Into Each Life A Little Rain Must Fall / Varsity Girls and Boys Lacrosse and Varsity Baseball All Lose Tough Semi Final Contests

Much like the dreary weather conditions of the last few days, which have caused the cancellation of numerous Middle School athletic contests, the mood of many Portledge Varsity athletes was dark and gloomy Monday evening. Earlier that afternoon the seasons of three Varsity teams had come to a close because of defeats in playoff contests. Players on each of these teams had dreams of celebrating championships with raucous pile ons in the middle of the field, followed by joyous bus rides home from the championship sites filled with laughter and lauding. Sadly, however, these dreams were not to be realized as the Portledge squads ran into obstacles that were too difficult to overcome. What should not be lost though in the deflation of defeat is an appreciation for, and a recognition of, the truly amazing effort and commitment that all the individuals who make up these athletic programs have put forward. I vividly remember coming to my office in the gym on a Sunday afternoon in February and, to my surprise, seeing Reid Erickson, Adam Kravietz and some of the other Panther hurlers throwing pitches to Mr. O'Rourke in preparation for the opening of baseball season. I also remember the Varsity Lacrosse teams gathering at 4:00am to catch their early morning flight to Florida, just so they could get in that one extra afternoon of practice in the warm weather. Because of some delays with their baggage, the Varsity Girls team was not ready to go over to the practice facility until around 11:00pm that night, but rather than go to bed and wait till the next day, the girls coaches, who did an amazing job all year, tracked down a bus and the team wound up practicing to well past midnight, only to be on the field again early the next morning. These are stories of true dedication to a shared purpose, that is to be the best you can be. Somehow athletics finds a way to bring this type of noble character out of all those that choose to participate. So while I hold some sadness in my heart that our teams were beaten on Monday afternoon, it is quickly replaced by the feelings of respect and pride I have concerning our Portledge athletes and their coaches. Don't you worry, plans for next year's spring training trips and Varsity scheduling making are already underway, and I can assure you that the Varsity Lacrosse teams, the Varsity Baseball team and the Varsity Boys Tennis and Varsity Golf teams will all be back looking, once again, to capture championships and unleash raucous celebrations. Let's hope we can all be part of one!

What Happened in the IPPSAL Varsity Boys Baseball Semi Final?

What happened was that a heavily favored Upper Room team received the scare of its life before finally cruising to victory over a young and eager Panther squad. Portledge "Ace" pitcher, Senior Reid Erickson, did a masterful job through the first four innings keeping the heavy hitting Upper Room line up off balance, and the Portledge offense managed to score a few runs gaainst what has beena dominant pitching staff all year. Then, with Portledge trailing by a score of 4-3 and the Upper Room bench getting a bit nervous, some of the Panthers inexperience began to show a bit. A few errors and some timely Upper Room hits later, the Big Red Machine of Dix Hills was on its way to the IPPSAL Championships (which they went on to win by a score of 13-4 over OSNA of Centereach). Most of the juniors and seniors on this Panther team have been with the baseball program since it began. They should all be very proud of their combined accomplishment of getting Portledge Baseball on the map and on its way up in the independent school ranks. With the arrival of many new faces from what is currently an undefeated 7/8 team next year, the Portledge Varsity Baseball team is certainly looking good going forward.

How Did the Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team of Hackley Manage to Defeat Our Promising Squad?

Sometimes in playoff competition it comes down to goaltending. This was one of the biggest reasons behind Hackley's victory. The black clad keeper made several incredible saves and played an all around great game in leading her team to victory by a score of 10-8 over the Lady Panthers. The Portledge girls really came together this year and saw the potential of what the Portledge Girls Lacrosse Program can become. Hackley has been a quality program, sending many players to Division I college teams, for a long time, and the Portledge girls played them hard all season defeating them once earlier, before losing the hard fought playoff contest. While the team will have to rebuild on defense a bit, the entire offense will return and should lead the way to another assault on the NYSAISAA Girls Lacrosse Championship.

What Happened in the NYMLA Semi Final Between the Portledge Varsity Lacrosse Team and Their Opponents, the Fordham Rams?

The most important play of this game might have occurred in the closing seconds of the Panther's 12-11 quarterfinal win over the Trinity School of NYC. That's when Portledge captain, face off man and star midfielder, Aaron Lee, went down with a broken collarbone. The Panthers had already lost another potential All American, Junior Tim Morrison, to the same injury half way through the season. The team had really come together since that injury and was playing some outstanding lacrosse. This time there just wasn't enough time to successfully make the necessary adjustments to compensate for the loss of such a fine player. The Panthers played a hard game v. Fordham, taking the lead early and pushing the pace of play, but in the end, without Lee's controlling presence in the midfield the deeper and very solid Fordham team proved to be a bit too much for the Panthers to handle. The final score of 7-5 illustrates how well the Panthers defense and Junior goalie Dan Duffy played, however, it wasn't enough as the offense struggled a bit against an excellent zone defense played by the aggressive Rams. While the team will miss the contributions of graduating Seniors Austin Prey (Academic All American), Christian Works (15 goal scorer), Alfred "Big Al" Vitsentzos, Zach Lombardi and Eric and Alain Mathieu, the returning cast of characters (and they certainly are that) is a strong one. So watch out NYMLA, because the Panthers will be a growling, hungry lot next spring.

Excitement Mounts/ Varsity Girls Lacrosse Wins Convincingly Following Boys Victory in Nail Biter

It was some weekend of lacrosse at Portledge School. Large crowds turned out to cheer on the Varsity Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams as they both competed in the quarterfinals of their respective athletic associations. Things got started on Saturday afternoon with the boys team facing Trinity School of NYC in a NYMLA quarterfinal match up, while on Sunday it was the girls turn as they took on Holy Child of Westchester in the quarter final game of the NYSAISAA Tournament.

What Happened in the Boys game on Saturday?

You could not have had a better day for a big lacrosse game than this past Saturday. The sky was blue, it wasn't too hot, and both teams were ready to score some goals. The Panthers came out a little flat and before long found themselves trailling 3-1 in the early going. Then the Portledge offense exploded as the Panthers registered a 7 goal second quarter. The highlight of the run came as the final seconds of the first half were ticking by. Junior defender Anker Johansan got the play going by forcing a turnover in the Panthers defensive zone. After Johansan recovered the ball it went on to touch five other players sticks before Junior Renny Kraft finally deposited the " rock" in the back of the Trinity net. This type of unselfish team play has been the hallmark of the Panther efforts over the last month or so.

Trinity gave the Panthers all they could handle in the second stanza as they fought back from 5 goals down to trail by only one in the closing minutes. Junior goalie Dan Duffy made some crucial saves as time ran out to preserve the Portledge victory, and now it's on to the semi finals and a date with an old Portledge boys lacrosse rival, Fordham Prep. GAMETIME is 4:30 on Monday, May 19th @ Portledge.

How Was the Girls Game on Sunday?

With a big crowd gathered under a dark and threatening sky the Portledge Varsity Girls Lacrosse team prepared to start a run into the NYSAISAA Tournament by taking on the girls of the Holy Child School of Westchester. To say that that the Lady Panthers were convincingly better than their foes from across the Sound does not do justice to the exceptional play of the Portledge team. Right from the opening minutes when Sophomore Claudia Rogers stormed down the field and rocketed a shot past the helpless HC keeper the outcome was never in doubt. The Portledge attack came in waves as the Holy Child defense had no answer for the passing and shooting skills of Junior Siena Falino and Sophomore Addie Reilly. When it wasn't these two putting pressure on the HC net, it was outside midfielders Alex Siwiec and Chelsea Caracciolo. When the Holy Child team did get control of the ball in the Portledge zone they imply could not penetrate the solid defense of Seniors Liz Lanza, Yola Yu and Ashley Gilchrist. If they were able to get off a shot, you could bet that Senior goalie Jess Sarrantonio had it all measured up as she finished the game with around 10 saves or so. The final mark was 16-4, and it sets the stage for what should be an incredible semi final v. one of the girls team's biggest rivals , Hackley School. GAMETIME is 5:00 on Monday, May 19th @ Portledge.

Good Luck to both teams and if either, or both, should advance, the final games will be Wednesday afternoon.

Coming On Strong/Varsity Girls and Boys Lacrosse Finish Up Regular Seasons With Impressive Records and Good Momentum

It has been quite a spring on the lacrosse fields at Portledge School. We saw a Portledge Varsity team be ranked #1 among independent schools in the metro area for the first time ever, and both the girls and boys varsity teams have never dipped below fourth position in the laxpower.com rankings. The teams have a combined record of 23 wins and 6 losses and have registered victories over perennial metro area powers such as Poly Prep, Hackley and Riverdale. The boys team ended the regular season ranked third among metro area independent schools and has an overall record of 13 wins and 3 losses. They average well over 12 goals a game, while only giving up around 7. The Panthers will have home field advantage throughout the NYMLA playoffs and hope to reach the championship game for the first time since the programs three consecutive NYMLA Championships from 1998-2000. The girls program has been consistently strong over the last few years qualifying for the NYSAISAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. In the spring of 06' they reached the semi final round and in 07' they were knocked out in the quarterfinals, both of these losses at the hands of the girls from The Hackley School. The boys will open the NYMLA Playoffs at Home with a Round of 16 game v. Archbishop Stepinac on Thursday @ 4:30, while the girls should also open at Home on Sunday in a quarterfinal game against a yet to be determined opponent. Good luck to both teams and let's hope for some championships.

How Did the Varsity Girls Team Finish Up the Season?

Unfortunately for the VGL team, a few rainy days towards the end of the season forced the cancellation of games v. Chapin and Riverdale, two longtime rivals of the girls lacrosse program. Without these contests the Lady Panthers have their impressive victory over Hackley to dwell on as a positive, and their defeat at the hands of Poly in the back end of a home and home as motivation, heading into the NYSAISAA Tournament. If Portledge can get their high powered offense clicking at the right time, there is no reason they can't win this very competetive tournament. Seniors Ashley Gilchrist, Liz Lanza, Yola Yu, Miyuki Miyagi and Jess Sarrantonio will all be playing in their last games for Portledge during this tournament. These girls have meant a great deal to Portledge girls lacrosse and to Portledge female sports in general. Their efforts are appreciated and they will all be sorely missed by those of us involved in Portledge Athletics.

Is the Varsity Boys Team Ready for Another Run in the NYMLA Tournament?

With a lofty record of 13-3 and a #1 overall seed the VBL team is primed for another run in the upcoming NYMLA Tournament. This is a four round marathon with 16 teams representing four different leagues. In order to progress, a team must be playing its best lacrosse as it faces the top teams from all the metro area organizations. Last year's champ, Fieldston, looks tough again, as do a host of other top teams from the Catholic, Ivy and PSAL Leagues. The Panthers finished the regular season with some very impressive play over their last four games. Wins over Poly Prep, LuHi, Monsignor Farrel and Riverdale have the Portledge team playing with a great deal of confidence. It has been a real team effort as many of the offensive players have raised their games to compensate for the loss of Junior attackman and All American candidate Tim Morrison. Juniors Captains Renny Kraft and Aaron Lee have led the way and Senior Austin Prey has also played some great offensive ball. The defense, led by Junior captain and goalkeeper Dan Duffy has been rock solid down the stretch and many of the role players are making timely contributions to Portledge victories. This group has worked very hard and I know they will be leaving it all out the field as they go for the NYMLA Championship

Take Me Out To The Play Offs/Varsity Boys Baseball Sweep of Solomon Schechter Puts Panthers in IPPSAL Post Season

Coming off two tough losses to Waldorf, the Varsity Boys Baseball team was facing must wins in a two game home and home series with Solomon Schechter. Fortunately, the games would be broken up by four days, thus allowing the Panthers to start "Ace" pitcher Reid Erickson in both games. The first game was played at SSDS in Glen Cove. Erickson was the story in this game as he completely shut down the Lions' offense. Senior Dan Leavey ran his consecutive on base streak to 11 straight plate appearances and Mark Dourmashkin contributed both at the plate and in the field, as he has done all season. Now the pressure would mount though, as the teams squared off for one game that would determine which school qualified for the IPPSAL play offs. This time it was the Panthers attack that carried the day. Sophomore Mark Dourmashkin, Junior Mike McCloskey and Senior Kai Stoll each had two hits as Portledge scored early and often on their way to an eventual total of 8 runs. Once again Erickson was rock solid on the mound as he scattered 5 hits over the game and held SSDS to a total of 3 runs. There was a great crowd for the home game in this series, and making the play offs is a real accomplishment for the young program. Portledge will finish up the regular season with a two game home and home series v. Upper Room this week. Hopefully, familiarity will be an advantage for the Panthers, as Upper Room will most likely be their heavily favored opponents in the semi finals of the IPPSAL Tournament.

Like a Phoenix/Varsity Boys Tennis Wins Three in a Row to Revive Hopes of Another IPPSAL Championship

With great leadership from Seniors Paul Wirkowski, Corey Axelowitz and Mete Seker the Varsity Boys Tennis Team has turned their season around by winning three consecutive matches and five of their last six. Two victories over Kew Forest, and one each over Knox and LWA have put the Panthers swatters back in the picture for a sixth consecutive IPPSAL Championship. Huge regular season matches with Solomon Schechter and a double dip with LuHi remain before a possible date in the IPPSAL Championship match. Also impressive was a win against ACIS rival Berkeley Carroll. Come watch the Panthers this afternoon, when they face BC in a tough rematch of this ACIS rivalry. Let's go tennis.....Finnish Strong!!!!

Top of the Heap/Nine Consecutive Wins Propel Varsity Girls Lacrosse to First Place in the Laxpower Metropolitan Area Rankings

It's an exciting time in Varsity Girls Lacrosse at Portledge. Not only have the Lady Panthers won nine consecutive games, but they were recently elevated to the #1 position in the Laxpower.com metropolitan area rankings for independent schools. The team continues to be propelled by an unstoppable offense. This goal scoring machine is orchestrated by Junior Siena Falino from her attacking position, but it is driven by the fantastic midfield play of three dynamic sophomores and another Junior star. The middle of the field is controlled by the duo of Addie Reilly and Claudia Rogers, while the incredible speed of Chelsea Caracciolo and Alex Siwiec dominates the flank play. A host of talented underclassmen fill out the attacking positions and the defense is manned by a trio of Seniors in Liz Lanza, Ashley Gilchrist and Yola Yu. Impressive Freshman Hope Mulry is also making valuable contributions on the defensive end, as is Senior goalie Jess Sarrantonio. Sarrantonio's leadership of this talented group of players is undeniable, but also not solo. Seniors Lanza, Gilchrist, Yu and Miyuki Miyagi all provide a calming and focused influence on the team. Congratulations to all the players and coaches on the incredible accomplishment of rising to the top ranking in the area, and best of luck down the stretch and in the NYSAISAA Tournament.

It's Do or Die Time/Waldorf Sweep Puts Varsity Baseball Up Against the Wall

Last week's two game series with Waldorf was critical to the play off hopes of the Portledge Varsity Baseball team. With both games being played at Broxmeyer Field there was an air of confidence around the young Panthers. When the games were over, however, Portledge had been swept, and despite some really fine play, the team was now staring at what had become "must win" games v. Solomon Schechter.

How Did the Series With Waldorf Unfold?

The first game of this evenly played and hard fought series was a great contest that saw some good hitting, fielding and pitching from both sides. Watching from behind the left field fence, I saw Sophomore shortstop Mark Dourmashkin make a beautiful play in the hole and Freshman Chris McClosky make a great catch in center. Senior Reid Ericson was his usual steady self on the mound, striking out at least one Waldorf batter per inning. At the plate, Junior Adam Kravietz one hopped the fence with a rope to left center, and Dourmashkin had a key single to drive in a Portledge run late in the game. In the end though, you had to tip your cap to the Waldorf pitcher who held the Panther hitters in check during their last at bat to secure the 5-4 win.

Friday afternoon saw the second game be played as close as the first with the matter not being decided until extra innings had been contested. Senior Dan Leavey had a great day at the dish as he reached base all five times up with three hits and two walks. I know the coaches have been waiting for Dan to show this type play and leadership. Let's hope the third baseman's fine play continues throughout the rest of the season. Mark Dourmashkin once again had a key late game hit as his triple drove in several runs to tie the game. Junior Adam Kravietz, Sophomore Ben Shapiro and Freshman Chris McClosky all pitched fairly well, and certainly gave the Panthers a chance to win this critical game. The Waldorf attack proved to be too much though, as the team from Garden City closed out the sweep with a 12-8 extra inning victory.

These results leave Portledge needing to sweep the season's second to last series v. Solomon Schechter to keep themselves alive in the race for the IPPSAL play offs. The Panthers will also need some help from OSNA, against SSDS, during the final week, but only if they are able to secure two wins first. With the series broken up by a weekend, the Panthers could conceivably start their ace, Reid Ericson, in both games. GOOD LUCK GUYS ....Let's make this thing exciting!