Somers Heads to Section Finals with 2-1 Victory Over Pleasantville

Please see tip, pledge and subscribe buttons

Click for all Fall Slideshows

On Wednesday October 30, Somers traveled to Pleasantville for the semifinal round of the sectionals, and the Tuskers weren’t swayed by the bracketology. The girls took a 2-0 first half lead and the margin held for 30 more minutes. Still, a Pleasantville goal at 9:01 did sew some doubt but not on the field, according to Julia Arbelaez.

“One goal against us is not going to stop us. We’re not going to get worried,” she asserted. “We’re going to stay composed,” and the defending section champs did just that in holding onto a 2-1 win.

Of course, the stability began when Arbelaez started up with her running mate. In control at the 30, Arbelaez lofted the ball at 37:50, and even though there was too much leg for Tiana Righetti to chase down, the tandem would soon be in sync.

After Julia Schmidberger rose high to cut off Pleasantville corner kick, Marley Hawkins sent the loose ball ahead to Lily Mazzella, and she led Arbelaez on the gallop. A crowd of Panthers drawn, it was the elephant who was on scent. “I knew exactly where she was,” said Arbelaez of RIghetti.

A little tap to the center, and Righetti marveled at the subtlety of the set up. “It’s not about power. It’s about when you play it and how,” she said.

The same for the goal. Ten yards out, the attacker took her time and another low velocity piece of precision had the passer returning the praise. “She made a great finish,” boaster Arbelaez.

Righetti was a little short on Somers next chance, though. As Bella Wissa hovered alone inside midfield, she chipped up to Righetti above the circle. But there was too much height on the ball, and Montana Peppard won the race with Mazzella bearing down at 27 minutes.

Two minutes later, Somers added more feet to the fire. At midfield, Aurora Ulaj controlled the ball on the sideline, pushed left to Righetti, and she led left to Mazzella. Getting a little space on the defense, Mazzella centered back to Righetti, and the defensive convergence kicked the ball to Arbelaez. Up high, she swung her leg for a shot, but Peppard was there.

So was Schmidberger after Righetti was whistled for a takedown in the Somers zone. First Schmidberger punched the penalty shot away from the top left corner, and on the subsequent corner kick, the goalie’s flying deflection allowed Mazzella to make the clear at 17:15.

From there, the offense continued playing the long ball to maintain the pressure, and on defense, the Tuskers trapped and contained the Pleasantville attack. Quick on their feet too, Natalie D’Ippolito not only won the race to a cross pass to the corner but got the ball upfield for the next Somers chance.

That left Righetti charging down the middle, and on the dish, Ulaj refused to relinquish in the face of all the Panther attention. She was able to find Madison Kourakos, and despite being in a crowd, the senior’s shot sent Peppard diving right for the save at 8:51.

Somers eventually made the most of the clutter, though. On the Hawkins throw in, Ulaj took what was given when the defender did not see her coming in. Getting behind, she said, “I took a touch, stepped and saw Kate, so I decided to go for it.”

Out front, Hanford still had plenty of work to do. “I didn’t have a good view,” she said. “I had a player in front of me, so I kind of swung and hoped to get something on it.” Off her right foot, Peppard was out of step, and Somers took a 2-0 lead at 3:42.

The girls didn’t stop either. Hawkins headed a corner kick off the post, and Righetti angled a shot just wide to end the half. Pleasantville didn’t forget they were the top seed, though, and came out firing in the second.

On the hair trigger, Mary Kate Winn provided much of the barrage on the sideline. At 38 minutes, the eight grader stole the ball on the Somers side, and as she ran neck and neck with Natalie D’Ippolito, enough edge emerged for a pass to the crease. Hovering untouched, the ball rolled through to Elenah Lavigne, and the Somers faithful held their breath at point blank.

Exhale, the middie kicked well over the crossbar, but Winn was soon up for a redo. Again with D’Ippolito draping her, a centering pass raised the threat level. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Mazzella blocked the shot because the daylight was too brief.

The sun wasn’t setting on WInn just yet, though. At 32:55, she took a lead pass into the corner, eluded D’Ippolito, and penetration put the ball perilously in front again. Not enough foot, Schmidberger still had to dive left on Samantha Schultz’s push.

So when Righetti committed a foul on a streaking Winn at 30:50, a strategy was emerging. “Taking the foul, it stopped their momentum,” said Ulaj “That kept them from driving forward, and they would have to rebuild everything.”

The old fashioned way worked too. Moments later, Winn was heading into the corner, and Somers sent the double team. She went down in a heap all by herself, but then Somers stood tall when Faith Brown had a clear line of sight at 17:15. Not panicking, Mazzella moved into position and body blocked the shot.

More of the same on the way, Pleasantville finally broke through at 9:01. Brown lofted a high bouncer straight down the middle of the field, and the three defenders around Schultz could not get a handle. The Panther played the bounce perfectly, and beat Schmidberger in the right corner.

A game again, Somers didn’t take kindly, and Arbelaez’s spike in determination conveyed the disdain. After starting the passing down the field and putting a shot on goal at 8:15, she left the right side of the defense in the dust and hit the outside of the post at 6:45.

Two minutes later, she charged through the Pleasantville defense, and now the home team was forced to foul. The easy stop meant little in comparison to the minute that ticked off the clock.

The final two hundred seconds mostly had Somers kicking the ball out of bounds, and one final clear by Hawkins had D’Ippolito eyeing Saturday versus Rye. “We’re hoping to come away with a W,” the freshman concluded.