It’s getting to the point where Mahopac should be considered serious Final Four contenders in Section 1 Class A this fall. Outside of a loss to 16-time defending Section 1 champion Lakeland, Mahopac has more than held its own as coach Jess Ascencao’s club has produced a 4-2 overall record after a 4-0 stompdown win over visiting Irvington Friday (Sept. 19) and a 3-1 road win at Arlington the day before. The Wolf Pac began the week with a 3-1 win over host Putnam Valley on Monday, Sept. 15.
Second-year coach Ascencao, who knows a thing or two about development having come from the heralded Lakeland program, likes much of what she sees but knows there’s work to be done if the Wolf Pac are going to thrive this fall.
“I’m very happy that in all three games this week we have scored within the first five minutes and have won,” the coach said after the Irvington win. “It’s huge to be able to take the lead early and set a tone. Against Irvington, we scored early but couldn’t find the back of the net again until the fourth quarter. While Irvington did not get into our defensive circle tonight, they shut down 16 of our penalty corners. Overall, we had a great week with three wins, but will still need to work on capitalizing on corners and creating more impactful transitional plays.”
Irvington had no answer for Mahopac junior Kayleigh Pontillo, who banged the boards twice. Senior captain Anastasia Villani added a goal as did junior Reese Harney (1A). Junior forward Shay Massett set up two goals and senior forward Gabby Bartholdi dished an assist.
Against Arlington, a long clear by Villani (1G, 1A) led to a Bartholdi goal at 6:06 of the first quarter and a 2-0 lead. The Wolf Pac never flinched after that, positioning themselves perfectly in a dominant league win. Villani, Bartholdi and Pontillo each scored while goalkeeper Sam DiMilia needed just three saves in the win.
“Our first goal came early in the first quarter by Anastasia shooting a rocket off of a corner,” Ascencao said. “Gabriella followed up in the first quarter showing off her speed in a fast break, leaving her to take the goalie one-on-one. Kayleigh challenged the goalie and scored the third goal in the fourth to secure the lead.
"We had good efforts tonight by the whole team," the coach continued. "We were relentless on the press, which helped cause turnovers and provide opportunities. We are hoping to keep up the intensity as we move forward.”
In the win over Putnam Valley, Massett notched her first varsity goal while Harney and Bartholdi (1A) also banged the boards for the winners. Pontillo added an assist and DiMilia needed just one save to turn the shutout against the defending Section 1 Class C champion Tigers, who saw Maggie Caputo score from Lillian Johnson.
“We scored in the first two minutes of the game then not again until the second half,” coach Ascencao said. “We need to pick it up a bit more and control our possession better throughout the week.”
The Wolf Pac were scheduled to face Section 9’s Rondout Valley (Sept. 22) and RCK (Sept. 24) this week.
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