenblum said. "She makes awesome saves whether they have a defender on them or not. She is off to a good start so far. We have had three games and she has played well in each one of them.”

Sophomore Kennedy Sherman, Angela Marriott and Bailey Stewart are young but talented players who play key roles at midfield and attack.

Sophomore Lindsey Luposello is a strong player, who hustles and provides good communication skills to her defensive position.

“We are very young team," Montesarshio said. "This is my first year coaching so we are all trying to get on the same page, taking it game by game, setting goals for each game and try to do well in our league.”

Peekskill competitive against O'Neill

Peekskill's boys lacrosse squad may have gotten off to a 0-3 start but has showed that it can be competitive. The Red Devils fought especially hard in their home opener April 6 against O'Neill, where it had cut the visitors lead to one, 7-6 at the end of the third quarter, before falling 11-6.

“We were working the ball around," Peekskill coach and 2004 Yorktown graduate Jason Jakimer said. "Our defense was on target. At the end of the game I think we got a little bit sloppy. We were doing those all or nothing checks, which threw us out of positions and created momentum for O’Neill.”

Leading the way for Peekskill was Robert Lyles (three goals), Juan Guzman (two) and Brandon Browne (one), who combined for the Red Devils' six goals

“They played really well together," Jakimer said. "They have good chemistry with one another.”

Jakimer said the team is shooting for the goal of making the sectionals this year.

“As for goals and expectations, I thought it was fair for us to do that as a team," Jakimer said. "We did that in the beginning of the season. I asked the players what their goals were at the beginning of the season and what I should help them achieve and that’s getting into the sectionals. So those are my expectations for the season.”