Saturday was a truly gorgeous day. Bright blue skies, warm temperatures and blossoming flowers and trees made everyone happy to be alive and outside. All along the North Shore youth and high school lacrosse was being played as the Island's signature sport kicks into high gear. Most people were over at Manhasset High School, where a temporary stadium had been erected to host the Army v. Duke / Manhasset v. Chaminade double-header. Those games were being preceded by many youth games as high schools throughout Long Island were encouraged to support the youngsters who are just learning the game. Portledge participated in this effort by hosting two youth events. The first saw a team of 6th grade girls from the Oak Neck Lacrosse Club take on a team of 6th grade girls from the Cold Spring Harbor Youth program. Oak Neck serves the Locust Valley/Bayville area and , in fact, their team was coached by Portledge's own 5/6Girls coach Amy Tansill, while the Cold Spring Harbor squad was coached by Don Morrison, the father of starting Portledge attackman Tim Morrison. Down on the Varsity Boys field there was a well attended scrimmage featuring 7th and 8th grade boys from both the Oak Neck and Portledge teams. This was a fun game to watch as two groups from the same community got to mingle and get to know each other a bit. The big events of the day started around noon though, as the Portledge Varsity Girls faced off against perennial NYSAIS powerhouse Hackley, and the Varsity Boys took on a tough team from St. Francis Prep in a critical NYMLA contest.
What Happened in the Varsity Girls Game?
Early on the well coached and game savvy Hackley squad played some excellent defense to hold down the high powered Portledge attack. The black shirted girls from Tarreytown collapsed on Portledge center midfielder Addie Reilly and consistently frustrated the Portledge attack. When the halftime whistle blew Hackley was controlling the game and had a comfortable 6-3 lead. The second half was a different story though, as Siena Falino, Portledge's most experienced attacker steped up to lead the Lady Panthers to a huge victory. The Junior attacker scored 4 of her 5 total goals as Portledge erupted for 7 second half goals in all. Reilly finished with 3 of her own and Chelsea Caracciolo and Alex Siwiec each added 1. The Portledge defense was also key in that they greatly slowed down the Hackley attack and limited the 2006 NYSAIS Champions to only
3 goals in the second stanza. This is a big win for the Portledge Girls and should go a long way in securing them at least one home game in the NYSAISAA Championship Tournament in May. The girls will play a reserve game v. Green Vale this week as they prepare to take on St Dom's, Long Island Lutheran and Kellenberg in the Portledge Girls Lacrosse Tournament next weekend.
How Did the Varsity Boys Lacrosse Team Do Against St. Francis Prep?
St. Francis and Portledge were coming into this showdown ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively, out of about thirty schools in the Laxpower metropolitan area rankings. So everyone knew that this would be a tough and hard nosed affair. That certainly was the case at the start, as both teams traded some big body and stick checks as St. Francis forged an early 2-1 lead. The Portledge attack started to wake up though through the fine play of Junior attackman Renny Kraft. The dynamic lefty exploded for three goals to help Portledge build a 7-5 halftime lead. During a well played second half Junior attackman Tim Morrison carried the load as he continuously drove to the cage and either scored or passed to an open teammate to keep up the production of the Portledge offense. The nicest goal of the game came when Freshman middie Pat Condon finished of a beautiful transition play with a qiuck stick to the top corner of the net. The Portledge defense, manned by a group that included Seniors Alfred Vitsentzos and Cam Cromer, Juniors Anker Johansen and Trevor Wolfson and Sophmore John Hambrook, played well throughout and eventually won the battle against the patient and effective St Francis offense. The final score was 14-9 as Portledge pulled away in the closing minutes. Next up for the Panthers, who have now won six in a row, is Hackley (Away on Monday@ 4:000), then comes the Portledge Tournament next weekend.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Facing Quality Pitching/Varsity Baseball Shut Down by OSNA Hurler
The Portledge Varsity Baseball team traveled out to OSNA on Thursday afternoon looking to gain a split in their two game home and home series . Having dropped the opener 2-1 in a real pitchers duel during which Portledge starter Reid Ericson struck out 14 OSNA batters, the young Panther team was optimistic that they could compete with this IPPSAL power.
What Happened in This Closing Game of the Series?
The Panthers found out the hard way that OSNA has some real pitching depth. Having struggled to generate offense on Tuesday against OSNA's first starter, the Panthers were hoping for more success when a new pitcher would take the mound. Unfortunately, this second OSNA starter was even better than the one who had out dueled Ericson on Tuesday. Mixing his curve with a dominating fastball the OSNA hurler struck out many of the Portledge batters on the way to a one hit shut out. The no hitter was broken up by Ashwin Chinchwadkar in the top of the seventh. Meanwhile, OSNA used a combination of some good hitting and experienced base running to score 10 against the Portledge pitching and defense. The Panthers will look to get back on the winning track when they play a critical two game series with Waldorf this coming Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Both games of this series will be played at Broxmeyer Field and they will start @ 4:30. Come out and root the Panthers on, as they try to work the home field advantage.
What Happened in This Closing Game of the Series?
The Panthers found out the hard way that OSNA has some real pitching depth. Having struggled to generate offense on Tuesday against OSNA's first starter, the Panthers were hoping for more success when a new pitcher would take the mound. Unfortunately, this second OSNA starter was even better than the one who had out dueled Ericson on Tuesday. Mixing his curve with a dominating fastball the OSNA hurler struck out many of the Portledge batters on the way to a one hit shut out. The no hitter was broken up by Ashwin Chinchwadkar in the top of the seventh. Meanwhile, OSNA used a combination of some good hitting and experienced base running to score 10 against the Portledge pitching and defense. The Panthers will look to get back on the winning track when they play a critical two game series with Waldorf this coming Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Both games of this series will be played at Broxmeyer Field and they will start @ 4:30. Come out and root the Panthers on, as they try to work the home field advantage.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Climbing the Local Independent School Rankings/Varsity Boys and Girls Lacrosse Both Post Impressive Wins
The middle of the week was an important time for the Varsity Lacrosse programs. Tuesday, the Boys had an important measuring stick game against a tough non-league opponent in the form of the St. Luke's School from Connecticut, and on Wednesday, the Girls were slated to rumble and tumble with their longtime rivals from Poly Prep in a critical match with regard to the end of the season NYSAIS seedings.
What Happened Against St. Luke's?
The game with St. Luke's was scheduled to ensure that the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team had enough quality competition to prepare itself for the challenging NYMLA Championship Tournament at the end of the year. Luke's had already registered some impressive wins against some tough New England competition and they obviously had a good scouting report on the Panthers as they came out trying to shut off Portledge attacker Tim Morrison. Morrison had scored 18 goals in the Panthers first four games and was coming off a monster game v. Rye last weekend. The Portledge offense didn't panick though and they methodically worked the ball around to atke advantage of Luke's over concentration on Morrison. Early in the game midfielder Aaron Lee often found himself covered by a shortstick defender and the versatile middie quickly took advantage of these mismatches. The Panthers jumped out to 5-1 lead before the St. Luke's team started to settle down and run their own quality offense. Despite several three goal bursts by the Panthers, St. Luke's refused to go away and as the game entered its last four minutes the score was tied at 11. Portledge earned an extra man opportunity when Morrison was dragged down from behind and the boys sensed that this was their chance to win this game. Even though they were trying to deny him the ball, Morrison had managed to score four up to this point, so the Luke's defense were looking for him to get the ball in this critical situation. The sneaky Lee,
however, skipped past Morrison in the extra man set and threw behind an early slide to Portledge attacker Renny Kraft. Kraft calmly faked the goalie a few times before depositing the game winner in the net. The defense held the fort during the last few minutes and Portledge came out with a hard fought 12-11 win. Challenging games like these will serve the Panthers well as they continue their march towards the NYMLA Championships. The Boys will have a busy weekend as they take on Masters @ Home on Fri (4:15), St.Francis @Home on Sat (12:00) and Hackley Away on Monday(4:00).
What Was the Latest Installment on the Portledge/Poly Prep Varsity Girls Lacrosse Rivalry Like?
Poly is definitely the best team that the Lady Panthers have faced since coming north from Florida. So the Girls knew that they would have to have a solid team effort to be victorious. This was certainly the case as the deep and well rounded Portledge team rolled to a surprisingly easy 19-8 win over their Ivy League rivals. Once again Sophomore Addie Reilly was the leading goal scorer registering 7 tallys on the day. Supporting offense in the form of multiple goal games canme rom the usual cast of characters made up of Sophomores Chelsea Caracciolo and Claudia Rogers, and Juniors Siena Falino and Alex Siwiec. In this game,much more than in their last two, the Lady Panthers defense was consistently tested by a pesky Poly attack. With Sophmore Delphine Starr and Senior Ashley Gilchrist providing the initial stop and Seniors Liz Lanza and Yola Yu guarding close to the goal the Portledge defense was able to slow Poly down enough that they were not able to keep up with the home team's offensive onslaught. The Girls will have to raise their game to yet another level this weekend when they take on perennial NYSAIS power Hackley this Saturday @ Home (11:00am).
What Happened Against St. Luke's?
The game with St. Luke's was scheduled to ensure that the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team had enough quality competition to prepare itself for the challenging NYMLA Championship Tournament at the end of the year. Luke's had already registered some impressive wins against some tough New England competition and they obviously had a good scouting report on the Panthers as they came out trying to shut off Portledge attacker Tim Morrison. Morrison had scored 18 goals in the Panthers first four games and was coming off a monster game v. Rye last weekend. The Portledge offense didn't panick though and they methodically worked the ball around to atke advantage of Luke's over concentration on Morrison. Early in the game midfielder Aaron Lee often found himself covered by a shortstick defender and the versatile middie quickly took advantage of these mismatches. The Panthers jumped out to 5-1 lead before the St. Luke's team started to settle down and run their own quality offense. Despite several three goal bursts by the Panthers, St. Luke's refused to go away and as the game entered its last four minutes the score was tied at 11. Portledge earned an extra man opportunity when Morrison was dragged down from behind and the boys sensed that this was their chance to win this game. Even though they were trying to deny him the ball, Morrison had managed to score four up to this point, so the Luke's defense were looking for him to get the ball in this critical situation. The sneaky Lee,
however, skipped past Morrison in the extra man set and threw behind an early slide to Portledge attacker Renny Kraft. Kraft calmly faked the goalie a few times before depositing the game winner in the net. The defense held the fort during the last few minutes and Portledge came out with a hard fought 12-11 win. Challenging games like these will serve the Panthers well as they continue their march towards the NYMLA Championships. The Boys will have a busy weekend as they take on Masters @ Home on Fri (4:15), St.Francis @Home on Sat (12:00) and Hackley Away on Monday(4:00).
What Was the Latest Installment on the Portledge/Poly Prep Varsity Girls Lacrosse Rivalry Like?
Poly is definitely the best team that the Lady Panthers have faced since coming north from Florida. So the Girls knew that they would have to have a solid team effort to be victorious. This was certainly the case as the deep and well rounded Portledge team rolled to a surprisingly easy 19-8 win over their Ivy League rivals. Once again Sophomore Addie Reilly was the leading goal scorer registering 7 tallys on the day. Supporting offense in the form of multiple goal games canme rom the usual cast of characters made up of Sophomores Chelsea Caracciolo and Claudia Rogers, and Juniors Siena Falino and Alex Siwiec. In this game,much more than in their last two, the Lady Panthers defense was consistently tested by a pesky Poly attack. With Sophmore Delphine Starr and Senior Ashley Gilchrist providing the initial stop and Seniors Liz Lanza and Yola Yu guarding close to the goal the Portledge defense was able to slow Poly down enough that they were not able to keep up with the home team's offensive onslaught. The Girls will have to raise their game to yet another level this weekend when they take on perennial NYSAIS power Hackley this Saturday @ Home (11:00am).
Almost There/Varsity Baseball Loses Close Contest to League Power
There were some signs during spring training scrimmages that the Portledge Varsity Baseball team might be able to hang in there with the top teams in IPPSAL Baseball. On Tuesday, April 15th the boys got there first chance to see where they were in relation to the top of the league when they squared off against OSNA in the first game of a two game home and home series.
What Happened at Broxmeyer Field in the First Game of the OSNA Series?
The Panthers were feeling good because they had ace pitcher Reid Ericson on the mound and he was coming off a 14 strikeout and no hit game v. Knox a week ago. Ericson didn't disappoint as he twirled another three no hit innings and pushed his strikeout total to 28 with some incredible pitching throughout the game. OSNA did eventually score twice, but both runs were unearned, thus, through two games "the ace" has an ERA of 0.000. This is an amazing occurrence that rarely happens during early season baseball. Unfortunately, OSNA had their own ace on the mound, and except for a few scattered hits, the Panthers couldn't manage much offense against the hard throwing righty. The final score was 2-1, but the Panthers will get a chance to even the season series when they travel to OSNA for a rematch on Thursday, April 17th. Good luck to
Mr. O'Rourke and the team.
What Happened at Broxmeyer Field in the First Game of the OSNA Series?
The Panthers were feeling good because they had ace pitcher Reid Ericson on the mound and he was coming off a 14 strikeout and no hit game v. Knox a week ago. Ericson didn't disappoint as he twirled another three no hit innings and pushed his strikeout total to 28 with some incredible pitching throughout the game. OSNA did eventually score twice, but both runs were unearned, thus, through two games "the ace" has an ERA of 0.000. This is an amazing occurrence that rarely happens during early season baseball. Unfortunately, OSNA had their own ace on the mound, and except for a few scattered hits, the Panthers couldn't manage much offense against the hard throwing righty. The final score was 2-1, but the Panthers will get a chance to even the season series when they travel to OSNA for a rematch on Thursday, April 17th. Good luck to
Mr. O'Rourke and the team.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Swinging Into Action/Varsity Golf Opens Season w/ Tri Match v. LWA & LuHi
On a beautiful Monday afternoon the Portledge Varsity Golf team opened its season at the Piping Rock Club in a tri match v. LWA & LuHi. The Panther links men, and women, were well adorned in their brand new Portledge golf shirts and appeared ready to go as they boarded the bus for the short trip over to Piping. Since they would be competing without regular #2 David Wilson, out due to hip surgery, there was a slight air of butterflies running through the Portledge team. Many of whom were playing in their first Varsity Golf match.
How Did This Contest Turn Out?
Well, the Panthers could not really have hoped for much better results on this day. The team was victorious over LWA by a match score of 5 to 1 and were also better than LuHi by a 4 to 2 margin. These are excellent results for so early in the season. Senior captain Ray Weinmann led the way carding an impressive score of one under par 34. Ray had back to back birdies on the difficult sixth and seventh holes and only bogeyed the last when he missed a short put for par. Junior John Litke shot a solid round of 41 to defeat his opponents, and the Freshman duo of Steven DiBartolomeo and Tom Parisi both shot in the forties to secure some more victories for Portledge. Next up is a rematch with LuHi over at Tam O' Shanter on Thursday.
How Did This Contest Turn Out?
Well, the Panthers could not really have hoped for much better results on this day. The team was victorious over LWA by a match score of 5 to 1 and were also better than LuHi by a 4 to 2 margin. These are excellent results for so early in the season. Senior captain Ray Weinmann led the way carding an impressive score of one under par 34. Ray had back to back birdies on the difficult sixth and seventh holes and only bogeyed the last when he missed a short put for par. Junior John Litke shot a solid round of 41 to defeat his opponents, and the Freshman duo of Steven DiBartolomeo and Tom Parisi both shot in the forties to secure some more victories for Portledge. Next up is a rematch with LuHi over at Tam O' Shanter on Thursday.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Back to Level Ground/Varsity Baseball Splits Opening Series of the Year v. Knox
Thanks to blog contributor Len Shapiro for filling me in on the results of Friday's away game at Knox. Early on starting pitcher Adam Kravietz looked to have things under control as the Panthers were looking to sweep this first series of the year following an 11-0 opening day win. Before it was over though, the Boys from Knox had come back to claim a 12-9 victory and a split in the two game series.
What Happened in This IPPSAL Game Out at Knox?
Well, early on it looked very much like the opener as the Panthers swept out to a big early lead behind some powerful offense. Mark Dourmashkin, Reid Ericson and Dan Leavey all contributed to the Panther attack and at one point Portledge had a 9-1 lead. Then, a combination of losing the strike zone and some good patience by the Knox hitters allowed the boys from St. James to claw their way back into the game. The final score of Knox 12- Portledge 9 evens the Panthers record at one and one as they prepare for a challenging series against OSNA this week. Tuesday's match will be at Home(4:00), while Thursday's game will be out at OSNA. Directions are available on the Portledge website. LET'S GO PANTHERS!!
What Happened in This IPPSAL Game Out at Knox?
Well, early on it looked very much like the opener as the Panthers swept out to a big early lead behind some powerful offense. Mark Dourmashkin, Reid Ericson and Dan Leavey all contributed to the Panther attack and at one point Portledge had a 9-1 lead. Then, a combination of losing the strike zone and some good patience by the Knox hitters allowed the boys from St. James to claw their way back into the game. The final score of Knox 12- Portledge 9 evens the Panthers record at one and one as they prepare for a challenging series against OSNA this week. Tuesday's match will be at Home(4:00), while Thursday's game will be out at OSNA. Directions are available on the Portledge website. LET'S GO PANTHERS!!
Lax Power Resides in Locust Valley
It is fun to go on the website laxpower.com to check out how your team is ranked in the region. The site compares your squad to the others in the metropolitan area and predicts the outcome of games. Over the last few years laxpower has begun to recognize the quality of both the Girls and Boys lacrosse programs at Portledge. At one time last spring both teams were ranked in the top five in the metro area. Recent victories by Girls and Boys varsity teams have Portledge Lacrosse climbing the rankings yet again.
How Did the Varsity Girls Follow Up Their Win Over Trinity?
With their confidence high the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team boarded a bus on Friday afternoon for their second consecutive game in NYC. This time the opponent would be Brearly, another NYC school with a long history of good lacrosse. The outcome was much the same as the Trinity game though, as the Portledge girls dominated from the outset and went on to a convincing 15-3 win. Siena Falino, Addie Reilly, Chelsea Caracciolo and Claudia Rogers all had multiple goals and the defense was tight throughout this contest. The Lady Panthers have their work cut out for them this week as they face a perennial girls lax power in the form of Poly Prep @Home on Wednesday before taking on the recent Queens of Nysais Lacrosse, Hackley, on Saturday @Home/11:00am. Saturday's game will be preceded by a scrimmage between youth teams from Locust Valley and Cold Spring Harbor, so come on out and see some great girls lacrosse throughout the day on Saturday at Portledge School.
What Happened in the Big Boys Lacrosse Game v. Rye Country Day on Saturday?
While many Portledge families were preparing for the auction, the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team was traveling up to Rye for a critical Metro League match-up with Country Day. Last year RCD was the superior team handing the Panthers a 12-5 stomping. This time the outcome would be quite different though. Portledge was fired up from the get go and burst out to 3-0 lead behind transition goals from Juniors Tim Morison and Renny Kraft and Senior Austin Prey. It was the defense, however, that was really setting the tone. Long pole middie Alain Mathieu was all over Rye's All American midfielder and the rest of the Portledge "D" was sliding with great ferocity. Junior goalie Dan Duffy made 18 saves and was the key to an outstanding effort of team defense. All the time the Portledge offense kept pushing the ball up field and attacking the Rye net before the Wildcats could get set up. Morison finished with 5 goals and 4 assists in a monster game, while Kraft was equally impressive registering 4 goals and 3 assists of his own. Prey added two extra man goals to his early score to finish with three overall, and Senior midfielder Zack Lombardi added two of his own. The final score of 16-1 was indicative of how well the entire Portledge team played this day. The Panthers have a busy week of their own coming up as they face a tough New England opponent in St. Luke's on Tuesday (Home@ 4:30), before taking on The Masters School and St.Francis Prep on Friday (Home@ 4:30) and Saturday (Home@12:00), respectively.
How Did the Varsity Girls Follow Up Their Win Over Trinity?
With their confidence high the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team boarded a bus on Friday afternoon for their second consecutive game in NYC. This time the opponent would be Brearly, another NYC school with a long history of good lacrosse. The outcome was much the same as the Trinity game though, as the Portledge girls dominated from the outset and went on to a convincing 15-3 win. Siena Falino, Addie Reilly, Chelsea Caracciolo and Claudia Rogers all had multiple goals and the defense was tight throughout this contest. The Lady Panthers have their work cut out for them this week as they face a perennial girls lax power in the form of Poly Prep @Home on Wednesday before taking on the recent Queens of Nysais Lacrosse, Hackley, on Saturday @Home/11:00am. Saturday's game will be preceded by a scrimmage between youth teams from Locust Valley and Cold Spring Harbor, so come on out and see some great girls lacrosse throughout the day on Saturday at Portledge School.
What Happened in the Big Boys Lacrosse Game v. Rye Country Day on Saturday?
While many Portledge families were preparing for the auction, the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team was traveling up to Rye for a critical Metro League match-up with Country Day. Last year RCD was the superior team handing the Panthers a 12-5 stomping. This time the outcome would be quite different though. Portledge was fired up from the get go and burst out to 3-0 lead behind transition goals from Juniors Tim Morison and Renny Kraft and Senior Austin Prey. It was the defense, however, that was really setting the tone. Long pole middie Alain Mathieu was all over Rye's All American midfielder and the rest of the Portledge "D" was sliding with great ferocity. Junior goalie Dan Duffy made 18 saves and was the key to an outstanding effort of team defense. All the time the Portledge offense kept pushing the ball up field and attacking the Rye net before the Wildcats could get set up. Morison finished with 5 goals and 4 assists in a monster game, while Kraft was equally impressive registering 4 goals and 3 assists of his own. Prey added two extra man goals to his early score to finish with three overall, and Senior midfielder Zack Lombardi added two of his own. The final score of 16-1 was indicative of how well the entire Portledge team played this day. The Panthers have a busy week of their own coming up as they face a tough New England opponent in St. Luke's on Tuesday (Home@ 4:30), before taking on The Masters School and St.Francis Prep on Friday (Home@ 4:30) and Saturday (Home@12:00), respectively.
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